Composting with Horse Manure

[@isabellezablocki7447]

Thanks for the video. I regularly go on walks and now pick up horse dung and put it in my compost. I feel like I am collecting gold!

[@Davewutsup]

Hands down, horse manure is the best fertilizer. In your grass fields hay fields and gardening. Even around your specialized trees you have planted. 🌿💚🌾

[@chirodocheilman]

That is amazing that your county has a sharing system that actually loans out equipment like manure spreaders. I wish we had access to this where I live!

[@danigarcia3612]

Excellent..! I' m using compost from horse manure and I think is the best one .

[@itziahurtado]

we have soooo much manure on our property and I never knew the proper way to compost it...u guys are 👏 amazing

[@SnohomishCD]

Cool! Reach out if you have any more questions to [e-mail].

[@اليدُالعُلياخيرٌمناليدِالسُّف]

I love the countryside people, many thanks 💚🌹

[@Henrythegreat115]

Excellent presentation, and great informative video..

[@beingjohn392]

Todays concern is what are the horses eating… Most hay has been sprayed with a Roundup typ product both during growth to eliminate weeds and as a finishing spray just before harvesting to reduce moisture and rotting. The horses eat this hay and grain and the herbicides are then spread into the compost. The herbicide can be traced in agricultural products for several years thereafter.

[@formerlyferalfelines9027]

Thank you for this concise, informative video

[@YOURFISHINGCHANNEL]

just what i needed. great channel

[@kevinadams9468]

Very useful video. Thanks.

[@mehmetkadoglu9077]

very good video.thanks

[@TheSDavies93]

great video!

[@rickthelian2215]

I live near a racetrack in Sydney Australia, there’s plenty to go around but they need to get it picked up by trash collections. Great to heat the compost piles...

[@purbious1030]

Awesome video

[@SnohomishCD]

Thanks!

[@adwoan.7916]

great video.

[@haynerbass]

How can you tell when persistent herbicides are no longer a problem for garden or farm vegetables?

[@rubygray7749]

A video about horse manure! What could be nicer? I picked up the manure from my 2 horses on rough grazing for 8 weeks, kept records, and it amounted to 8 cubic metres, so it was much more than the estimates here. Possibly because they get no concentrated grain feeds Just a suggestion for those who may have access to field manure from their own or someone else's neddies.

[@SnohomishCD]

This is definitely a piece of data that needs updating, thank you! Recent studies show ranges of manure production from between 30 - 50 lbs a day depending on breed, age, feed given, and any metabolic challenges among many factors. Keeping your own data as you did and making a plan specific to your situation is the most important thing! Good job!

[@theloniousm4337]

There are probably many variables not the least of which is how much waste hay and how much bedding material gets collected as "manure". Pretty sure no one is crouching down and picking bits of straw from the horse shit but you never know about horse people.

[@bengaltigris4703]

Very useful video! Can you help me when buying horse manure, how can you tell if it has horsefly or not? Because if there's a way, I'd save my so far horsefly-free garden and future crops from them :) (I don't know if there are horseflies around here, but they often get brought in with the horse manure.)

[@zone8368]

Great video!

[@kevinblitzcki2709]

Hello, How much horse manure would you spread and till it per square foot of soil or if it's easier for you to answer, what thickness of manure would you lay on the soil provided it's the only source of fertilizer you're adding to soil? I was told anywhere from 2"-3" is adequate but I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks

[@w.7194]

I get my manure from old horses so the manure is already composted when they pass it....if you get from young hip horses there will be a lot of weed growing but of course some like that.

[@caihongxia2645]

Do you need organic fertilizer compost machine for disposing these manure?

[@SnohomishCD]

No machine required. Simplest way is to pick a safe place that avoids runoff and leaching into the ground, pile up manure, cover it, and monitor moisture and temperature and turn and moisten as needed to maintain 130 F until completely composted.

[@AutumnHorses8]

amazing video! answered a lot of my questions! One question I do have is, can you add other feedstocks to horse manure? for example, can we add all our crop residues, leaves? Or is it best to do those separately? Thank you!

[@cupbowlspoonforkknif]

Mel Del I think the best way to find out is to try it once in a small batch and see how it performs. I think it will work fine.

