Horse Manure and Wood Mulch

arivaraci · December 28, 2012

Pretty new at all this 3rd year gardener, 1st year soil builder. Spring '13's garden expanded to just over 3000 sq ft from 500sq ft.

I have a neighbor who works for a tree service and has offered unlimited woodchip mulch - generally finely shredded and with green (somewhat seasonal) - dropped off on property. And a farm close by that has offered free horse manure/straw whenever and however much I can pick up. I am getting my first batch of the manure today. I have 2 huge piles of wood mulch already from trees we had taken down. I also have a compost pile - leaves, grass, and kitchen scraps.

What would you do with these resources? Are these ideal amendments? Can I begin incorporating the manure today as I continue to dig the rows in the virgin part of the garden space? (Oh, and I have serious amounts of leaves that I was adding to the soil as I dig the rows for the first time.

December 28, 2012	#1
arivaraci Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 199	Horse Manure and Wood Mulch Pretty new at all this 3rd year gardener, 1st year soil builder. Spring '13's garden expanded to just over 3000 sq ft from 500sq ft. I have a neighbor who works for a tree service and has offered unlimited woodchip mulch - generally finely shredded and with green (somewhat seasonal) - dropped off on property. And a farm close by that has offered free horse manure/straw whenever and however much I can pick up. I am getting my first batch of the manure today. I have 2 huge piles of wood mulch already from trees we had taken down. I also have a compost pile - leaves, grass, and kitchen scraps. What would you do with these resources? Are these ideal amendments? Can I begin incorporating the manure today as I continue to dig the rows in the virgin part of the garden space? (Oh, and I have serious amounts of leaves that I was adding to the soil as I dig the rows for the first time.