horse manure compost?

Question

how long does horse manure have to be left to compost before it can be used to feed roses,fruit trees etc?

Answer 1

Because many weed and grass seeds pass through a horse intact, it needs thourough composting in a pile with good working heat, in order not to introduce weeds to your garden. As said above, six months ought to do it. With a cooler pile you may see weeds start to sprout, if you turn them under when young you should be able to kill them off. It may take several extra turnings to fix this problem.

Answer 2

I would mix it with other things like leaves, dirt from old potted plants or from areas you want it moved. It needs brown and green to be right. Also add food that are veggie and fruit scraps and coffee and egg shells and not meat or anything man made or banana peels, they take a long time to break down. Keep it turned and let it work for a good 6 mos. depending on climate and the amount and the heat that it is creating. The heat kills the bacteria and the fungus as well as insects and any seeds. So make sure to pile it, that is why they use enclosed areas for composting, to keep it close so it can cook, get very hot, it should steam, let it that kills the seeds and other things you don't need and the decay makes black gold. The best way is have two areas going. When one looks ready stop adding to it and start the other one and add some of the older one to the new one to get it going. They sell an enzyme to start the cooking process but if you just add water, brown and green and the manure and turn every week or so it should do fine. Adding some fertilizer can do the trick as well as some lime. Make sure to keep the gold away from the bark or all plants. spread it along the root line about 3-8 inches out from the plant trunk or stalk. It won't cause problems like mold or disease that way. never put any kind of mulch that close to the plant. Good luck. You have a great treasure there. Wish I had some. Also use on garden, bulbs, any trees and bushes as well. It could take a good 6 mos, to get it hot enough, to get the cooking done. Also, if you use it for fertilizer it is not for mulch, mulch is another thing, it is added after the gold, to stop weeds. So, just remember, you can add the gold to dirt that is already around the plants by digging it up and mixing it in and then adding it back. or you can make a tea for ornamental if you worry about weeds and such, I don't but you can mix the gold with water and let it sit and then strain through an old window screen and put this tea on your plants and add the other back to the compost pile, seems like a lot of work to me. Good luck, Use the free fertilizer and enjoy the results.

Answer 3

I have used horse-manure in my compost piles for many years and my roses, vegetables, and all plants loved it.
Miss_Mary from a few floors up has the right answer; keep turning the pile get the heat going in the compost pile, seeds won't survive to germinate.
The more often you turn the pile, the quicker you will have usable compost. I've had usable compost within 3 months, but i was turning every few days.

Answer 4

You don't want to be using horse manure compost on a garden of any sort. You'll end up with more weeds than you ever thought possible.

We've raised horses for years, and we thought at first - "Oh Boy, now we can use the manure to grow all sorts of things!"

Wrong! Even plowing the weeding garden can't get rid of the weeds. Horses are sweet loving creatures but their manure ain't worth the bother.

And taking the chance with all this other advice - will get you just what you expect - a garden full of weeds.

james
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Answer 5

Buy yourself a couple of rabbits. Best fertilizer around. Listen to James when it comes to horse manure. Been there. Done that. Moved on.

Answer 6

At least a year to allow nature and rain to wash the manure to cleanse it from things that make it more harmful than beneficial. The rain will also help it come to a state that it will not hold the heat to a degree that would only burn your plants.

Answer 7

Listen to MISS-MARY. The only thing I will disagree on is the banana peels. Use them! Just cut them up in small pieces first. Banana peels are great. If you have roses, bury them around your roses. It brings new life to them. Just bury them deep enough so the nighttime critters can't smell them and dig them up.

Answer 8

about 2-3 months then it will be ready. Make sure that it keeps warm and it will take a shorter peirod of time

Answer 9

I thought because horses are vegitarians their manure doesnt make good fertilizer, but I could be wrong.

Answer 10

Just until it is thorouly dried out.