Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => GARDENING AROUND THE HOUSE => Topic started by: bwallace23350 on December 01, 2018, 01:30:23 pm

Title: Manure for the Garden
Post by: bwallace23350 on December 01, 2018, 01:30:23 pm
What type of manure do you think is best for a vegetable garden? I have used horse, chicken, and am now this year am doing cow manure. I used horse when I was a beginner and did not know a lot about what I was doing. I grew some great gardens with chicken litter. This year I am going to try cow manure because well it is free and I don't have to drive but in the pasture behind the garden to get it.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Dallasbeek on December 01, 2018, 01:56:09 pm
Free is good.  Free and convenients is better
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Dallasbeek on December 01, 2018, 01:58:55 pm
Seriously, it depends on how you use it.  Uncomposted, they can burn the plants and smell up the place.  Just compost whatever you are using.  I'll leave it to people who have used all of them to say which is better.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 01, 2018, 02:16:41 pm
Raw horse manure burns plants. Cow and chicken do not.
As to chicken or cow, it depends on what type of soil you have.
Cow manure adds acid to the soil. In my case, my soil is very acidic. Adding cow manure makes it more acidic. You can add lime to correct.
Chicken manure is alkaline. In my case, it brings the soil closer to neutral.
Jim
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: bwallace23350 on December 01, 2018, 03:01:33 pm
I have not composted any of the manure but it will not be planted on till April. Hmm I need to get another soil test done but last time I did it was 7.1
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: jalentour on December 01, 2018, 03:24:35 pm
I used "aged" black horse manure last year. 
There were a lot of seeds still active and my garden was tougher than usual to maintain.  I'd try something else next time. 
There are several manure threads on this site, lots of gardeners.
Good luck.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Acebird on December 01, 2018, 05:26:50 pm
Chicken manure is alkaline. In my case, it brings the soil closer to neutral.
Jim
Probably why it didn't burn if it was raw.
Horse manure will have a lot of active seeds unless it is composted hot enough to sterilize the seeds.  I would say cow manure is best because a cow is a vegetarian naturally but man screws that up.  I use nothing but chicken manure because I had it.  I was told when I was a young lad that chicken manure is best for vegetable that grow above, lettuce, cabbage, beans, tomatoes, cukes, squash and such.  Not so good for carrots, turnips, onions, garlic, potatoes, but I grew a lot of onions, garlic and potatoes and felt it did well.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Acebird on December 01, 2018, 05:33:29 pm
I used "aged" black horse manure last year. 
There were a lot of seeds still active and my garden was tougher than usual to maintain.

You are probably going to have this problem for years to come.  I don't know how big your garden is but if you let the weeds come up and just scrap the surface to kill them a couple of times before planting it should help out.  You can also use a torch and sterilize the surface before you plant.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 01, 2018, 06:58:18 pm
I have not composted any of the manure but it will not be planted on till April. Hmm I need to get another soil test done but last time I did it was 7.1
I have not composted any of the manure but it will not be planted on till April. Hmm I need to get another soil test done but last time I did it was 7.1
At 7.1 PH, cow manure will work well.
Jim
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: bwallace23350 on December 01, 2018, 09:42:04 pm
That was 8-9 years ago though that I have had a ph of 7.1
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 01, 2018, 10:36:36 pm
If you have not added lime or a lot of acidic materials, the soil has not changed. It is not easy to change soil chemistry. Here we have to add lime every couple of years to bring the soil up closer to neutral. It always goes back down to around 6.0 or less.
Jim
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Dallasbeek on December 02, 2018, 12:29:16 am
It's best to get a soil analysis through your state's Extension Service.  Contact your county agent for the soil test kit.  You'll tell them what you plan to grow and they'll tell you how to amend your soil to meet the needs of the plants.  Some plants are acid-loving and some prefer alkaline soils.  People insist on trying to grow plants that are not suited to their soil, but the amendments you put in ten years ago have leached down into the native soil.  In Dallas, we have black gumbo clay soil that's very alkaline.  Everybody wants to grow azaleas, which do beautifully 100 miles east of us.  It can be done,, but it takes work.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Acebird on December 02, 2018, 08:50:53 am
If you have not added lime or a lot of acidic materials, the soil has not changed. It is not easy to change soil chemistry.
Rain is the culprit.  The north east suffers from acid rain being charged by the mid west emissions.  Must be a similar issue in your area Jim.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 02, 2018, 09:04:56 am
Brian,
If anything is changing it it would be the pine needles. But my buddy has to lime his open fields.
Jim
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Acebird on December 02, 2018, 12:17:47 pm
Pine needles decompose very slowly and as you mentioned an open field doesn't have any pine trees.  It does get continual rain though.  In your area I would say quite a lot of rain.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 02, 2018, 02:29:06 pm
Brian,
Most of our rain comes off of the Gulf of Mexico. We watch it build up over the Gulf and then rain down on us.
Jim
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Acebird on December 02, 2018, 06:01:14 pm
https://www.ventusky.com/?p=29.50;-81.75;7&l=temperature-2m
Looks like it comes up the east coast as some part of the day.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Kathyp on December 02, 2018, 07:48:23 pm
Goat.  It's like magic.  I had used composted horse manure for years, but a couple of years ago I go two goats.  It doesn't need composting, doesn't burn, and stuff grows like crazy with it.  In fact, you have to be careful not to use it at the wrong times on things that don't want a lot of feeding. 
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Sertikk on February 24, 2022, 12:33:08 am
Ideally, the best manure for gardens is probably chicken, since it has a very high content of nitrogen, a need all plants have, but it must be composted well and aged to prevent burning plants. Chicken manure is a rich source of nutrients and is best applied in fall or spring after it has had a chance to compost. I have xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and it works best.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Ben Framed on February 24, 2022, 01:00:10 am
Ideally, the best manure for gardens is probably chicken, since it has a very high content of nitrogen, a need all plants have, but it must be composted well and aged to prevent burning plants. Chicken manure is a rich source of nutrients and is best applied in fall or spring after it has had a chance to compost. I have xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and it works best.

