"Well rotted" manure?

 

Once I've got my bags of horse manure, how do I know when it has rotted
enough to be mixed with my compost? Last year I just left it in a spare
bin for 6 months, but it didn't look (or smell!) much different to when
I started.

TIA

Paul

 


sfby wrote:

How trully strange. 6 months you said?! Our manure 'turns' into crumbs
within 2/3 months and even though we still got lots of straw in it but
the pooh has crumbled entirely. It's in a wooden crate, with gaps
around it, covered with a bit of old carpet and under an hawthorn. The
bin you've put it in, is it plastic and completely sealed? Because
there perhaps lies your problem. It needs to breeze a bit, with rain,
air, sun.

Here a fantastic site which gives you all you need to know.

http://www.primalseeds.org/compost.htm#kic

 


sfby wrote:

I'm not one of those who swear by plastic compost bins: the stuff wants
air, which is more available in a traditional heap, especially if you
turn it from time to time. If you've got a suitable place, four posts
and some chicken wire will look neat enough (to my taste, better).
Anaerobic organisms don't make compost, and do make smells. It's ready
when it no longer looks or smells like the original muck, as you seem
to realise. It's probably best to mix your muck in with other
composting material from the start.

--
Mike.

 




The part that needs to rot is the straw or shredded paper or whatever
other bedding material was used. And so the degree of further
decompostion and heating up, will depend on the proportion of straw etc
that was used. Manure of itself doesn't need to decompose any further as
all the decompostion was already done inside the animal's stomach. That's
why its possible to spead fresh cow manure, suitably watered down, straight
onto fields etc. Straight manure can be too concentrated when applied
direct to the soil however, hence the need to mix it with organic
matter first.



michael adams

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michael adams

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