[@AutumnHorses8]

sound good, I will let you know how it goes! thanks again

[@SnohomishCD]

You can, but the more non-manure items you add, the slower the composting will happen. Dead leaves contain no live microbes where green grass contains still metabolizing chlorophyll. Metabolism from microbes decomposing the organic matter is what builds heat. Leaves are good, but bedding (wood) is not, for example.

[@rubygray7749]

Well I am adding all that fresh paddock manure (no urine-soaked bedding) to a huge progressive compost pile, layering it with scythed weeds, waste hay, coffee ground, dried chicken manure, and equal amounts of old wood shavings, and it is heating up a treat. The 'green' items do need a lot of 'brown' or carboniferous / cellulose material to work, to incorporate oxygen with its open texture, and produce heat for an extended period. So I wouldn't knock wood here, as long as it is always damp and has plenty of nitrogen added.

[@sweetvuvuzela4634]

You can add all sorts cardboard kitchen scraps grass clips horse manure cow manure apples pears variation is better

[@jacobsacres9678]

If a de-wormer is used on horses, can the de-wormer make it's way into the manure? If so, will it cause issues with earthworms in the garden?

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi there! I asked your question to Michael Hipp who runs our Sound Horsekeeping program. Here is his repsonse. "A very common question. There are many answers out there in internetland so there is a lot of confusion. Fortunately we still have good scientist out there. In 2016 the School of Integrated Plant Science at Cornell University did a study on Ivermectin (the most common chemical dewormer in the horse world) on this question and here is what they found: 'Composting manure and bedding from animals that have been de-wormed with ivermectin decreases the concentration of ivermectin such that the resulting compost product can be used without harm or negative effect to beneficial insects in the environment. As ivermectin has been found to persist in manure for 45 days or more, composting is a good management technique to use for manure after de-worming, or if animals are continually de-wormed. In addition, as the ivermectin concentration decreased almost entirely in the first 24 days of composting, subjecting manure and bedding from de-wormed animals to a thermophilic phase through piling would allow horse owners to field-spread the manure prior to finishing composting.' (Swartz, Mary, et al. "The Fate of Ivermectin in Manure Composting", Cornell University, May 2016, p. 8) So, while it does have an initial effect, the composting process breaks it down like most chemicals and it can be used like any other compost after it has broken down." We hope this helps!

[@jacobsacres9678]

@@SnohomishCD Thank you so much for the very detailed response and the lengths you went to answer my question!

[@beingjohn392]

Herbicides are what pass through into horse manure and ultimately future crops. Some 80% of hay is treated with herbicides and unless you know what the horses have eaten, don’t use the manure in compost.

[@bkoufeldt]

Hi, great informative video! I bought composted horse manure for my vegetable garden recently. The seller said it had been composted from anywhere from 9 months to 2 years. However, I can distinguish horse manure in the compost. Is it possible for the compost to be be primarily composted and safe for vegetable garden ( with respect to free of possible E. coli/parasites) but still have distinguishable horse manure? Or, is distinguishable horse manure a sign that I shouldn’t use it? Thanks!

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi Brandon, I fielded your question to Michael Hipp. Here is his response: "Excellent question! 9 months to 2 years is a great amount of time for horse manure to compost. I have some here at my place that has been composting for 9 months and it is the most beautiful, black soil there is, very much like the compost you purchase at one of the big box home improvement stores. And that is what it should be - black, rich soil - just like you would purchase at the store. If the compost contains any recognizable fragments of horse manure - the famous "apples" especially - then the product is not completely composted. If it is any color other than a dark, rich black then it might be fully composted, but it was not done correctly and lacks a lot of the nutrient value. I suspect that if you are seeing distinguishable horse manure, and the person says that it was composted for that long...you are probably looking at brown/gray manure that, when it was composted, was left uncovered and never reached the required temperature to compost horse manure and was rained on so a lot of the nutrients were lost. A lot of people think that just putting horse manure in a pile is "composting" but it isn't. As you saw in the video it is much more than that. As for the question of whether you should use what you have, I would not. I can't say if there are any parasites in the manure or not, but I can say that it does not have the nutrient value that properly composted horse manure would have, and when you are growing vegetables you will want the best nutrients you can get."

