it's a mixture of urine soaked saw dust and manure. i spread and tilled it in but i was afraid to put it into the part of the garden that i was going to plant garlic in just another day or so. i felt that it was too fresh and may burn the cloves so why risk it.

the garlic is planted but i'm wondering if i was wisely cautious or unnecessarily cautious?

tom

One thing I have found when using uncomposed poo is that it makes the soil very fluffy...sometimes this is a good thing but I've found it's tougher to get moisture down deep if it has to got through a layer of horse manure. The poo absorbs the water slowly but doesn't allow it to go though. I had one small section this year that I put several inches of semi fresh down as a mulch, I had to rake it back to get any water down to the roots. lesson learned..mix well with soil. I know a man in Ohio with heavy clay, He brought in dump truck loads and used a big tractor to plow it in. he said it'll still take years to build up enough organic matter to make decent soil.

-bloo

I went out yesterday and put bagged chicken manure on my beds (well, not all of them, need to get more manure.) Beds I dosed three weeks ago are looking WAY better than those not yet done. Definitely makes a big difference. I missed the manure last year and had a somewhat disappointing crop (not to the recipients, but to me.)

I read that alfalfa pellets are sometimes used for organic fert..it's sort of the same thing and free at your local stables

Yes, it was at the organic page, there is a thread that been going for a couple years now about horse manure. Kimmsr and I go round and round about this. He thinks I'm full of it and I think he's fanatical.

And kris, I've thought about adding chicken manure this year as well. How has it affected your soil so far? Do you know where it comes from? Small farms vs large companies that feed the birds God knows what.

Kim

(Perhaps I am just burnt out on all the organic hippie stuff that Arcata, CA throws at us? Sweat out each and every bit of food you eat, but smoke up a ton of weed that has who knows what chemicals used on it while growing. Hypocrisy anyone?)

But, yes, plain old chicken manure and it works great in my raised beds when mixed with composted wood products, and no, I don't know what the trees have been fed, either.

You mention cow manure is different. How so? And is horse manure better or is cow manure better? (In composted form, of course.)

If I can get a mixture of the two vs one or the other, should I?

Thanks for your insights. :)

Erin