horse manure compost, need advice

[smoking shawn86]

I'm looking to expand my garden next year and I will need a lot of manure for that,so i'm looking to make my own manure and I need a little advice

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Horse manure is good , but be sure that it's composted well enough to kill weed seeds because horses don't digest whole seeds well.

~Martin

 

[smoking shawn86]

do you know how much carbon to manure ratio should be

 

[diggingdogfarm]

The rule of thumb is 25-30:1 Carbon to Nitrogen for proper composting.

You'll have to guess on the ratio of c:n in the horse manure you get based on the amount of bedding mixed with it.

If there are a lot of wood shavings mixed with it you'll likely need more nitrogen.


~Martin

 

[garand555]

Horse manure is good , but be sure that it's composted well enough to kill weed seeds because horses don't digest whole seeds well.

~Martin

This. You don't want to know how much alfalfa is growing next to the horse pens here. I haven't had a problem with any of the stuff that I've composted though.

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Depends on what the horse are fed.....the biggest potential threat is hay that may have something like bindweed seeds in it.....the seeds may survive composting and it's almost impossible to get rid of.




~Martin

 

[smokeamotive]

Depends on what the horse are fed.....the biggest potential threat is hay that may have something like bindweed seeds in it.....the seeds may survive composting and it's almost impossible to get rid of.




~Martin

Yeah this^!!! I picked up a load of compost from our landfill here a few years ago and I'm still battling bindweed and morning glory!!!:devil:

 

[jdoyle]

I have been composting chicken manure for years,to kill the weeds you need to get the compost working hot.the way I do it is as I am building a pile I will soak everything down with water then add some 10-10 fertilizer just speed up the process. I will do this in layers. Then I will cover the whole pile in black plastic and let the sun help heat things up. Turn it in about a month and recover Hope this helps

 

[smoking shawn86]

If you let your compost heat up to much then you risk killing the beneficial organisms. form what I read you shouldn't let it get hotter than 150F

 

[daveomak]

I bought cheap chicken manure compost from wmrt a few years back.....   Morning Glory in all the areas I put it...     

I add Urea and ammonium sulfate when I add horse manure.... just to break down the wood chips or straw that's in it....

Dave