[@bkoufeldt]

@@SnohomishCD Hey, thank you so much for the reply! That makes a lot of sense. I'm honestly still on the fence about using it, but I've already mixed it in with my other soil. Today I broke apart a couple of the 'apples' (smaller ones) and noticed little white worms inside. I think they are pot worms, from what I read on google, and hopefully not parasites from the horses intestine. Either way, it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me with the vegetable garden and just another thing to make me think twice about using it.

[@Krista1921]

I have been using horse manure in my garden for year. This year I am seeing some leaf curl. Could it be from the horse manure? I do let it sit for atleast 6 mos before using. Generally I rototill it to break it up, the mix into my garden soil. Could it be too high in Nitrogen?

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi Krista, Here is a response from our Agroforester, Carrie Brausieck. "Leaf curl in fruit trees is caused by two potential culprits: 1. a fungus that can cause curling in peaches and nectarines 2. aphids causing curling in many other tree species Leaf curl has been a problem for many this year due to the very long wet and cold spring that we had, so I doubt the manure is the culprit. If there are no signs of aphids on the trees then the problem is most likely fungal in nature. Spraying trees with copper spray (you can find this at a garden store) as trees are entering their dormant phase (in fall after the tree has fruited) can help get this under control. If there are signs of aphids, they are fairly easy to control. You can spray them off of tree leaves, rinse trees with organic dish soap and water, or get an army of lady bugs to release onto your trees. "

[@Krista1921]

@@SnohomishCD Turns out it was the horse manure. I did a test. Potted up some of the poo, planted a basil plant that was otherwise healthy, and within a few days it was looking deformed.

[@gracewiller]

So I thought to make compost I had to alternate or layer the manure with other things but there is no mention of this. Unless I missed something you mean just straight manure out of the stall works?

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi Grace. Thanks for your question. Our Farm Planner, Michael Hipp stated "the layering technique of composting is essential when you are composting food waste, but for horse manure that step is not required. So, yes, just straight manure out of the stall works, with as little bedding attached as possible." I hope this helps.

[@pcalk]

Can manure from horses on meds be used to make compost for a small home vegetable garden? Would it be safer if it went through our worm bin?

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi! Thanks for the question. It depends on what type of medicine. What kind are you referring to? We had a similar question recently. I've copied the response below. 'Composting manure and bedding from animals that have been de-wormed with ivermectin decreases the concentration of ivermectin such that the resulting compost product can be used without harm or negative effect to beneficial insects in the environment. As ivermectin has been found to persist in manure for 45 days or more, composting is a good management technique to use for manure after de-worming, or if animals are continually de-wormed. In addition, as the ivermectin concentration decreased almost entirely in the first 24 days of composting, subjecting manure and bedding from de-wormed animals to a thermophilic phase through piling would allow horse owners to field-spread the manure prior to finishing composting.' (Swartz, Mary, et al. "The Fate of Ivermectin in Manure Composting", Cornell University, May 2016, p. 8) So, while it does have an initial effect, the composting process breaks it down like most chemicals and it can be used like any other compost after it has broken down."

[@pcalk]

@@SnohomishCD Thank you so much. The other medication I was told about is Previcox, which is an anti-inflammitory. Would this require special care?

[@ZWATER1]

Ty

[@randymaylowski2485]

Yeah I don't blame the guy, it you have the property to use it on, use it don't just get wit of it. But yeah that is surprising of how hot composting manure gets.

[@AnnieHardyFullPsycho]

Wait what do we amend soil with in winter?!

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi Annie. I passed your question to one of our farm planner and here is their response: "You do not want to amend your soil in winter. Composted manure should be applied in spring and summer months when plants can begin to utilize the nutrients you have applied. In winter plants are not uptaking a lot of nutrients and nutrients such as nitrogen can leave soils in surface and groundwater drainage. Many horse boarding facilities in our area produce more manure than they can safely apply to their soils. Therefore, they must find ways of hauling off excess manure which can be costly. Composting manure for bedding can provide a cost effective solution to excess manure production and allow that manure to be reused on site. Farm planners are available to come out to horse properties and do some nutrient management calculations to see if you have a surplus of manure. If you don't have a surplus then this practice may not be for you, but if your animals are producing more than can be applied to your pastures, this can be a great practice to explore. " I hope this helps!

