A garden is only as good as the ground that it's planted in. Discussion forum for the many ways to improve the soil where we plant our gardens.
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#16 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Zone 8B or 9? Castaic, CA 91384
Posts: 122
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I was walking Petey when someone else walked by with their pooch and Petey started wailing and bouncing about, so I picked him up hoping he'd calm down a little. Nope, he still going a little nutty. It probably my fault as much as his for getting him to close to my face.
I believe almost everyone should get a second chance. Petey has used his first. Petey & Gracie: ![]()
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happy growing, Theo |
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#17 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Zone 8B or 9? Castaic, CA 91384
Posts: 122
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happy growing, Theo |
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#18 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut
Posts: 2,570
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wet is better than getting dry, all that wet is urine and high in N. you may have good results, i never cared for horse manure due to the weed seeds and after last fall i'm done with it even it was free. i'll buy cow manure from now on.
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#19 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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I have had good results when adding horse manure to
beds where tomatoes were grown. One bed I prepared in the same way that you are contemplating doing: I let it sit over a winter about a foot thick with rain washing through it, then turned it under in spring. In another one I built a raised bed that was half or more horse manure and let it sit for 5 months or so before planting in it. The horse manure had some bedding in it, but not as much as you are showing there in your photos. I did not have weed or aminopyralid problems, but that was only because of the choices in feed that the person that I got the manure from had made. A brief discussion of aminopyralid herbicide damage: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/ The thread with stormymater's aminopyralid horror story: http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...t=aminopyralid The big problem with aminopyralid is that: 1) It works. From the hay farmer's point of view, it increases yields by reducing broadleaf weed competition. 2) When used as recommended, it is non-toxic for humans, pets, stock, fish, birds, etc, so safer than many other herbicides. Those two attributes make it very attractive to the hay farmer. 3) It kills tomato plants at very low concentrations in soil. 4) It passes right through horses and other stock undigested. 5) It persists in the soil for years before it breaks down chemically. With aminopyralid on the market, one should test manure before using it. One can put some in a pot with container mix, plant some seeds, see if the plants show the symptoms. Buckwheat is a fast growing test for this, but if you have a few months, you can use a tomato plant in a window indoors. No aminopyralid, it will simply stretch out from the low light. With aminopyralid, it will curl up like the plants in the pictures at the first URL above. Then the question is where to store it while you wait for your test plants to grow enough to be sure. If you spread it out on the lawn, maybe 10 feet from the garden edge, you could just let it sit out there, and no harm done either way. (If it does have aminopyralid contamination, the lawn won't care.) I do not know how you convince your dogs to stay out of it while you wait.
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#20 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seattle
Posts: 581
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I have used horse sh..eesh in the past without any problems. The horses were never stabled, so there was no 'bedding' involved. They ate local (within 2-3 miles) hay, and we never had a weed problem. Since you have already incorporated "it", you get what you got. Weeds are never a problem unless you let them become a problem. (A weed is nothing more or less than a plant than mankind has yet to find a use for!). Weeds, if kept under control, are a great source of organic material for your soil. Your tomatoes will love your contribution to their goal of reproducing themselves.
Forget the negative comments, and just enjoy your bountiful harvest next season. |
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#21 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Zone 8B or 9? Castaic, CA 91384
Posts: 122
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Thank you all very much for the info!
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happy growing, Theo |
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#22 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Western PA
Posts: 4
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The ULTIMATE composting thread----> http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sho...d.php?t=342651
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#23 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: OH
Posts: 29
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I have always heard about horse manure and the problem with weeds - thankfully, I never experienced it. I built a raised bed this spring and the top third was aged horse manure. I didn't collect enough weeds during the year from 168 sq. ft. to line the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket.
I would try to get it in the soil this winter and then be sure to get your soil analyzed in the spring, for the normal nuits and pH, as well as CEC. Mike |
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