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Composting Horse Manure Will Make an Excellent Garden
from:Having animals like horses can be a lot of fun but after awhile you'll have quite a pile of manure, which not only looks unattractive but can be smelly as well. If you've had your horses for a few years, you can look inside the pile of manure and you may be surprised to find some very black "dirt". This means that you've been composting horse manure without even realizing it. Even without your help, your horse manure will compost on its own. However, when it composts on its own like this, you'll have a lot of unpleasant odors around the area as well as promoting flies and parasites that are harmful to your horse or horses. Not to mention, composting requires a lot of warm temperatures to be successful.
In large manure piles, the center may be composting, but not the sides because of the lack of warm temperature and mixture. Composting horse manure can eliminate a lot of these problems while giving you some excellent soil for your gardening needs. Many people pay a lot of money to buy horse manure for their gardens and you're lucky enough to have it there giving you the opportunity for composting horse manure for your own needs.
There are many reasons for composting horse manure besides the obvious, which is to reduce the odors and eliminate parasites. It is also a great way to lessen the size of your pile each year. You can also sell the compost soil you make by composting horse manure on your farm. Composted soil is a lot more sellable than straight smelly horse manure. People are going to be a lot more willing to pay good money for black rich dirt than they are for a pile of smelly messy manure. It's also much better fertilizer for your flower bed or vegetable garden.
The soil you'll get from composting horse manure will improve the aeration in your ground as well as retain water better. If you've ever tried to grow certain crops in hard soil, you'll know exactly what I mean. Compost from composting horse manure is soft and drains well while it retains the water. Another advantage of composting horse manure is the many nutrients you'll be spreading on your field or putting in your garden. Each year your soil will be better and better for growing crops. The benefits of composting horse manure are high and numerous. A composting pile consisting of horse manure and leaves, hay, sawdust, etc works well for your project and will give you some excellent soil for years to come.
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Composting Animal Manure News
Managing livestock odors
Most farm odors are associated with animal housing, manure storage and land application.
Read more...Odor sources studied to find solutions
Both the CacaLoco composting operation and city of Rifle wastewater treatment plant are being looked at as potential odor sources that have caused some West Rifle residents to keep their windows closed and stay inside some days.
Read more...Tainted manure makes garden vegetables grow, but not very well
Spencer Dennis/The News Leader Disa McPherson of Riverheads inspects her garden on the eve of the 2012 planting season. Four years ago her husband Lloyd unwittingly applied manure contaminated with the herbicide Grazon to the garden, and Disa has had "freak vegetables" in the garden since.
Read more...Pesticide expert warns that lingering herbicides can contaminate gardens, ornamental plants
Herbicides can linger in grass clippings, compost and manure, so Montanans should be sure to read product labels to keep from contaminating gardens and ornamental plants, says Montana State University Pesticide Education Specialist Cecil Tharp.
Read more...The nose knows
Jim Duke, owner of Caca Loco, walks by one of many large compost piles in West Rifle. Odors from his operation upset neighbors in recent weeks, but Duke thinks he has found a way to control the odors.
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