[@hosoiarchives4858]

Wish I could find some here in South king county

[@SnohomishCD]

Jay Mirro Senior Resource Planner 425-282-1905 [e-mail] - Jay with King Conservation District should be able to help you. Sorry for the delayed response! - Kari

[@hosoiarchives4858]

@@SnohomishCD no problem I appreciate it immensely

[@hollandjames3543]

How long can the compost last after its finished? Also how long of setting can the manure last before you have to start composting it?

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi Bo, we appreciate your questions. Per our Farm Planner, Michael Hipp: The short answer is that compost from horse manure can never “go bad” unless it is stored improperly. To properly store your fresh compost it is best to keep it covered with a tarp, to prevent rain from washing away those vital nutrients, and to retain heat and moisture, which will help the microbes in the finished product to survive so they make it to your pasture. How long it will last once it is “finished” depends on many factors, including outside temperature, humidity, wind, etc., but generally if properly stored it can last multiple years. As for how long the manure can set before you have to start composting it, it should be added to a compost pile when it is as fresh as possible, usually within 24 hours for best results. The longer you allow the manure to set before adding it to the compost pile the more moisture and heat generating capability it will lose, and thus the less it can add to your compost pile’s ability to perform the composting process.

[@hollandjames3543]

@@SnohomishCD thank you for clearing that up for me. Loved the video.

[@Sparkeee1978]

How can a person prevent long term herbacides that may be in animal waste left over from grass and foriage crops that were applied to the feed when farmed originally? My only real concern now, is getting an unknown batch of manure, composting it, and then having it kill my veggies for 2 or 3 years, effectively making my garden soil un workable. how can I test or prevent this? thanks

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi, that's a great question. I asked this to one of our farm planners, and they were able to find some information out through Oregon State University. "These herbicides eventually break down through exposure to sunlight, soil microbes, heat and moisture. Depending on the situation, the herbicides can be deactivated in as few as 30 days, but some field reports indicate that breakdown can take as long as three to four years" (extension.oregonstate.edu/crop-production/soil/herbicide-carryover-hay-manure-compost-grass-clippings#:~:text=The%20herbicides%20of%20concern,known%20as%20pyridine%20carboxylic%20acids.&text=These%20herbicides%20pass%20through%20the,even%20after%20it%20is%20composted) Please refer to the link attached for more information. I hope this helps!

[@Sparkeee1978]

@@SnohomishCD Thank you, I will look into the article !

[@davepro7407]

Smart girl

[@jesus.maryandjoseph8880]

Hi, Thanks for the informative video. My husband and I have begun a raised bed and in-ground vegetable garden, and are brand new to gardening this year. I have scouring the Internet and can't seem to find an answer to my question. I am hoping that you can help me. We obtained composted horse manure from a friend, an entire truckload full. We were so excited and appreciative. We were told that it was aged from a compost pile that was a few years old, but I think it's the last stuff to be added to the pile. It definitely wasn't "hot composted" because it is full of tiny weed roots. When the compost was delivered 2 weeks ago, these "white roots, with some tiny green tops" weren't in the compost. We also see quite a few worms, the compost is fairly dark, and most of the manure is broken down, but there are still some small nuggets throughout it, but most of it seems broken down. The small nuggets are about 2 inches or so in diameter, and only make up about 5-10% of the overall pile. I do not smell any odour from the pile, even in my hands and just below my nose. My question is this: based upon my description of the compost, how aged do you think it will be. We just filled our brand new, 4' x 10' raised garden bed with it, and I'm not sure we did the right thing. I think our raised garden bed is going to be infested with weeds. Why weren't these weeds there when the compost was brought to us? We also have a large, in ground garden, into which we tilled about 50 of this compost, when it was first delivered 2 weeks ago. The drills for this in-ground garden were just done the other day and there were none of these "weeds- they look like tiny white roots, a couple of inches long, and some have little green tops on them"- in the in-ground garden. Was it because that compost was tilled into the garden? I am a newbie. In my raised bed, we put about 50% horse manure to 50% black earth, and then added some peat moss, pearlite, lime and Epsom salts to have nutrient dense soil. We have 2 more, brand new raised beds and I am nervous to use more of this horse manure in them, because I don't want tonnes of weeds in my raised beds. Any helps/thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated. Any idea how old this manure probably really is? Are these weeds going to invade my garden? Does the presence of these little, 2-3 inch white roots with green tops mean this is fresh manure? Our friend used the compost from this exact pile last year and never had any weeds in her in-ground garden, but she didn't see the white roots we are seeing in hers, and remember, since it's in a raised bed, we didn't till this in with the soil. Thanks, in advance!

