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GaRdEn.OF.eDeN
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?? horse manure for my garden!

I got some horse manure off of someone from craigslist in my area =P and I was wondering what the "soil to manure ratio" woud be for that? Also, I am planning on planting veggies and flowers in my garden, so does anyone have any advice for that in regards to the poo? I'm in zone 7 so what are everyone's suggestions on what I should plant? Thanks :flower:

cynthia_h
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Sounds great! but be sure to put the horse manure into your *compost pile* first. Unless it's fully composted, the horse manure will contain weed and other plant seeds and may also be too rich in nitrogen, thus 1) sending up competition for your plants and 2) stifling the plants you *do* want due to the excess nitrogen.

But once it's composted and the compost is added to the soil, you'll be a very happy gardener. :D

Cynthia H.
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toxcrusadr
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Do you have any idea how long that manure was piled up before you got it? If it has fresh manure in it you'll want to compost it for several months. If it's last year's pile it can go right on the garden.

Any kind of good mature compost can be put down on the garden up to several inches thick and tilled in or left on the surface.

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applestar
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Not to be discouraging but does anyone know the current status of the pre-emergent U.S. mfd. herbicide that was passed through horse manure which caused so much trouble for British gardeners a few years ago? I had heard of a few occurrences in U.S. since then but have not heard any current updates.

ruggr10
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I found a former colleague of mine who has horses and subsequently a large pile of manure. I dug from the bottom and piled it in my raised beds. The more the merrier since it's all composted. I even made a bed in the fall with just the composted manure with layers of seaweed (lasagna style). I don't think too much compost will hurt the plants any.

toxcrusadr
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Thanks for bringing that up applestar. The original poster may want to ask the manure donor what they are feeding the horses and whether any herbicides were used, and if so which.

I need to write down the name of that nasty persistent one, I can never remember it when I need it.

Edit: Picloram, clopyralid and others in that class.

https://orange.ces.ncsu.edu/files/library/68/Herbicide%20Carryover.pdf

GardenGnome
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[img]https://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj565/ericmgilson/2012-02-28_12-27-35_704.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj565/ericmgilson/2012-02-28_12-27-25_657.jpg[/img]

I just got this paid them 5 bucks to put it in the trialer
The person said it has been stilling for 2 months or so. 95% is fine like sawdust and dense.

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GaRdEn.OF.eDeN
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Thanks for your feedback so far everyone. All ten horses were fed grains, grass, produce, etc. in their own grazing area; no herbicides. Thank goodness. =) The owner said that he and his wife use it as well for their gardening. He also mentioned that it had been sitting for awhile and was already mostly composted. My boyfriend is helping me further compost it in a large space at his mom's house. Yours looks great GardenGnome. :wink:

GardenGnome
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The place we got it from looked high end so I'm guessing they treat there and free there horse with nice stuff.

GardenGnome
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So is horse manure have grains, grass, produce, and saw dust?

GardenGnome
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Called the person I got it from and she says she didn't really know. But she puts it on her tomato plants and they grow so great. And to make sure I let it cool off before adding.

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GaRdEn.OF.eDeN
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The horse manure is just the digested version of whatever they have consumed. Hopefully they havent ingested herbicides for yours. I also hope that you have great results from gardening with your horse manure as do I with mine as well. It will be neat if it works well. =)

GardenGnome
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Lol I got 2 trialer full my wife said holy s#%t.
I said yup I have one spot 15 by 25 then another maybe 15 by 15 then one last one the biggest maybe 40 by 40. So I need all the poo I can get.
Only cost me some starter plants and 20 bucks.
maybe ill put some in my wifes 15 by 10 sunflower patch she's going to do.

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GaRdEn.OF.eDeN
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Oh my goodness!!! :shock: That's a lot of poo and also a lot of gardening space!! Sounds like you have a big yard! My manure was free. The owner said we could come back whenever we want, too. =)

GardenGnome
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My yards about an acre.

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GaRdEn.OF.eDeN
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I'm jealous.

vermontkingdom
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Just be darn sure the stuff is well composted. I've used it for many years and had been very careful about hot composting first. However, a few years ago I jumped the gun by using some horse manure directly from the source that looked like mature compost. In retrospect, it was a huge mistake. I introduced a plethora of weed seeds and now, every year, I spend many hours reflecting on the error of my ways!

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GaRdEn.OF.eDeN
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Thank you. I'm definately making sure that it is fully composted first. I probably have another few weeks to a month of it left to go, but it is well on it's way to being just right. =)



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