manure and pesticides

i was reading some posts here and found a lot of misinformation on manure. Farmers do spray for weeds and horses and other animals do eat this grass. But unless it was sprayed with the chemical family of Pyridine Carboxylic acid it will not pass trough the animal and ruin your garden. But if it was, then your garden may well be destroyed as well as trees. So before you use manure be sure that the grass or hay the animals have been eating wasn't sprayed with products like Milestone Accent or Curtail. But unless your talking to the farmer who grew it you may not find out. The person feeding it most likely doesn't know. Most farmers know of this problem or should but it's up to you to be careful. you might want to store it for a while so you can test it to be sure before you put it on the whole garden. Each load of hay could be different and from a different source so don't blame the horse owner unless they are selling it. If they are selling then I think they should test it before they sell it. good luck. I'm sure 99% of the time this is not a problem. anyway now you know.

Thanks for this info!

I bought some manure from Walmart last year and used it when I planted LOTS of expensive shrubs and flowers. Some died and others are struggling to live. Only AFTER the fact did I learn about the broad-leaf herbicide spray in the manure. I had bought untold amounts of it before with no problems.

That's another reason I'm only buying organic and learning about 'green manures' that I can grow. One of my findings said that mustard grown, cut and left on the ground would make an excellent enrichment for my soil.

So far, I've eaten all I cut! lol Gotta find another source!

Betty

Welcome wjkrostek! I look forward to hearing from you about gardening in Alaska.

I don't know if there is testing done on commercial manure, but one problem with getting it from local sources is that unless one asks the supplier, one never knows what might be in it - and the farmer may not even be aware. We raise sheep and an occasional steer or two, and although the manure as it comes from the animal might not be tainted with pesticide, there are all sorts of possible scenarios that may have allowed unwanted chemicals to get in manure. We try to raise our animals as organically as possible, but to my knowledge none of our neighbors do. The farmer may have sprayed weeds that were growing around the manure pile. Perhaps the farmer sprayed fly spray in the bedding, or spilled medication while treating a sick animal, or washed out his pesticide sprayer where the runoff could get to the manure pile.

While it may be rare that these things cause death of fertilized plants, it does happen. Even if it doesn't cause the death of plants, it may cause a problem if one is trying to garden organically.

thanks for sharing. this is good to keep in back of mind if unsuccessful with growing efforts - as a possible cause.