I'd like to read how some of the regulars in the soil/mulch/compost forum approach your query.

I am very sorry about your daughter's accident but it's good that it was taken care of quickly. She is a brave girl.

I wouldn't use mushroom compost because it could be too alkaline for roses. That's the advice I got when we bought this house and had to amend the soil as it was neglected probably for decades.

Depending on how broken down it is, chicken manure can be very “hot” and needs extra time to rest, or it will burn your plants. If you pile it up and let it decompose for 6-9 months, then it will be ready for use. Livestock manure is probably your best choice. It can have weed seeds in it, so mulch over it heavily so that they can’t sprout.

LG,

I'm sorry to hear of your little girl's accident. Children have accidents so quickly, just blink an eye and they happen.

Why not get both mushroom manure and livestock manure.

Chicken manure is intensely nutrient dense/rich, even when well aged it can burn or actually over feed. It is excellent when used sparingly, therefore it fertilizes the ground but does not build up the ground's tilth like mushroom manure and livestock manure do.

Mushroom manure is not nutrient dense being a mixture of horse manure, sphagnum peat moss, and straw, but it is a great soil amendment by increasing its tilth greatly, making it light and fluffy.

Livestock manure is wonderful , more nutrient dense than mushroom manure, and adds body to the soil.

I hope all your plans materialize greatly, exceeding your expectations!

Moses

Why have the little thumbs up shrunk?

Stubby little things, aren't they?

On the subject, a rose grower's garden I visited had a 4" layer of mushroom compost mixed with cow manure. The roses were wonderful. He topped it up yearly. I think the ratio was 3 of mushroom compost to 1 of manure.

LG, I’m so sorry to hear your little girl had such a traumatic accident. I do hope she’s on the mend. Those things DO happen in the blink of an eye, believe me, I remember those days:)

Something caught this old dairy girls eye. When you say “kraal” manure, I’m guessing you’re referring to what I would call “corral” manure. I don’t know your zone, nor where you garden, but kraal manure is what South Africans call corral manure. If it’s truly “kraal” or “corral” manure, it shouldn’t have weed seeds in it. Manure from grazing beef cattle will often contain weed seeds, but true kraal or corral manure comes from a smaller, barren corral,(or pen) used for milk cows. These cows are fed alfalfa and high quality grains for high milk production. Now that “grass fed” meat and dairy is becoming popular this may no longer be strictly true. However, in general if it says, “kraal” or “corral”, it should be weed free.

I use it extensively in the winter time, allowing it to sit on top of the soil around each rose. (It is aged, not fresh.) Later I apply mulch to keep in moisture. So far, my roses seem to like it. I figure it’s cheap(or free) and it’s organic material, so it can’t hurt. Lisa

Thank you soooo much for all your comments and advise! My daughter is on the mend :-) I thing the short difference in finger length might not be too visible. Functionally she is doing well, I just have to keep her out of the seeds, and soil! I have ordered both am going to try Titan's ratio of mushroom compost to "corral" (thank you Lisa!) manure on one bed and see how it goes. I will definitely steer clear of the chicken manure and make sure the rest is well composted! Thank you once again for every piece of advice from each and every one of you!

O Lisa. by the way yes, I am South African. I live in Pretoria (the capital city) and would guess our climate is similar to your Zone 9/10. Typical summer weather will be between 32 and 35 degrees Celcius while our current cold front brings a minimum of 1 degree Celcius and a maximum of 10 degrees. Summer rainfall with thunderstorms and dry winters.:-)

LG,

I had no idea whatsoever what farm animal a kraal was. With its double ''aa", I thought it was a Dutch word, the Dutch name of a common, abundant farm animal, like "cow".

I had to look up what kraal meant in order to answer your question! Its South African origin made me think you were of S.A. origin, but abiding in the USA where I am, especially since you wrote you had access to mushroom manure which is a staple soil amendment in the USA. I did not know mushrooms were farmed in South Africa! Are they particularly expensive in your food stores?

You never stop learning!

Do you know what the constituent ingredients in mushroom manure available to you in S.A. are? Curious to know. Around here, what is made available to the home gardener is spent mushroom growing medium, made up of: horse manure, straw, and sphagnum peat moss. After the mushroom crop is harvested from a fresh batch of growing medium, the now spent mushroom manure is made available to gardeners.

