Questions tagged [manure]

Manure is organic material that is used as a fertilizer. Manure can be from animals, plants ("green manure"), or compost.

Most often when people say "manure" they mean animal feces, possibly mixed with bedding -- straw, hay, or wood shavings - from where the animal is housed. Different animals produce manures with different nutrient contents, but most are a good source of nitrogen.

"Green manure" is plant material used specifically for soil improvement. Certain crops, such as legumes (clover, beans, etc.) can fix nitrogen from the air, so planting these adds nitrogen to the soil. Other crops, such as winter rye, will scavenge nitrogen left over from a previous crop; this protects this critical nutrient from being lost through leaching. When the green manure crops are tilled in, the nutrients contained in the green manure benefit the following crop.

is simply decomposed organic material -- including both of the above.

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What actually occurs for manure to become considered "well-rotted"?

I know that you shouldn't use raw manure on plants because it's bad for them, but I don't understand why. I know you should stack manure before using it (i.e. literally stack it into a big cone), and wait until it no longer smells. How long would…
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What is the functional difference between cow manure and sheep manure?

I know that they come from different sources, but is there a reason to prefer one over the other? Are they appropriate for different tasks?
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Why is it a problem to use manure as a fertilizing amendment over the long term?

I had my soil tested last fall. As part of the submission I checked the box that said I use manure as a soil amendment / fertilizer. In the results from the lab, they included a note that said that manure is a good source of many necessary…
bstpierre
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Can kitchen waste be used as manure?

Can kitchen wastes (like potato peels, onion skins, orange rinds, egg shells, tea inside tea bags etc) be used as manure? If so, how to use them?  Right now, I'm just dumping them in soil, which I feel is a wrong way to do this. Apart from looking…
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Why are we instructed not to use manure before planting carrots?

It's said that we shouldn't use manure when preparing ground intended for carrots. Is it that carrots don't thrive on manure, or is it that they fork and splinter too much? What about other roots? Radishes, beetroots etc?
Tea Drinker
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Will applying twenty year old cow manure hurt my vegetable garden?

I'm cleaning out my barn. It's old cow manure that's been in there for 20 years. I put a bunch of it on the garden, which has clay soil. I'm growing tomatoes, peppers and onions. Will this hurt my vegetable garden?
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Should I mix chicken manure in with my bonsai soil mix?

I've heard it mentioned before that Japanese people use chicken manure in their bonsai soil mix. Is this a good idea? If so, what quantities should I be mixing in to the soil?
going
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Adding horse manure that has a lot of wood shavings to my compost?

If I am going to add horse manure that has a lot of wood shavings to my compost should I do anything special to make sure everything decomposes well?
Abe Miessler
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Is it okay to grow root vegetables in soil enriched by manure?

I have a few raised beds where I grow vegetables every year (organically). Vegetables I grow include root vegetables (carrots, beets), leafy (kale, lettuce), tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, etc. Every year I enrich the soil by mixing in some steer…
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Composting Equine Pine and Rabbit Manure

My wife raises show rabbits, and about a year ago we switched to stacking cages with trays instead of hanging cages. (We switched to an insulted building in order to run an AC window unit due to heat issues every summer) In order to reduce on the…
Tim
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Is it possible to do my own extensive soil/organic matter testing?

I've read the posts on soil testing, and I realize it's cheap and widely available through local universities, etc. Question: Is it possible to do my own soil testing? Are there some compounds that it's very difficult to test for without a big…
themirror
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how different manures perform in a garden

I was just thinking, how do different manures from animals perform in a garden? Since each animal has different digestive systems and different meals I would think the manure is very different, say comparing a chicken to a cow. So the question, how…
Ljk2000
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Safe to use Chicken Manure in my compost?

I was talking to someone about adding chicken manure to my compost and they said that I shouldn't do it because it's dangerous. I had assumed that as long as I let is compost for 6 months to a year everything would be ok. Who is right here?
Abe Miessler
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Is it safe to put animal manure on vermicompost?

I've searched already regarding this topic, it seeem that in this question the OP is not using worms. In this article it states that Don’t feed the worms pet waste or any “hot” manure. “Hot” manure is uncomposted animal waste and its addition may…
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What's the best way to utilise chicken manure?

We have a few chickens. They produce a small but steady supply of manure. As I understand it chicken manure is an excellent fertiliser. What's the optimum way to utilise it in the garden? Is it best to add the chicken manure to our general compost…
Tea Drinker
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