What is the best natural fertilizer for a home vegetable garden? What will happen if I use horse manure?

Answer 1

I like most all the answers given but one piece of advice about manure. Manure contains fair amount of sodium in it Some more than others
It is great to use but using it year after year can increase your sodium levels to a toxic for your plants level. substitute with compost or a mixture of the two. The only way to know the levels in your soil is via soil test. If this is the first year you have used manure pour it on. also if you hadn't already added it and your ready to plant , it should be well composted. Rule of thumb, smell it; if it still smells crappy its to stout if it don't stink it would probably be ok

previously stated by another don't use manure from a dog or cat or any big meat eaters because it can harbor diseases that can be transplanted to plant and to you

If you dug your manure in fresh your first crop shouldn't be a root crop (potatoe, carrots, turnip,etc) Second crop would be fine

manure is a good organic fertilize but is better used in conjunction with a compost of some kind

A person can't live off of bread alone it takes a variety of foods to keep you healthy. think of a plant the same way

Mulch

Answer 2

The best manure for a vegetable garden is rabbit manure, especially for tomatoes.

Cow and horse manure each have one significant disadvantage. Whatever the cow or horse eats is going to come out in the manure. And since both of those animals graze, you are going to get a lot of weed seeds in your garden.

Chicken manure has two disadvantages. For one, it is messy. And secondly it is very acidic. Due to it's high acidity it can burn your plants if not careful.

Rabbit manure has several advantages. Since most rabbits are fed just rabbit pellets and water, you don't get the weed seeds like with cattle or horse manure. Rabbit manure is high in nitrogen and micronutrients but is low in acidity, making it great to put on your garden. It normally is best to put it on the garden in the fall or early spring to give it time to decompose so it does more good, but it is ok to put it on right in the middle of summer.

My dad and I raise rabbits and we put a bunch of rabbit manure on the garden. Sometimes as much as a 6" layer or manure on the garden. If you want to get your tomatoes to grow nothing will make them grow better. Our tomato plants get normally at least twice as big as any of the neighbors. It also helps when you are planting rhubarb. Just put some in the bottom of the hole before you plant the rhubarb. It acts as kind of a good plant starter.

My great aunt uses the rabbit manure around her flowers and she swears it makes them grow twice as big. Most rabbit breeders will let you have the manure for free as long as you clean out the rabbit manure for them in return.

Rabbit manure is also good for raising red worms. Red worms love to eat it. After the redworms are done eating the rabbit manure they leave a black rich compost that is probably the best thing you can pot african violets in.

Answer 3

I used cow manure and found that you probably need to add it several months in advance of the planting season. It worked great otherwise.

Answer 4

If you compost it first it's great, or if like the other guy said, you till it in several months before planting, it's OK. Raw manure is too strong, too much ammonia and uric acid.

Answer 5

it will be seen solid yet relying on what the horse ate you need to finally end up with weeds or fungi. you need to throw it on a compost pile yet that calls for time and area. in case you opt for to bypass that route then extra skill to you yet they promote a great number of organic and organic fertilizers at homestead and backyard shops. i in my opinion wouldnt have adequate time or area to save up with the composting.