Hi Mariall. I have a 1400 sf garden, and picked up 2 bucketloads of well composted cow manure this spring for $10 per bucket. Here a bucket is supposed to equal a cubic yard.

If the farmer has to deliver it in his tractor, I expect you should pay at least $15 per bucket.

1 cubic yard can't be too much in a 1000sq ft garden. Just be sure to add some lime with it.

As to whether he charges, that is up to the individual farmers. I remember years ago an elderly friend of mine came back from the city to find a pile alongside her driveway with a note from her neighbor affixed on top wishing her a Merry Christmas. She was so pleased because, she said, "most farmers charge a lot for it and you only get a mouthful!"

Here is a brochure that actually gives an amount of manure to add in the garden plus additives BUT it is from Florida so not sure if it would apply where you live.

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Veg. Gardening

I noticed you said "I'm told I need to till manure into existing soil this autumn...". Just wanted to add that this is only one option of many available and not a requirement in any way.

Hopefully this is already well-composted manure? Even though it is an excellent source of nutrients and it will sit in the garden over the winter, you don't want to use any fresh manure in the vegetable garden without first carefully researching its associated hazards. There are several discussions on its safe use over in the Soil, Compost, & Mulch forum - it comes up for discussion frequently there in light of all the recent research on e. coli hazards - and a search here will pull up numerous discussions on the safe use of and hazards of "cow manure" in the vege garden.

Dave

I have a 1000 sq foot garden. How much Cow Manure should I ask the farmer down the lane for this autumn?...

marial121, I use horse manure because it is easy to get and free here. I usually apply ~4# per sq foot each season. (I overcooked it this season and fetched enuf such that I applied a bit more that 8#/sq ft... no ill effects [ except perhaps my soil may contain an excessive amount of nitrate, assuming that most of the N in the manure was thereto quickly converted -- which I doubt ]... it just melted into the existing 'soil'.)

However my primary source of it is a stable that uses sawdust for bedding. So this stable litter is a rather lo octane product. Your prospective cow should be rather a rather hi octane product. I would recommend ~2# cow/sq foot. So that would translate into about 1 ton for your 1000 sq ft plot. That may sound like a lot, but once it is distributed, there should be little trace of it except perhaps for some hay "muffins"... and they disappear rather quickly.

And do mix in some dolomitic lime with it (one 40# bag should be plenty, assuming that you want to maintain a rather neutral pH in plot's soil). The pelletized form is very fast acting. The granular stuff takes a very long time to assert buffering properties, but lasts a long time. The pulverized stuff is somewhere in between in time frame and is rather messy (dusty), but is readily available.

Reg

Adding wood chips would speed the composting greatly. And you could add beneficial fungi. Like the three amigos garden pack found at the below link. I'm not affiliated with the company, but am a big fan. The shaggy manes in that kit will stop any e coli, specifically. The others will break the substrate down very very quickly, making it highly available to your plants.

if you check out the link, look for the outdoor kits / patches.

Here is a link that might be useful: fungi perfecti

I am trying to picture what a "bucket" looks like. At first I pictured a bucket-full, like the one I use to wash my floors. I dont think you're talking about that kind of bucket though are you? I'm trying to picture a cubic yard of manure lying in the middle of the garden, ready to be tilled under but I dont have a sense of what that would look like.

No worries. I am going to see the farmer early so I know whether or not he can help me this autumn.

Ok for the lime.

I use composted horse manure, also. What I compost also includes a lot of wood shavings and hay (actually oat straw). I compost in small piles until the first rains and then pile it into one giant pile. That pile composts down to half its height before I use it- the texture is that of rich loam. In late winter I till in the covercrop, top the garden with 6 to 9 inches of composted manure and till that in and wait until April or so to plant tomatoes.

The only disadvantage I've found is that you have to go into the garden with a knife to be able to get between the plants.

I'm trying to picture a cubic yard of manure lying in the middle of the garden...

marial1214, a cubic yard contains 27 cubic feet (volume basis). Now a typical "bucket" for house-hold use has a capacity of about 3 gallons. And a cubic foot contains about 7.5 gallons of stuff.

So to calculate how many house-hold "buckets" (assuming 3 US gallon capacity) are in a cubic yard is simple. It is something like this:

(1 bucket)/(3 US gallons) * (7.5 US gallons)/(cubic feet) * (27 cubic feet)/(cubic yard)

That resolves to about 67 (3 US gallon) house-hold buckets per cubic yard. So if the average 3-gallon "bucket" of cow weighs in at say 12#, a yard of the stuff will weigh ~800#. This is of course dependent upon its moisture content.

