YAY Me !!

I might have found a source for some horse manure, and it's only 10 miles from me !!



Found them on craigslist, a horse boarding place of some sort...



Should that be good ??

YES! when you get there ask them for the older stuff, unless you are planning on putting it into the compost pile.

Composted horse manure is a good addition when creating your blended compost.

Here is a link on how to >>> COMPOSTING HORSE MANURE

You can ask for what you want but in my experience they point you to the piles and say help yourself. It is easy enough to pick out the new from the old. It is a marvelous addition to your compost pile or compost mix.

Hey Tuxdad....are you getting this horse manure from a farm in Bernville, PA? If so, that's where I got mine.

This place is outside of Carlisle... It's a "help yourself" type deal...

Hey Tuxdad,

When I saw your location as South Central PA, I was thinking Southeast PA.

Anyway, good score!

Now why didn't I think of this! I have a horse farm a block away! I live on the edge of a small town.

Grrr, probly cause I couldn't stand the guy in school and he hasn't improved with age! Oh well...it is for my garden.....

I have a few sources I go to for horse manure here in Bucks County PA as well. I use it for the gardens and for layering in leaf piles to speed up composting them.

Don't let the zealots scare you. If you read around you'll see a) how to use it right away b) how to keep weed seeds in it from sprouting (if you are worried about that).

Thanks !!

I have to admit, I'm a bit confused about the MM, and the use of manure(cow or horse) in it.. Will it still "burn" in the mix ??

If you are using cow or horse manure that is fresh and hasn't dried out at least once it will be too "hot" and most likely burn your plants. This is a result of concentrations of certain compounds (Ammonia, etc.) being too high. If there is a pile of it that has been sitting for a while it will likely have composted at least somewhat and be much more usable.

Of course it is best if it is fully composted before you use it as one of the parts of your compost in a batch of Mel's Mix.

I use loads of horse manure and what I do if it is very fresh is simply to apply it as a top dressing. That way the sun dries it out and it rots fast being exposed to the air. Also then when it rains the water soaking through it turns in to sort of a compost tea. I've never had any issues doing this but many here will point out that is not what Mel suggests. If you get to the point of having diverse sources of compost it isn't needed. Humans have been throwing manure next to their crops to super charge them for the last 15k years, so this is of course nothing new.

Thanks !! I'll be sure to remember that.. I'll just save it for the compost bin instead..



Forgot to mention, one of my coworkers gave me over 100 pounds of manure thsi evening !! I'll be having it coming out of my ears soon if I'm not careful !! LOL