Sometimes when mushroom manure is applied as a top mulch, in a short while it will sprout beautiful, big mushrooms right around the roses. The mycelium is evidently still alive and actively growing in such cases, hence the resultant mushrooms sprouting from the mushroom manure.

Moses

Ah ha! That makes perfect sense then! I first thought it might be a spelling mistake, or one of those famous “autocorrect words” these gadgets sometimes come up with. I looked it up just in case, before posting the difference between corral manure and beef cattle (field grazed) manure. Low and behold, I learned I learned something new, thanks to YOU! What I thought might be a mistake, was the South African word for “corral”! It was actually a fun little discovery for me.

I also make my own compost and often throw in some manure to speed things along and bulk it up. Organic matter is the best thing, in my opinion. You’re not just feeding the rose a temporary, chemical boost of energy,(although those can have their place.) You’re feeding the soil, and that’s what sustains the rose in the long run.

Have fun, and enjoy your roses, new home, and most of all, your precious children! Lisa

L G, I forgot to commiserate on your little daughter's finger. I'm glad she's on the mend. I have a bump on my index finger. When I was three, my mother, obviously wanting to have a private chat with her sister, sent us all out into the garden to play. I hung behind, as my older cousin was a serial pincher - and she pinched hard! My mother didn't notice my hand was still in the door frame, and slammed the door. The top of my finger was almost chopped off. I have a vivid memory, as a result, of sitting in the ambulance, mother, aunt and cousins. I can remember my cousins long white socks and black shoes. It's come in quite handy, as I used the bump to tell my left hand from my right! Maybe your daughter will do the same.

Good luck with the compost mix. And layering it on thick means the few weeds are a cinch to pull out. Trish

Dear Trish! Ouch!!!! I can just see the whole event happening in front of my eyes! Yes, kids can get into the the most interesting situations at times. This little lady also broke her ankle on a swing at school about seven months ago, just a few days before her fourth birthday. So it was the whole process of rushing to hospital and dropping her three-month old baby sister and my eldest off at someone's house along the way while at the same time trying to comfort her and keep all calm. At that time my husband was gone for work so it was quite a challenge. After the whole stint in hospital, we had to carry her around for the whole time while she was recovering as she could not mobilize with crutches (too young ). In the end, she got so frustrated and she started to bum-shuffle, which was hilarious. :-) I found her one day trying to water my pots outside while still shuffling on her hands and buttocks, dragging the hose behind her :-) :-) :-) At least it is a bit easier this time around (that is, after surgery and the visits to the wound care nurse to clean the finger), and I know she is getting better the moment she starts watering the garden, which she has :-). She has a great affinity for soil and dirt and I must just try to keep her away in order to keep the finger clean until it has healed appropriately. Easier said than done :-)

Moses and Lisa, I had a good laugh about your initial confusion about the word "kraal" My apologies! One tends to forget that local vernacular is not always known internationally. But well done on your investigations!

Lisa, If I remember correctly you also have some Dutch heritage? I initially thought "kraal" might have had its origins in Dutch (where Afrikaans originated) but after reading your posts it struck me that the word might have come from the Koisan or other indigenous African languages - it indeed refers to an enclosure for cattle although, in centuries past, I think it was also used to refer to an area where groups of dwellings of particular tribes were constructed in a circular pattern which were then closed off with thorny branches etc. in order to keep wild animals out. We have so many languages over here and we all eventually "borrow" words from each other so "kraal" is an accepted English word here as it is in Afrikaans (our home language) and several other languages as well :-). One tends to forget that it is not necessarily known internationally.

Moses, I think our mushroom compost might be similar to yours although I believe (I stand to be corrected) that we use coir peat instead of peat moss, which is not such a sustainable resource over here. We also have mushroom growers, possibly in greenhouses? They are readily available in our supermarkets although prices can be slightly more expensive at times.

I used peat moss for my roses the previous time I amended some garden beds but was not satisfied with the soil quality a year later, that's why I considered the "kraal manure" Thanks to all of you I think I might get the recipe better this time. I really can't wait to get all my roses in the ground. The previous time was a bit easier as I had to start from scratch so I could design everything as I wanted. This time we have moved into a much bigger but older house with a large established garden (although not a single rose apart from 5 iceberg tree roses (we call them standard roses) at the gate. There are many trees providing lots of shade and it is a bit more daunting to think what must be moved / removed/ altered as there is already a basic plan and I don't want to simply redo the whole place right now. :-)