I feel rich!

14 years ago

I struck gold today!

Back when Minnesota was getting its first and only big-deal horse racing facility, they had a naming contest. I suggested Upson Downs, but Cantebury Downs won. We have absolutely no connection with or reason to name anything Canterbury.

I also grow the hosta Winsome... and was going to remove it as unremarkable when I realized I just have to find a good seedling or sport and name it Losesome and plant the two together.

but I digress...

Canterbury Downs, now Canterbury Park, has excellent facilities for the horses. They get nice clean wood shavings every day and their feed is seed-free. In short, they live considerably better than I...

The bedding and manure are composted for three years and then are free for the taking...

brown gold!

here's my "suburban pickup" load from this afternoon...

Featured Answer

idiothe
Original Author

14 years ago

Since I started this, I think I'd better clarify something. When I started gardening, I really didn't understand the difference between manure and composted manure. Some of our readers may miss the distinction...

I remember as a kid watching my grandpa very carefully side-dress his roses with fresh cow manure. The plants grandpa fertilized like this either grew really, really fast - or they died, burned up by the powerful chemicals.

There are some manures that people can use without too much danger. I'm told llama manure is mild and easy to use. Horse manure is not as strong as cow, because horses do not digest their food very thoroughly while cows process the food through four stomachs and the result is very concentrated manure.

I'm not an expert on manure. I don't use it. I am sure one has to be careful about polluting water sources with it.

Compost is a different thing. Compost is made by allowing natural organisms to digest and decompose organic products into the perfect soil conditioner. It is a very mild fertilizer as well.

I use a lot of free compost from our city. The manager of our yard waste disposal is well versed in composting and he tests the product for heavy metals, salt, etc. to be sure it is safe and properly composted before he released it to the public. It "cooks" hot enough that there are not too many weed seeds. One can plant directly in this material, though its high organic content can make it tend to hold a lot of moisture.

The horse manure/horse bedding compost has been sitting for three years. The texture is soft and loose, a perfect product for soil conditioning. If you have clay soil, this will loosen it up. If you have sandy soil, this will provide the necessary organic matter to hold moisture. In either case, it adds nutrients.

I do not believe that either of these composts could be of any danger to a water source... they are, in effect, just good soil.

bottom line - one must be careful when using manure, but one can never have enough compost!

City compost

Horse manure/bedding compost

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Comments (16)

Janice
14 years ago
GASP!!!! You hit 'pay-dirt' for sure!!! The 'pay-back' will be tremendous, but you already know that,
right? ;o)

I'm waiting for several days of 'dry' weather so we can go get our 'pay-dirt'! It's composted horse manure,
straw, tree trimmings and the like!! I can't wait--I've got plans!!!!

btw--love your idea of naming a hosta, to put alongside 'Winsome'!! LOL
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flowerchild59
14 years ago
I've got 7 horses here if anyone wants to show up with an SUV and a shovel :-)
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idiothe
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, but I don't think it would be cost-effective for me to haul manure from Illinois, MS. Hippiedip...

but just today I was digging out a patch of thistles and remembering that great free horse manure I got about 15 years ago... composted for a year out in a field - and so full of thistle seeds I've never been able to completely eradicate them. That's why I appreciate this stuff so much - we've used it for years and rarely had to deal with seeds in it. I'll bet you've learned how to compost it and have it turn into gold, though!
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hostarhodo
14 years ago
What a great haul. Doesn't it make you feel great when you are driving home knowing you got what you really wanted and all the plans you have for it. And it is only manure/compost not diamonds but you do feel just as rich. Us gardeners, we are not too hard to please.

We are not too proud to travel with this stuff, with a big grin on our face. Like Hyacinth on Keeping Up Appearances on PBS, we all have friends who wouldn't be caught doing such a thing.

I travel with cardboard, stained, mud, leaves in my trunk, wonder what the garage guy thinks sometimes. Gotta get that car cleaned!!!

Have fun spreading it around.

Betty
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idiothe
Original Author
14 years ago
thanks, Betty - spreading it around is something of a calling for me...
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cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
14 years ago
The National Zoo used to offer "zoo doo," but stopped a few years ago. Wonder what they do now...of course, I imagine there were sometimes seeds, but I never noticed. Anyway, lucky you, idiothe! Betty is SO right about our cars-LOL.
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alyciaadamo
14 years ago
yes I agree 'brown gold' the good thing is I have 4 horses and counting so we have an endless supply. ;) but what is even better is cow manure if you can get some! Hopefully someday we can add a cow to our mix!
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hosta_freak
14 years ago
AHA!!! I always knew you all up north were doing something,other that just planting your hostas,as I do! I never fertilize mine,as I don't think they need it,being a woodland garden and all. Congrats,anyway! Around here, it would all flow downhill,and contaminate my little creek. Phil
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hostarhodo
14 years ago
The neighbor I grew up with used his car to haul seaweed, manure from the exhibition and such, Dad said he was using his car like a truck. He grew organically and was known for his great vegetables.

After he passed away his nephew had a dozer in to clean up the yard and sold some of the soil. I bought a truck load, beautiful stuff.

Used some when I planted my hosta and rhodos. A few years later I had potatoes growing, white, red, best ones ever, never had planted potatoes. This happened for three years. Last year I did not let them grow.

But something else started to grow, guess what, still growing this year. I have numerous garlic plants.

Everytime I go to that section of my garden I am reminded of my neigbour.

The seaweed and manure is great and makes for good soil, but yes Phil you are right, it can contaminate water and the neigbours did ruin my Dad's well because he was downhill from them.

Use sparingly around water sources.

Betty
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hostarhodo
14 years ago
Yes, you are right, composted is the key.

What my neigbour did was just add fresh material to the soil. Quite a difference.

Betty
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thisismelissa
14 years ago
AWESOME!
Canterbury is not far from us at all!!!

Say, how much did those large buckets in your truck weigh??
I have some of those 39-gallon (I think) buckets... like you get in the seasonal section at Target... (you put ice & beer in them!)

I wonder how much those would weigh if they were full of fluffy compost.
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idiothe
Original Author
14 years ago
Melissa - I can lift those big ones, but with difficulty - I'm not a particularly strong guy, though. I also have garbage pails that I filled. I put the big things in the car partially filled and then fill them up with the smaller ones. I unload them the same way, dishing it out into more carryable containers. the 5 gallon pails are just about perfect...
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ptilda
14 years ago
That dirt... and compost... is beautiful!
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pzelko
14 years ago
oooh!! Dung in the car!! but good for your Hosta!!

Paul
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idiothe
Original Author
14 years ago
Question:
What sound does a manure bell make?

Answer:
"Dung... Dung... Dung..."
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I feel rich!

idiothe
Original Author

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