Using Manure to Fertilize Your Garden

comments (9) July 30th, 2008

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Let manure mellow in your compost pile
Commercially packaged manure comes composted, but if you collect fresh ma­nure, you’ll need to do some composting before applying it to your plants. How long depends on the type of manure and the season. Add the manure slowly to the compost pile over several days or weeks, allowing plenty of air to circulate in the compost bin. Add other organic matter like grass clippings and leaves to break up the manure and speed curing. Turn the compost regularly as you add more manure. Stop adding the manure two months before you plan to use it in the garden. You’ll know the manure is well composted when it produces no heat and loses most of its objectionable odor when dry.

While it’s okay to add manure directly­ to garden soil in the fall (farmers do it all the time), I’ve found that cow, horse, and bird manure are best if composted first. On the other hand, sheep, goat, and rabbit manure are easy to spread directly. Broadcast the pellets evenly and work them 1 in. to 2 in. into the soil. Then add another layer on top of the soil. This keeps the manure distributed, an important step in curing manure because it creates a larger surface area and combines the manure with the existing soil. This allows for easy decomposition over the fall and winter months.

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posted in: organic, fertilizer, animals

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