[brianc]

I have found a supply of horse manure, it contains no bedding of any sort . Can I spread it on my plot now
or should I leave it to age for a while? if left should I cover it with a tarpaulin ? I am trying to build up a patch
of ground ready for beans next year. as I can have as much manure as I like and have a new plot would it be
a good idea to manure the whole plot , are there any veg that do not like fresh manure?
                                   Thankyou.

[Ma Lowe]

Hi Brianc  things like root veg eg carrots parsnips don't like the fresh manure and you tend to get weird shaped veg because of it.
You can spread your manure over the beds that need it  then dig it in in the autumn.

[mumofstig]

Or you can spread it and leave it to the worms to take it down 

[Goosegirl]

Or you can spread it and leave it to the worms to take it down 

If you do it MOS way, it should break down nicely over winter with no covering and when you sow or plant your root veg it shouldn't interfere with their root formation. You can brush it aside as you do your rows to make sure.

[ghost61]

I spread it on fresh to overwinter as it helps keeps the weeds down and then dig it in in the spring.

[colin120]

Hi
 I spread it over the top leave it for a few days then turn it over then add more then leave it until Jan, the more you add to the soil for next year the better.

[3759allen]

if the grounds bare with no plans to plant until spring i would dig plenty in now (i've found that if you leave it on top during the better weather it dries out and your left with hard lumps of poop).

add a layer when we started getting cooler and wetter weather and the worms will work it in for you.

if you have plenty i would make a heap, pallets are pretty good for making some walls to keep it contained. give it a good water and cover over with some sort of tarp or similar to keep the moisture and heat in (i use old carpet as a one use only cover then throw away, but many people are against this so i'll let you make your own decision). then this time next year you should have some black gold. i also add grass clippings into the manure pile, i favour this rather than adding to the compost. have a dig through in autumn, if it's looking a bit wet and sticky you can turn in shredded leaves to break it up (this is easier if you have another heap next to it to turn from one to the other adding the leaves in layers)

[ilan]

I have had little success with horse  manure what ever I do it seems to be full of weed seeds. logical realy as that the way they were designed to spread