Gardening Question

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

I am thinking about starting a garden. I have a nice area that has full sun but the only thing I am worried about is this spot is where I have been dumping horse manure. I have a couple inches of manure in some spots and other spots have about a foot or so of manure. I am planning on planting some Peanuts, Corn and Potatoes ect. in this particular spot. Do you think that this horse manure will affect my crops?
Thank you for all and any input.

 

[Carols Clucks]

I dont know about your potatoes and peanuts....but the rest of the veggie world would love to grow there! (as long as it is nice and composted)

 

[Capvin]

It definetly will affect your plants. Mix the manure in well with the dirt and your plants will love it!!

 

[Royd]

Yeah. In a positive way. If it's aged, it's best. Till it in. One foot thick is a little thick. Do you also have access to yard debris, like old leaves, or maybe some old hay? Start a big compost pile. about a 3-1 ratio. 3 measurments of leaves to one manure. Make sure that it is soaked really well, and let it sit for six months.

Some things, like carrots, don't care for a soil high in nitrogen...Just do some homework, and get to planting...Good luck. Never give up, just because something doesn't work the first time. Sometimes, you can miss a time window by a couple of weeks, and the heat or the cold gets it, before there's any produce. It is one huge, lifelong learning curve

Let us know where you are located. I've been gardening, in Fl. since 1978.

 

[ODS-n-ENS FARM]

There is the chance that fresh horse manure will harbor E.coli bacteria that could contaminate any food you grow in the garden.

Only use composted horse manure in gardens. Horse manure contains a lot of weed seeds composting at 145 degrees F will kill most weed seeds. Gardeners using fresh horse manure in their vegetable gardens run the risk of E. coli infections. Composting horse manure will kill this pathogen as well as parasites and their eggs. Compost horse manure by making a pile, separate from your regular compost pile, of horse manure and bedding. Place the pile so that it receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sun a day. Keep the pile moist and turn regularly. Use a compost pile to ensure the interior of the pile reaches 145 degrees F. If your pile is too cold, add shredded leaves ,grass clippingsor bark, mix thoroughly, and arrange the pile so the width is the same as the height.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Some of the horse manure has been there a while (about a year or so). The freshest manure in there is about a month old. But I wont be planting anything in there until spring. If I add stuff on top of the manure such as grass clippings, leaves ect. and turn it will I be safe for planting come spring? Its a pretty large area. How often should I turn it? And how often should I add new leaves, grass clippings ect.? I dont want to kill off the family with E Coli Poisoning.

I am located in MA (Zone 6), by the way.

 

[Royd]

sunny & the 5 egg layers :

Some of the horse manure has been there a while (about a year or so). The freshest manure in there is about a month old. But I wont be planting anything in there until spring. If I add stuff on top of the manure such as grass clippings, leaves ect. and turn it will I be safe for planting come spring? Its a pretty large area. How often should I turn it? And how often should I add new leaves, grass clippings ect.? I dont want to kill off the family with E Coli Poisoning.

I am located in MA (Zone 6), by the way.

I'd say, turn what is already on the ground now, into the soil, and don't put anymore on top of it, at all. You could mix all the leaves you can get, right now with it...Regardless, it will all break down, eventually, and enrich the soil.

All of your fresh horse manure, start a fresh pile. As for composting it separately, I think that's a waste of good nitrogen. It takes nitrogen, to break down the carbon found in dead plant material, and the resulting chemical reaction is what causes the heat. Even in Maine, if you built a large pile, now, it would be steaming hot, in the middle of the winter.

One thing about horse manure is that horses have a very poor digestive tract, and there is a lot of residual hay or whatever you've been feeding them, still in it.​

 

[NYboy]

Lucky you I have buy it for my garden!

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Thanks Royd and others for helping me out. I am going to take your advice and add some leaves, and such to it as well as turn it. Hopefully I will have many vegetables come fall!

 

[gritsar]

Good luck with your garden Sunny. Next spring DH and I really have to get busy repairing fences in the garden area so I can have a garden that's chicken and cow free.