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Well rotted manure

HeartinthedirtHeartinthedirt Posts: 300
in The potting shed
How can you tell?! I've got the option to get as much horse poop as I can handle from a local stables, but the person who's offered it doesn't know how old the pile is. If in doubt, how long til it's considered 'well rotted'? 
It's knowing what to do with things that counts - Robert Frost

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 11,411
    I think if it's well rotted, it shouldn't smell of 💩. It should be quite crumbly as well.

  • FireFire Posts: 17,116
    If in doubt, leave in bins for a few a months.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 52,027
    If you're concerned, just leave it for a few months before using. Around 6 months in total is fine. If it's going on bare ground which isn't going to be planted up for a good while, it doesn't matter how fresh it is.
    I spent 20 years working with horses, and well rotted stuff is quite different in appearance and feel from fresh, regardless of whether it's used in straw or shavings. The wood shavings are also useful for conditioning the soil, and although they take longer to break down than straw, the overall result is the same. 

    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
    Well rotted manure is dark brown, crumbly and smells earthy. You shouldn't be able to identify the component parts, although there can be a bit of straw at the edges, but the main thing is that is smells like good, rich soil, not stable or barn.
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,426
    edited April 2022
    Sorry to butt in. Fairy, that's interesting my oldest daughter was horsey mad
     Worked in stables as a teenager,then groom,then started BHSI,had an ex Irish thoroughbred on loan. Last job Midhurst Polo yard. Looking after Major Ferguson and Gordon Rodicks ponies. Thought about joining the Mounties in London. THEN (after going off the rails!) Went into  Banking.Nothing needed adding to your advice,I try to remove from the bottom of the dung heap.
  • HeartinthedirtHeartinthedirt Posts: 300
    Thank you all, top advice, as always!  :)
    It's knowing what to do with things that counts - Robert Frost
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,361
    Being something of a maverick/Phillistine, I tend to not get too pedantic about manure.  I know the books and experts will often prescribe 'well rotted' but, unless it'll actually damage a crop, I get it on the soil so that the worms can get to work and integrate it with what's already there.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 52,027
    That's why I said so earlier on @nick615, and most of us usually make that clarification when talking about manure. It's not a problem on bare ground.  :)

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,361
    No problem, Fairygirl, but folk do seem to get themselves in hopeless knots about a subject that animals take care of randomly every day?
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