Author Topic: Anyone use composted manure for fertilizer?  (Read 1614 times)

Coach62

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Anyone use composted manure for fertilizer?
« on: May 26, 2018, 12:21:02 PM »
Considering switching to manure as a fertilizer replacement, having a hard time finding good guidelines for it. How much, how often,etc.?

Anyone using it successfully?  Comments?

Thanks!
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spaugh

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Re: Anyone use composted manure for fertilizer?
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2018, 12:56:25 PM »
I did a bunch of horse manure while back.  It cooks good like any other compost.  Had to add grass a few times and turn it to keep it cooking.  You can use welded wire and make 3ft high 3ft wide circles and fill it.  Water it, put a long temperature probe in it like 2ft long prope.  They sell those on amazon look up composting thermometer.  Then you have to go mix it every few weeks and add more nitrogen clippings until its all cooked.  If you have a tractor it could be worth the effort, if not its a royal pain.  I quit doing it, too much work turning yards of compost by hand.  If I had a tractor maybe would keep doing it.
Brad Spaugh

shinzo

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Re: Anyone use composted manure for fertilizer?
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2018, 03:36:05 PM »
What about making manure tea out of it? it is easier to do i think, but i don't know the guidlines on how to use it.

pineislander

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Re: Anyone use composted manure for fertilizer?
« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2018, 10:38:58 PM »
It is a very good idea to HOT compost horse stable manure. Their simpler digestive tract compared to polygastric ruminants tend to have lots of weed seeds. It is good stuff usually with lots of urine on the bedding. I have a row of avocado trees which got it by someone else and am seeing weeds for years even with mulch.
« Last Edit: May 26, 2018, 10:40:43 PM by pineislander »

BajaJohn

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Re: Anyone use composted manure for fertilizer?
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2018, 10:25:47 AM »
There is some information on composting manures here.. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/manures/the-benefits-of-manure-in-your-garden.htm
This is a very informative article... https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/fruit-vegetable/using-manure-and-compost/
I have an endless supply of goat manure but use it sparingly. There is no vegetable matter in it but loads of goat hair. I keep it in a 1.5 cu m bin, regularly moistened but not turned. It barely breaks down in a year. Turning every few days will speed that up but is very labor intensive. It might help if you can get hold of old manure that has been left around in a pile for a few years. A 3 - 5 mm layer of old (composted) manure dug into the soil seems to work. Mostly I add my fresh manure supply at a rate of about 10% by volume to my compost of dried leaves, chipped branches and kitchen waste. That again is in 1.5 cu m bins and gets turned into another bin about once a month. Three turns in my climate and it is ready for the garden although I use older compost for seed beds.
I also add incompletely composted (direct from the farm) manure at a rate of about 2 cups per square meter to the soil I'm preparing for transplantings. Dig it in, water the bed and leave it to rest for about a week before planting anything. Water if it gets dry.
Some people suggest adding lime to speed up composting manure but I haven't found it helps in my case.
It's taken me 4 years of adding 10 - 15 cm of compost per year to soil that I suspect was a cleaned-up old building site and I still get deficiency symptoms in some plants so compost isn't a quick remedy. Micronutrients supplements in response to soil test recommendations and intensive use of vermiculture drainage (gallons per week) seems to be improving things in areas where I've used them.
So far I've cultivated about 10 - 15 cm of compost per year into the soil before planting or sowing seed. I've then mulched around growing plants another 10 - 15 cm when they were big enough. I've also mulched about the same in areas I haven't tilled. I've thrown compost over ground cover and it falls or washes through fairly easily. The ground cover seems to thrive too.
Another plus for compost (even when used as mulch) is the appearance of worms in the soil - endemic to the area, not the red wrigglers I use for vermiculture.
There can be downsides to compost - such as runoff and an inappropriate nutrient mix that can create imbalances with continual heavy use. Soil tests can help identify some of these issues.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2018, 10:49:53 AM by BajaJohn »

Cookie Monster

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Re: Anyone use composted manure for fertilizer?
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2018, 10:48:04 AM »
JoSan growers (near Excalibur) used to use fresh horse manure. For the most part it worked great. He did nearly kill a bunch of jaboticabas though (they tend to be salt sensitive).
Jeff  :-)