Composting horse manure | update on my new system

[@robertjamesofwales]

Thank you Steve for sharing your methods and results these type of videos are priceless

[@nicolettetheunisz9155]

And thank you for all you share here in YT

[@dn744]

I haven't bought any compost this year. Rather pleased that I made enough, with 2 1.4m Square compost bins spare.

[@SteveRichards]

I think I will have enough this year. I’m expecting to make 2m3 which will cover my plot with just under an inch : all the best - Steve

[@simplifygardening]

Great video Steve. Thanks for promoting the book. Soil health is so important

[@markshaw5835]

I need to read that book lol, I'm slowly filling my compost bin up been trying to source More material to help till it quicker. Great video very interesting

[@derekwhite2914]

for the lazy bizoms among us running a rotary mower over it before composting works a treat.

[@nicolettetheunisz9155]

I have two ponies who are kept 100% organically ,no chemicals and no stabling. But i do collect their manure and i have it on a big compost pile ,with lots of wood underneath for air etc. I cannot turn it but it is always full of live. Colonies and colonies of worms and other critters ,and even a grass snake putting her eggs. I always have people coming to buy my compost for their organic gardens. It is wonderful material ,even if not very rich ,which eventually turns in to black soil.

[@SteveRichards]

Sounds great, I wish we had a source like that, but what we have still works well eventually! : All the best - Steve

[@1969Kismet]

I was wondering if it was a good way of doing it. Thank you for that comment, it helped a lot. I did exactly that and I can't turn it either but I'm looking forward to seeing which species are interested in it. Should I water it? I've watched videos where they say manure should be almost soaked in water. It's not covered and I live in the Europe where winters are normally quite wet.

[@nicolettetheunisz9155]

@@1969Kismet i don't do anything with it, except cover it with a thick pile of leaves in fall, so it doesn't wash out with all the rain

[@1969Kismet]

@@nicolettetheunisz9155 Thank you for your reply. How long before I can use it in the garden, do you think?

[@nicolettetheunisz9155]

Some plants you can use fresh horse manure. Roses love it. Pineapples. But if you want to compost it, leave it for 3 months i'd say and then have a look

[@davidrevitt7470]

very interesting,adding greens,will try that,thanks

[@SteveRichards]

Thanks David, definitely speeds things up and makes a better mix : All the best - Steve

[@nooie99]

I’m making new compost bays next week with pallets. And decking boards for the dividing section. Im Hoping to make 6 sections. Will line with corex like Tony O’Neil. Wish me luck.

[@SteveRichards]

Codex sounds like a great idea, I will do that each time I get a bed empty

[@mikelucas3746]

I am surprised you are getting weed seeds coming through at the end. I do similar but I have built from pallets stalls which are 10 feet by five feet and filled to five feet. Maybe I am getting hotter I am slowly adding more organics such as kitchen waste, plant remains and even stinging nettles from a wild area. Like you mine looks a little woody but now I have more to put down I am slowly getting more weed free.

[@SteveRichards]

You probably won’t get hotter, but you will get more of the bin hot. With my small bays I have a lot of compost around the edges that doesn’t get to 50+c I try to mitigate that with turning it, but it’s nowhere near perfect. My bins are much improved now that I don’t add much material to the bins with seeds in it : all the best - Steve

[@lulajohns1883]

I had issues with our horse manure because of seeds they ingested. I hope this works for you. We are currently using chicken manure to compost as we have chickens.

[@SteveRichards]

Yes, almost all sources of compost seem to have their issues now. Horse manure can have some real weed seed issues as can cow manure. A batch of cow manure a few years ago caused me no end of issues with some horrible weeds introduced into every bed I used it on! I try to make sure mine composts hot to kill them : All the best - Steve

[@sophiaborrowdale2795]

Hello I have just begun collecting horse manure, but now after watching a few video's on youtube I see people speaking about herbicides both in hay and straw. I asked the lady with the horses about the hay she buys and she said it was okay and not sprayed. But then I found out they also treat straw with hebicides. I have not been able to contact the lady I gat the manure from about the straw yet has she has she must tend to her horse's earlier in the day before I go past her field. Also I watched a video in America and the man there said that most of the hay over they is sprayed with Grazon weed killer, and it took him a very long time to find someone who had not used Grazon. Also I contacted 3 horse suppliers in the UK about there bedding straw and 2 out of 3 said yes it was probably sprayed and the 3rd supplier did not know unless I was more specific as to which straw I was refering too. With all this in mind it comcerns me that the manure in the UK is something we ought to be cautious of. What are your thought's on this growing problem? Thank you. and thank you for your video's........

[@SteveRichards]

It's definitely an issue, hard to quantify how big an issue. My horse manure is bedded on wood, not straw, and we knew the supplier, and he didn't spray his field. That said I've now stopped using horse manure and I now make all of my compost with a mix of wood chips and veg waste, it takes a lot longer to make, but I like the results. The other issue with horse manure is that it's full of weed seeds , to you need a big heap to get it to a high temperature to kill them : All the best - Steve

[@sophiaborrowdale2795]

@@SteveRichards Hello Steve, yes it is sad how we have to be so careful these days because of all the weed killers farmers are now using. I bet it must of been great when our forefathers in the day before all these toxic producrs were available would just help themselves to rich manure organic that is.......I try my best to get as much straw out of the manure and replace with chopped leaves, I hope it will work out good. My pile is mounting up real good real quick because where I get it from the lady has been bagging up her manure for a few months because apparently the authorities will not allow her to heap up her manure... So I am just taking what she bags up into smaller bags. I have seperated the straw as best as I can and put it into another heap. But I am rather concerned about the straw. I have seen a test you can do so I will give it ago to see if the straw will affect the peas I will grow...... Thanks again for all the videos. I am just at the minute looking into biochar and how to make it and use it. ........all the best and happy gardening,

[@jungle6201]

have you ever had any problems with aminopyralid or worry about it ?

[@SteveRichards]

No problems yet, we single source our horse manure and the stables know it’s going to the allotments.

[@pawcook]

@@SteveRichards Do you bother running a test on it before use?, I've started collecting manure from a local stable and thinking I should do some kind of test before spreading it over the garden (after composting of course)

[@pawcook]

A follow up to this post. I just tried using some of my composted horse manure and sadly it has the dreaded weed killer in it.

[@SteveRichards]

Oh no, that’s a tough break, I’m lucky now that I can get spent mushroom compost again so I’m mainly using that : all the best - Steve

[@aceofspades5786]

interesting comments on the weeds, let them dry out to die first, obvious i suppose, but didn't think of it.

[@ronaldandsusanshaws-growing]

👍👍👍

[@kmb4321]

Is horse manure rich in nitrogen or carbon?

[@SteveRichards]

It depends on what you mean. Is it just manure, or manure mixed with stable bedding, is the bedding straw or wood flakes, is it composted or fresh?

[@kmb4321]

@@SteveRichards Just manure. Both aged and fresh are from the field. No bedding. It was sitting in the grass in the field. I have my own horses.

[@SteveRichards]

Fairly rich in nitrogen then, if you want more carbon you need to compost it with straw or stable bedding : all the best - Steve