Horse poo

Hi.....I have got some nice fresh horse poo, I have made a 'tea bag' and put it in my water butt.. it has been seaping for 2 days now and the water is a lovely amber colour.. I am wondering how much longer to leave it seaping.

I have dug some in around my runner beans, potatoes and onions and have been told I can use the water on anything  ie fruit veg and flowers.... I intend to dig the rest into the flower beds...As i am new to gardening I would value any comments and to know that what im doing is fine...

cheers

Yes, fresh manure can and will burn plants and their roots if they come in contact. You'd only ever want to dig in fresh manure in autummn to be left to overwinter and break down.

Horse poo tea is good stuff. The only time I made it I left it to steep for about ten days. Very pongy I have to tell you!

Thanks for the replys.....I have lifted the fresh poo from soil and put that and the rest into a large container with a few holes in and put about 3" of normal compost on the top to let it rot down as i dont have any ground space without grass on suitable  to put a pile of it on.........Is what ive done ok..sorry to ask  but I am a complete novice..

Also I have seen somewhere that courgettes apparently grow really well on manure piles.. any truth please

Thanks all Sally

I put my fresh manure in my compost bin, it mad lovely compost..

I have also read about growing courgettes on top of manure, but I still think it has to be well rotted so as not to burn the plant.

The only time fresh manure is used is to make a hotbed.

This has been featured on GW several times over the years and was a favourite of the Victorians. The heat from the manure helps the plants to grow and also feeds them but you don't plant directly into it, compost is added on top.

Made the mistake of putting fresh horse poo on my flower bed last autumn and now have a fine crop of weeds for my trouble!

Yes, that's one of the potential downsides of animal poo. If you can compost it when fresh, really get the temperature up, you can kill off a lot of the seeds.