horse manure for garlic

16 years ago

Howdy people,

I'm wondering if anybody has tried ammending their soil with large amounts of horse poo ? Well, I have and had very promising results thus far. I put down enough poo at one end of a plot so the soil % was 50/50. I went back two weeks later and dug up a couple cloves at each end to see what was happening.

My findings were the cloves at the non poo end were just started to grow some roots where as the cloves at the mix end had 1 1/2" 2" roots on them. I also found some German Extra Hardy bulbs outside that I had forgotten about and grabbed up some soil that is 80% poo, put that soil into some pots and planted the GEH cloves in the pots. I have 2 inch plants in 10 days...granted this is in the house sitting by a window and not outside where it's 20 degrees but still that's pretty good.

I planted 2 thermadone cloves in the same 80% in pots and have rootage in 2 days. The test will be this...Will these plants burn up or will they be the best I've ever seen come june. I'll keep a log to track what happens. The link below is where I bought all my seed stock...I'm very impressed.

Travis

Here is a link that might be useful: cranky carls great garlic

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Comments (7)

mistervetch
16 years ago
From the garlic website you mentioned:

"2005 crop available July 15."

The website hasn't been updated for over two years! Did you order from him/them recently?

J
bloosquall
Original Author
16 years ago
Mistervetch,

Yes, I ordered mine in september and october. Actually I bought from him three different times this fall as I kept expanding the operation. Even late in the season I got nice bulbs from him. I also purchased 2 pounds from The garlic store but ordered that in May.

I was pretty fortunate to find that guy in Montana.

UPDATE: My two plants in the pots grew another 1/2" over night. I'm going to move them upstairs by the windows where it's a lot cooler. They will get the correct amount of light for this time of year, Maybe that will slow them down a bit.

Travis
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mistervetch
16 years ago
That's good to hear that Cranky Carl's place is still selling. $11/lb is a bargain compared to most of the more 'famous' sites that sell garlic.

In a similar experiment to Bloosquall, I used fresh cow manure for my garlic beds this year. One section is 100% manure on the bottom (6 to 8 inches), and 2 or so inches of garden soil placed on top. The cloves I planted there looked good so far, then I had to cover 'em with mulch for the winter. If I remember, I'll report back here in July to see if the garlic thrived, or 'burned' as I often hear that's what will happen if non-composed manure is placed directly into the garden.
crankycarl
16 years ago
Well I've been reading your posts for the few days and boy I think That is great what Travis is doing with the horse poo with it not being as hot as cow manure I think he'll have good luck.Mistervetch sorry about my main website not being up to date.Travis also has very nice seed bulbs.CrankyCarl
bloosquall
Original Author
16 years ago
My indoor plants are a foot tall now and growing the fourth leaf, they are planted in pots with an approx 80% horse poo blend. The pots are positioned in front of a big window where they get natural light but no direct sunlight.

I really like the texture of the soil with even a 50/50 blend. I believe it adds to aeration, way less compaction of soil particles and adds to moisture retention. I have a post over at the ORGANIC GARDENING page also...one woman thinks I'm nutty for experimenting with such a high amount..oh well.

I'm not real sure what will happen with these plants being inside. My concern here is that the plant will not get the seasonal cues it needs to complete it's life cycle. But, this is an experiment. I think in the spring if the plants are still alive and well I can gently pull them from the pots and plant them. There should be a nice root ball holding everything together.

Something else I did a couple weeks ago is plant 30 Metechi and 16 Ele balls in an spot with high concentrations of poo. I was walking around outside cleaning up some stuff when I looked down to find a bag marked Metechi that I got from Carl back in late October. I looked inside to find these cloves had started growing roots. I can't just toss perfectly viable Metechi cloves so I looked around, dug a trench and there they are. The soil was darn chilly but I think they'll be fine.

MisterVetch, I anxious for summer to come around to see how your plot does.

D.H.P, designer horse poo..look for it at your favorite organic garden store this spring. ROFL

Travis
bloosquall
Original Author
16 years ago
I have an update on the indoor garlic plants. They are growing the fifth leaf now and are over a foot tall, the leaves don't seem to be as dark green and strong and plants grown in the direct sunlight. If the plants are still in good shape I'll put them outside when it warms up enough.

Travis

Here is a link that might be useful: bloosqualls garlic farm
bloosquall
Original Author
16 years ago
Well, I was gone for 6 weeks hauling logs and came home to find that even though the plants were being watered and still getting some sun through the window The stems rotted at the soil level so I guess the experiment didn't work. It is now obvious to me garlic needs direct sunlight

The rest of the 5,000 outside is looking great though even this early.

Travis