[@sweetvuvuzela4634]

All Things Godly, Good and Beautiful fresh poop is best if you got pile big as meter cube your manure fresh or aged will break down over time so mix grass clippings cardboard bark chips etc

[@richardmang2558]

It sounds like the manure was composted, but not hot-composted. When manure is added daily to a pile and layered thinly the heat does not build up. ( This is a desired method when vermicomposting using red-worms and black soldier fly larva. Both are beneficial insects. ) The heat is what will kill seeds in the manure which the horse passed through it's digestive system. Since the seeds never got heated up they have simply been dormant in the manure pile. Now that you have spread the composted manure it has been exposed to fresh air, warmth and sunlight allowing the seeds to come out of dormancy and begin their growth cycle. Hopefully these seeds are alfalfa which is easy to manage in your garden by simply tilling the young seedlings. But no matter what, there are weed seeds all around your garden being blown in by the wind and air-mailed from every bird. So don't blame all your weeds on the manure. To help control weed growth use a lot of mulch and layer it thick to smother the weeds between your vegetables. A fantastic source of good free mulch is your local tree trimmers, they usually appreciate dumping there wood chips for free at your place. So if you see a crew trimming trees, stop and talk to them and ask for a delivery. A nation wide free service is www.getchipdrop.com which puts you in contact with tree trimmers in your area. They will deliver free woodchips to your address for free. FREE !! Happy gardening!

[@scholtzthomas]

Could you tell me the estimated ratio between straw and manure?

[@SnohomishCD]

Hi Thomas, Here is a reply from our Sound Horsekeeping guy, Michael Hipp. "The ratio between straw and manure should be as low as possible - the lower the straw content, the better. I like to keep my bedding / straw ratio to manure something like 1:10, or 10% of the total volume. The reason for this is that manure contains enzymes and microbes that directly contribute to the breaking down of the manure and fibers within that manure. Straw and bedding (bedding typically being made of wood in some form) do not contain those enzymes and microbes, and so they add nothing to the process, but instead require energy from the process for itself to be broken down. As long as the amount of straw or bedding is kept low the enzymes and microbes in the manure can break it down, though having to do so will slow down the total process and add time to the amount of time it will take to finish composting. In fact, the more straw and wood you put in the slower the process will go." I hope that helps!

[@arirang8643]

Good

[@rajabwawa7802]

Good deal

[@baburock232]

Its hindi... we16 official Nice. Concept

[@sweetvuvuzela4634]

Lazy neighbour make their own collect some poop and compost it with their own grass clips and other scraps

[@SnohomishCD]

People can make their own compost, but there are best practices. You can find our recommendations here - snohomishcd.org/blog/2018/7/16/putting-manure-to-work-in-local-gardens

[@pasturetenderusa]

Would be good speaking with you. What’s a good email address for you?

[@hosoiarchives4858]

Would wood shavings deplete nitrogen from the compost?

[@SnohomishCD]

No, they would not, however, they will slow down the composting process.

[@hosoiarchives4858]

@@SnohomishCD interesting, thanks. I took a lot of manure compost from a local stable and it tested almost no nitrogen. Very baffling. It also did not grow vegetables

[@Tom-qx5nl]

Horse manure compost is the weediest stuff going. Unless it is WELL composted( 3 years), adding it to a vegetable garden will be the biggest mistake a gardener could make. Experience is a very good but sometimes harsh teacher. Cow and chicken manures have much less viable weed seeds.....horse manure is the worst.

[@sweetvuvuzela4634]

Hot compost properly will kill them 3-6 months will be adequate if it’s maintained well air water mix carbon nitrogen ratios

[@bobvila4381]

That's horse shit!

[@bigshow11807]

Great video!