Forum home› Problem solving

Horse manure

Jason millyJason milly Posts: 546
in Problem solving
Which way would be the best to buy horse manure 
To get some fresh from horse stables
Or
Buy farm yard manure pre packed from garden centres 

I am thinking of keeping the risk of weeds and undesirables at bay. 
«1

Posts

  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,428
    If there are stables near you then that is best for a bulk buy but try to get it well composted first. The pre packed bags go nowhere so unless you have a very small area to cover it can work out very expensive. If a full trailer load from the farm is too big ask them if they will do a Half load. 
    AB Still learning

  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    You will take your chances wih farmyard manure - weed wise.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Many yards give away manure. You have to collect it yourself which can be messy and hard work but if you don't need a lot, it's very economical.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 22,646
    Make sure you don't use it fresh, needs to be well rotted. I have horses and there are always weeds in their manure, even rotted. Probably doesn't get hot enough when rotting. But some weed seeds grow from the hay and some seem to pass through the horse and still grow. Makes a good plant food though. Also improves soil texture.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    Adding to your question Jason - about the bagged horse manure we collected from the stables where it was being sold - is it best left in the bags (black polythene sacks) until needed or emptied out and piled up in the fresh air. Which will break down quickest for use first?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 53,982
    Keep it covered for a while GD. It'll break down quicker that way.  :)
    To clarify re manure of any kind. Horse manure and farmyard manure are not the same- different animals. Farmyard can be more 'potent'  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    At stable yards it is piled up into a big heap. The inside rots down while the outside is much slower. You don't turn it. I don't know how this relates to your sacks but I THINK it means it's better in the sacks unless you can make a huge heap.
  • FirecrackerFirecracker Posts: 256
    When I could I collected free of charge trailers full (1 ton trailer, that's just over a half ton because it's so light) I then stockpiled it for a year or two, in a bay 8'x5'x5'high. Those were the days. The pile rotted down to half the size. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 53,982
    I can access a heap in the same way as you did F'cracker, as well as any amount of fresher stuff too. We use all of that in fields later, where we grow for haylage though.
    I just don't have a lot of room to store it here, although I could put a covered pile out where I have the car, if I can hide it a bit. It's not something I would want to have on general view. Different if you're more rural.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Hampshire_HogHampshire_Hog Posts: 1,089
    I'm lucky around here there are lots of small stables and they are happy to give it away if you can collect it, sometimes they have the odd bag ready filled.

    If like me you go and collect it then obviously you can get at the good stuff at the bottom to use straight away and then some from the top which I add to the compost heap for next year.

    "You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
Sign In or Register to comment.