So if you can picture 67 "house-hold" buckets in your patch, that should approximate a cubic yard of material (volume, not weight).

I suggest that two yards of the stuff should be enough to ammend a 1000 sq ft plot per year.

Seems like a lot don't it? But it really is none too much.

Reg

On the subject of volumes and yardage - for general reference, a dump truck generally holds roughly 10 yards of whatever is in it.

Jason

That's a rather sizable dump truck, Snidely. The larger trucks vary in size much like the weather. The same is true of front mounted tractor buckets. A cubic yard may be a common mulch selling unit but almost all farmers that I know are more familiar with the bushel unit.

Manure spreaders used by farmers are all rated by bushel (bu.) capacities. If a farmer were to haul manure any distance he would likely use the manure spreader rather than the bucket or dump truck. If it is a straw based manure it is likely loaded with a fork mounted on the loader rather than a bucket.

I'm not going to comment on the merits of composting the manure. From both a food safety and environmentally friendly standpoint if you applied the maunre in the fall and tilled it into the soil immediately you could do the most good. Sowing a fall cover crop which could be tilled under in the following spring would be even better.

Sowing a fall cover crop which could be tilled under in the following spring would be even better.

bmoser makes an excellent point! So called "green manure" crops and/or cover crops are one of the other options available to you. As I mentioned above, manure isn't required in any way. Cover crops are cheaper, hazard-free, more environmentally friendly, weed-free, look and smell better if that is a concern, and more beneficial for the garden in terms of nutrients and improved tilth.

Clover, vetch, field peas, rye, millet, alfalfa, buckwheat, etc. (depending on your zone) are all good choices. We use a mix of rye, turnips, and beets and then till it in in early spring with the hay mulch left in the garden from the past summer.

And, with that approach, you don't have to worry about composting or not composting or even "how much". ;)

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Overview of Cover Crops & Green Manures

Holy Crap! That's alot of manure. I have a sense of what the amount looks like now.

I agree with others about green manure.
However, I never apply anything to the garden. EVERYTHING goes through the compost first. It's the only safe way.
Consider it a FILTER of sorts.
That's why preparation is so important.
I also agree that manure is not necessary. And unless your soil is deficient, additional nutrients are unnecessary.
My tomatoes are perfectly happy using recycled plant material.

Tom

Buckets vary but are usually 2-4 cubic yards. When I get a load of compost, the bucket's maybe half to 2/3rds full and fills the back of a pickup truck and about a foot taller than the truck's bed.

Buckets vary by implement.

I pick up loads of various material in buckets that vary from 1/2yd³ to 4yd³s (frontloaders).

1 cuyd will cover about about 100ft° to a depth of about 3"

An 8ft pickup bed can hold volume wise about 2yds (over the bed top and tarped). Unless the manure was dry I wouldnt advise doing that unless you have a HD p/u.

I am planning on having fall vegetables in my garden so I'm not sure how that will impact the timing of the manure delivery in terms of stuff still growing back there. For example the winter lettuce will be in the ground right up through spring for a spring harvest. it's the kind that doesnt freeze underneath the snow. i found the seeds in france and want to try planting them. So obviously if I have stuff growing in my garden it will be impossible to till it. Maybe I just sprinkle the manure over the service and around the plants and in the spring till it? It's never easy is it....

Marial,

With green leafy crops (ie lettuces) you DO NOT want to use 'fresh' uncomposted manure. You risk contamination especially as the food is not being cooked.

This is by far the best article I have come across concerning manure in the garden.

Don't let it make you afraid of using it --but you have to learn to use it safely.

Conventional farmers AND organic farmers utilize this by-product on a big scale. Certified organic growers follow stringent guidelines. You should too.

I use horse manure and bedding quite a bit--I would love a source of cow manure but I would compost carefully or follow guidelines for its use.

Here is a link that might be useful: Using manure in the garden

I am planning on having fall vegetables in my garden so I'm not sure how that will impact the timing of the manure delivery in terms of stuff still growing back there...

marial, the real deal with any manure that is free or virtually free is that its owner has little incentive to "heat compost" it in a manner compliant with that method. They mostly just wanna get rid of it if they have no use for it themselves.

If you have a place you can stack it (in a compact pile), do that and get it soon. Be advised it will kill vegetation that is under the pile.

