Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: cc on September 23, 2019, 15:42

Title: Horse manure, fresh how should I store it.
Post by: cc on September 23, 2019, 15:42

My supply of well rotted manure has run out. I have just brought home 9 bags of not yet ready horse poo. 
I can leave it in the bags
Put it in a spare compost bin, not a first choice
Or just put in a pile till next year.
What do you do?
Thank you

Title: Re: Horse manure, fresh how should I store it.
Post by: Plot94 on September 23, 2019, 17:25

I have a compost bin reserved for manure, personally I think it rots down better when stored in as big a pile as you can get. I would not leave it where it can be disturbed by wildlife though, I once had a few bags ripped up by badgers looking for worms  :ohmy:

Title: Re: Horse manure, fresh how should I store it.
Post by: Nobbie on September 23, 2019, 19:14

I'd leave it in the bags and pile them up so that rain doesn't wash through. Should breakdown quicker that way as it has more chance of retaining some heat and keeps the nutrients in place that help the microbes work.

Title: Re: Horse manure, fresh how should I store it.
Post by: snowdrops on September 23, 2019, 20:11

The larger the heap or pile the better, & if you can turn it regularly it will rot quicker, even better mix it with some other compostable waste.

Title: Re: Horse manure, fresh how should I store it.
Post by: cc on September 23, 2019, 21:20

Lots of choices. I will go with what best suits my situation! Thanks everyone

Title: Re: Horse manure, fresh how should I store it.
Post by: Longshanks on October 23, 2019, 17:43

I was thinking of nipping out to dig a load of horse manure, but it's a bit back breaking and daunting at the moment.  If I waited until spring and chucked a load of NPK pellets or whatever over each plot, would it have a similar effect, albeit more expensive?

Title: Re: Horse manure, fresh how should I store it.
Post by: Pescador on October 23, 2019, 19:50

Manures are added to improve soil structure and texture rather than directly increase levels of NPK.
Your pellets will raise levels of NPK, but will do little for the overall organic content and structure of the soil.

Title: Re: Horse manure, fresh how should I store it.
Post by: rowlandwells on October 24, 2019, 17:00

we have stored our fresh horse manure in both large plastic drums at the house sealed and on the open ground down the allotments and I agree its better mixed with either compost or straw we have our direct of the field and I thing they call that horse poo apples so we try to mix it with straw before using it on the allotments

the only possible down side is it seems to produce a few extra weeds but the benefits of using horse manure  does seem to improve the soil especially when its mixed with straw and it teds to keep the ground open at least that's what we found it seemed to improved our soil capping 90%

the only thing I'm not  sure about is liquid horse poo unfortunately we had a leaking drum lid so the drum filled up with water so we have liquid horse poo so should we water the plants with it or dump it on the ground?