Sertikk between Myself, and my friends Acebird, KathyP, Gww, and a few more, you can find all the manure that you might need in the coffeehouse!  :shocked: :cheesy: lol.

But seriously; 'Please read the Bylaws' (about advertising). You can have a link on the footer of your signature, but do not talk about it 'if' you are getting any kind of income from it.
The bylaws tell you how to do this correctly.

Also: Please add your location in your profile.

Phillip
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: BeeMaster2 on February 24, 2022, 08:14:55 am
Sertikk,
Welcome to Beemaster.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Plinsc on September 02, 2022, 11:03:07 pm
 I have rabbit and duck manure here, I have had good results with it.
 Goes from wheelbarrow to garden directly
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Michael Bush on September 06, 2022, 07:05:43 am
Whatever you have is best.  :)  I think most any of it is best after it's aged a bit (composted).
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Lesgold on September 16, 2022, 05:25:10 pm
Hi Folks,

These days I tend to use worm castings a lot in the garden. I feed the worms mostly on coffee grounds and horse manure with the odd supplement of wood chips if they are available. If I go away for an extended holiday, I will add cardboard to the farms to keep them going long term. I used to feed vegetable scraps to the worms but that turned out to be more work and the seeds used to sprout all over the garden. I keep the worms in old bath tubs.

The bath tubs are elevated and the worm liquid is caught in a bucket. Each worm farm has internal drainage and a hinged lid. A piece of old carpet covers most of the bed. This keeps the compost dark, moist and cool.


The beds produce a good, nutrient rich compost that the veggies love.

I harvest the compost twice a year.  Worms are also harvested about 3 times a year and sold to a local worm farmer.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: salvo on September 21, 2022, 09:13:35 pm
Hi Folks,

Betcha didn't know this! It's cuzza all those bodies piling up. Replacement for cow poop!

Decomposing HUMAN remains can legally be used as compost from 2027 thanks to new California law aimed at tackling climate change

A California law makes it legal to turn human remains into compost

The process involves placing the body inside a reusable container along with wood chips and aerating it to allow microbes and bacteria to do their thing

The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this week, takes effect in 2027

?With climate change ... this is an alternative method of final disposition that won?t contribute emissions into our atmosphere,' the bill's author said

Sal
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 21, 2022, 09:28:04 pm
 :happy:
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Acebird on September 22, 2022, 09:11:16 am
What a great idea.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Ben Framed on September 22, 2022, 09:50:01 am
Hi Folks,

These days I tend to use worm castings a lot in the garden. I feed the worms mostly on coffee grounds and horse manure with the odd supplement of wood chips if they are available. If I go away for an extended holiday, I will add cardboard to the farms to keep them going long term. I used to feed vegetable scraps to the worms but that turned out to be more work and the seeds used to sprout all over the garden. I keep the worms in old bath tubs.

The bath tubs are elevated and the worm liquid is caught in a bucket. Each worm farm has internal drainage and a hinged lid. A piece of old carpet covers most of the bed. This keeps the compost dark, moist and cool.


The beds produce a good, nutrient rich compost that the veggies love.

I harvest the compost twice a year.  Worms are also harvested about 3 times a year and sold to a local worm farmer.

Good set up Les. Thanks for sharing your ideas and pictures.

Phillip
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Ben Framed on September 22, 2022, 11:50:51 am

What a great idea.


Ace; To be clear, which in your opinion is the great idea? That of Lesgold or that of the report in reply 24 by Salvo?  :shocked: Or both  :cheesy:

Phillip
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Acebird on September 23, 2022, 09:29:27 am
Both.  We should put back in the earth what we take.  Bear in mind the atmosphere is part of the earth.
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Lesgold on October 13, 2022, 05:37:42 pm
Just finished emptying out the worm farms yesterday. Ended up with 12 buckets of the good stuff dug into the garden beds. That should get the veggies growing well.

Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: gww on October 13, 2022, 06:31:44 pm
lesgold
Wish I had about 4 dump truck loads of that.
Cheers
gww
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 13, 2022, 06:35:52 pm
I put about 8 bucket loads like that of aged horse manure into Judy?s garden not only for fertilizer but also to raise it up to keep it from flooding out during heavy rains. It brought it up just enough to stop the flooding.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Manure for the Garden
Post by: Lesgold on October 14, 2022, 01:33:40 am
Aged horse manure is good stuff in the garden. Quite often the compost worms get into the manure and do a good job of breaking it down.