partially composted horse manure ok?

pbud · February 9, 2008

A colleague offered me the use of her back yard for tomato growing, which basically triples my tomato growing area. I don't have enough compost to amend her never before gardened in soil. And I don't want to spend a bunch of $ buying compost. There's a local stable that gives away free "partially composted, seed free horse manure for organic gardening." Can I apply this stuff to the soon to be dug beds and leave it for a month, then plant in it? Or am I likely to burn roots and lose a ton of tomato plants?
Thanks,
Paul

feldon30 · February 9, 2008

A month sounds good to me.

bryanccfshr · February 9, 2008

Sounds like a plan to me.

epiphanista · February 10, 2008

Paul, especially if it's already been partially composted, and you leave it a month in your own soil, that's plenty of time in my experience. That's exactly what I use. Though I have to pull grass seedlings constantly, it's worth it. And they're easy to pull.

~Thalia

pbud · February 10, 2008

Thanks for the advice, folks. Next week I'm off to the stables.

cottonpicker · February 10, 2008

Should be OK. Horse manure always contains more grass & weed seeds than cow manure.
LarryD

Worth1 · February 12, 2008

If you guys are going to be messing around with manure you might think about getting a tetanus shot if you haven't had one in the last 10 years.

Worth

GIZZARDFARM · February 13, 2008

I use lots of horse,rabbit and worm castings all are not "hot" and wont hurt to plant that soon.

Sherry_AK · February 13, 2008

Worth -- Good point about the tetanus shot. All of us digging around in the soil should have it; not just those using manure. I'm careful to get one every 10 years for sure.

Sherry

gardengalrn · February 26, 2008

That is a good reminder, Worth. I had thought about it a few months ago and promptly put it out of my head again. Mine is about due and with clearing all this garbage and metals from around this property it is probably safe to get one. Lori

pbud · March 1, 2008

Wow, I finally made it up to the stables today and it was well worth it. There were two huge piles of manure under a roof outside. One was more composted than the other, so I went for that one. I dug in and it was steaming hot. Filled 7 super strong and big construction garbabge bags half way and headed home. Dug a few into my beds and filled up the compost bin with the rest.

Thanks for the tetnaus reminder, Worth. I cut my hand while working and was glad to have checked my last tetnaus shot date.

Paul

February 9, 2008	#1
pbud Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bay Area Posts: 173	partially composted horse manure ok? A colleague offered me the use of her back yard for tomato growing, which basically triples my tomato growing area. I don't have enough compost to amend her never before gardened in soil. And I don't want to spend a bunch of $ buying compost. There's a local stable that gives away free "partially composted, seed free horse manure for organic gardening." Can I apply this stuff to the soon to be dug beds and leave it for a month, then plant in it? Or am I likely to burn roots and lose a ton of tomato plants? Thanks, Paul

February 9, 2008	#2
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	A month sounds good to me. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

February 9, 2008	#3
bryanccfshr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Farmington, Nm Posts: 450	Sounds like a plan to me. __________________ I moved!

February 10, 2008	#6
cottonpicker Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SE PA..near Valley Forge Posts: 839	Should be OK. Horse manure always contains more grass & weed seeds than cow manure. LarryD __________________ "Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause". Victor Hugo

February 26, 2008	#10
gardengalrn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kansas, zone 5 Posts: 524	That is a good reminder, Worth. I had thought about it a few months ago and promptly put it out of my head again. Mine is about due and with clearing all this garbage and metals from around this property it is probably safe to get one. Lori __________________ ~Lori "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." -Abraham Lincoln

February 10, 2008	#4
epiphanista Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Santa Barbara CA Posts: 75	Paul, especially if it's already been partially composted, and you leave it a month in your own soil, that's plenty of time in my experience. That's exactly what I use. Though I have to pull grass seedlings constantly, it's worth it. And they're easy to pull. ~Thalia

February 12, 2008	#7
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	If you guys are going to be messing around with manure you might think about getting a tetanus shot if you haven't had one in the last 10 years. Worth

February 13, 2008	#8
GIZZARDFARM Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: COMFORT TENNESSEE Posts: 300	I use lots of horse,rabbit and worm castings all are not "hot" and wont hurt to plant that soon.

February 13, 2008	#9
Sherry_AK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Alaska Zone 3/4 Posts: 1,857	Worth -- Good point about the tetanus shot. All of us digging around in the soil should have it; not just those using manure. I'm careful to get one every 10 years for sure. Sherry

March 1, 2008	#11
pbud Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bay Area Posts: 173	Wow, I finally made it up to the stables today and it was well worth it. There were two huge piles of manure under a roof outside. One was more composted than the other, so I went for that one. I dug in and it was steaming hot. Filled 7 super strong and big construction garbabge bags half way and headed home. Dug a few into my beds and filled up the compost bin with the rest. Thanks for the tetnaus reminder, Worth. I cut my hand while working and was glad to have checked my last tetnaus shot date. Paul