What I have been doing is loosening up the soil close around the plants. Sometimes about an inch deep, and maybe 2 "deep a little further back, then putting on the manure, and mixing it in. But I dont think you would have to do that. I would think the rains would wash the nutrients down around the roots. I did it because my soil is so bad, and I am trying to loosen up the packed clay. I seen a huge difference in my plants in just a few weeks. Tammy

cavamarie, people have concerns about e-coli and I know nothing about that. I've used fresh manure in gardens almost every year I've gardened and I've never sacrificed fruit for foliage as you would expect. I've only had a problem once---in a spot where a ton of fresh chicken manure sat for a month before I could get it spread. Everything we planted in that drenched spot died. Mix the manure in well before you plant and I think you'll have results similar to mine, providing you, like me, need to apply nitrogen fertilizer every year. I have 16 chickens. I clean their house once a year (where I suppose, it's technically been composting)and spread it on my garden straight from the coop prior to planting. I used much fresher chicken manure in my early 20s---sometimes with dead chickens in it---which I got from a farmer. With really fresh manure I spread it three weeks before planting per advice I received from an "Organic Gardening" course I took in 1974. People always tell secondhand horror stories about chicken manure, but I've never heard a horror story from someone who's actually used it. I'm always worried that my experience with chicken manure won't pan out in the rest of the country, so rather than take my word for it, try it in half of your rows and see for yourself.

what I mean is ,assuming it has composted enough already,am I going to lose the nutrients in it by spreading it out in the open under the plants at a time that the plants themselves are dormant (I assume that the roots are equally as dormant as what is above the ground in the winter) So is it better in that case to stack the compost rather than spread it? (of course I can see that it is probably not going to actually harm the plants if I do spread it-I am just trying to prevent the compost becoming leached with the great amount of rain we always get here in the Winter.)

Sara, I'm not far from Philly (in DELCO). If you don't mind, would you mind sending along the information regarding where you found that lovely stuff?! I'd love to get my hands on some Horse (or any other herbivore) manure, but the wife doesn't think that livestock would go over well here in suburbia! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Sara. BTW, thanks to all who posted above. It would seem that some on here still don't understand the basics of how the decomposition and compost process actually works. While FRESH manure can be a problem in the garden, aged manure is a great BENEFIT! That manure is aged and now is the perfect time to add that (incorporated - tilled) into the top layer of the soil (especially before the ground has a chance to freeze - there was a hard frost in my area this morning). Manure is an excellent addition to any soil, because not only does it act as OM to help with water retention and drainage, it also acts as a slow release BALANCED fertilizer. Aged manure and composted manure from herbivores are some of the best amendments available to put into the garden. The only all-purpose material that I think would be better is vermicompost (worm poo). But don't worry, adding OM to your garden will attract more worms. ;^) Lloyd, you nailed the proper way to incorporate that material into the soil. (Stick around long enough, and you will end up a gardener!) Nice touch on the layer of leaves over the top of the tilled soil! (Note to Sara, be sure to moisten the leaves as you lay them on top - about 2 inches deep should be sufficient otherwise they will just blow away.)