[Kevin67]

I may have the opportunity of some horse manure.

I understand that fresh manure is too hot. But at some point it is almost useless(?) other than a soil amendment after 5 years in the manure heap? Is this right?

Does anyone have a quick handy guide as to the properties of horse poo from the 1st year to, say, the 5th year in the original horse poo heap?

Many thanks.

[m1ckz]

to my mind    the older the better     i could be wrong

[Nobbie]

Older the better on my clay soil as I'm not worried about nutrient levels as the clay is plenty rich enough, it just needs the organic matter to help unlock them and give the soil the structure to allow the plants to access them. I don't think there can be any definitive guide as it will depend upon how the manure is stored. A small open heap will leach nutrients quite quickly, maybe six months at a guess, whereas a large covered heap should keep them quite a long time.

[mumofstig]

The soluble nitrogen gets washed out very quickly, but at that stage it has too much for plants - this is why we say don't plant in it when it's very fresh.

Other than that it's all good for the soil  (as long as it's free of herbicide residues)

[Kevin67]

Thank you everybody for your kind replies: you've reassured me that the old heap I think I might be digging into will be of benefit and not too old as was suggested to me beforehand.

Thanks again!

[gavinjconway]

"They" say that old is better.... But....  On our site we get free manure (a few weeks to a couple of month old) stable sweepings... loads of shavings and manure mixed together..

I and a few others pile it on about 4" thick and dig it in each year with brilliant results. I add fertilizer and some chicken pellets when I plant out..

I cant add my web blog here as a link but if you check out my profile you may find it..   there is all the proof you need.

Last year I grew 588kg of veg off 165 Sq M..

[Kevin67]

I will be definitely reading your posts! Thanks for the heads up, Gavin!

[Yorkshire Lass]

"They" say that old is better.... But....  On our site we get free manure (a few weeks to a couple of month old) stable sweepings... loads of shavings and manure mixed together..

Thanks for this I have access to some manure that is a few months old but have always rejected it as being too new.  I may have been rejecting a gold mine    I may have to review my plan for 2015.