Now on your prospective 2 yards of cow for a 1000 sq ft plot. Let's see what depth the 2 yds would translate to (in inches) if evenly distributed therein (since Hort gave his rendition):

[ (12 inches)/(1 feet) * (27 cubic feet)/(1 cubic yards) * (2 cubic yards) ] /(1000 square feet)

Which resolves to a bit more than half an inch over entire 1000 sq ft plot for 2 yards of evenly distributed material. Seems like none too much but should be sufficient.

The sq ft factor converts the cubic ft factor to feet and the first element elimnates feet. Pretty ugly calc but I think it is correct.

Reg

You'd need about 3 yards of "wet" manure (3.08 cu yds, or 623 3/8 gallons) or 535 11/16ths dry gallons to cover 1000 sq ft 1 inch deep.

You'd need about 3 yards of "wet" manure (3.08 cu yds, or 623 3/8 gallons) or 535 11/16ths dry gallons to cover 1000 sq ft 1 inch deep...

korney19, this "depth" thing is about volume not weight. Actually the "dry" stuff will settle (have less volume) when it gets wet. So its depth will become relatively smaller than the same volume of similar compost that was applied in a more moist condition.

Of course my argument has little to do with relative nutrient concentrations. It is just about visualizing a cubic yard of material.

Reg

korney19, this "depth" thing is about volume not weight. Actually the "dry" stuff will settle (have less volume) when it gets wet. So its depth will become relatively smaller than the same volume of similar compost that was applied in a more moist condition.

Reg, that's exactly my point, dry volume has airspace, that's why wet needs more product to get back up to the intended "height" or depth. Nothing to do with weight, my post strictly had to do with volume.

Say for example, using those #'s, you needed to fill a raised bed that hold 535 gallons... fill it to the top, water it... when everything settles, you'll probably need to get another 88 gallons to level it off back to full. (623 - 535 = 88.)

Mark

that's exactly my point, dry volume has airspace, that's why wet needs more product to get back up to the intended "height" or depth. Nothing to do with weight, my post strictly had to do with volume...

Mark, I do not understand your logic here... guess I am dense.

Anyway, I hope some of these posts have not discouraged marial1214 from compost-application activities. That was never my intention. My intention was to recommend how much to apply and to demonstrate (in the 3-gallon bucket denomination) what a cubic yard of material translated to -- volume-wise.

Reg

Reg, you lost me from the first post you quoted me! lol. I'm not sure why you quoted me, I was giving an example of about how much cow manure to get and just used a 1" figure over 1000 sq ft, in both dry & wet volume. Then I explained why to get the larger amount (wet), then you said we are talking volume not weight, then I said I was talking about volume too, and explained the difference between wet & dry volume. Where are we now? lol. Are you saying my #'s are wrong, you didn't understand the difference between dry & wet volume, or something else?

you didn't understand the difference between dry & wet volume, or something else...

Mark, well what is the difference between "wet and dry" volumes ? Is a cubic foot of dry cotton different than a wet cubic foot of cotton on a volume basis ? The wet cotton will have more mass but will still occupy the same space (initially).

In other words, does each not occupy the same space when each is stuffed into a cubic foot container ?

Density and volume are not related... at all, least in my logic.

Reg

In other words, does each not occupy the same space when each is stuffed into a cubic foot container ?

No. But your wording is a little tricky when you use the word "stuffed." If you poured it in and tamped lightly, still No.

1 cu ft = 7.48 gallons.

1 cu ft = 6.43 DRY gallons.

For a simple experiment, take a 5 gallon bucket and a 1 gallon bucket. Use the 1 gallon bucket and fill up the 5 gallon bucket with peat moss, promix, whatever, until full. You should have used 5 gallons.

Then wet it down every couple hours, just to make sure it's wet but not enough to "add" any height. If you do this enough, the air will escape and the peat moss will settle. You can even drill a tiny hole for the water to drain out if you'd like but no peat moss.

Now, your 5 gallon bucket, settled about 2 inches from the top--does it have 5 gallons of peat moss in it? If you answer yes on a technicality that you did indeed put 5 gallons of peat moss in it, then the 5 gallon bucket...is it 5 gallons or more than 5 gallons if it's no longer full?

You're the math wiz, not me, so how much more wet peat moss will the 5 gallon bucket hold? ;-)

If we used a 6.43 gallon bucket, it should need 1.05 MORE gallons of peat to top it off! 7.48 - 6.43 = 1.05.

You're the math wiz, not me, so how much more wet peat moss will the 5 gallon bucket hold?

Mark, I am no math wiz. The calc was just basically a conversion (in terms) done by a series of unity multipliers. Very simple. Just multiply by "one" and the intrinsic value remains unchanged. This method is old as dirt.

Reg