Horse Manure - When to Use

I have bags of well rotted horse manure

1. Do I spread it on top of the earth now

2. Do I dig it into the bed now

3. Do I store it as I am doing in bags until later

4.If yes when do I spread it

5.Do I add it to my 2 week old composter

It depends what sort of garden you have and what you are growing and want to grow in the future.

Its an allotment and I got it in January this year

I have grown beans , peas , potatoes , carots , parsnips and leeks

Its to put on the bare earth ( after I have pulled up all this years growth )  for possible planting of all vegetables from Winter onwards

Decide where you're going to grow your potatoes next season, and manure and dig into that plot, then leave for the winter frosts to break down the soil.

As for the rest, I would stack it and cover it for the winter.  In the spring when you've planned out what you're going to grow and where I would spread it and dig it in over your allotment, except where you are going to plant root vegetables.  

Root vegetables do not do well in freshly manured ground, but by the following season the areas you manured the previous season will be fine for them.

I use a bit more on the area where I'm going to grow beans, to improve the structure of the soil and aid water retention.

Brassicas (cabbage family) do not do well in freshly manured soil, but the addition of a little lime can counteract this.  However you can't grow potatoes on land that has been previously limed as they will get scab - that is why it's important to plan where you grow things and understand a bit about crop rotation. 

Information on these sites should be helpful:

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=124

http://www.allotment.org.uk/grow-your-own/allotments/crop-rotation/three-part-crop-rotation

If it's not clear ask away, there's loads of people on here only too glad to help 

I suppose I ought to add that some people worry about using stable manure, because of the risk of getting oat seeds in the manure.  It doesn't worry me on a veg patch as they're easy enough to hoe out.  It would be more difficult if I used it in a herbaceous border.

There have also been concerns because some straw has been treated with a herbicide which remains in the soil and affects the plants grown in it although I think that this is less of a problem than it has been.  For your own peace of mind it would probably be good to check with the person supplying your manure, but there are probably other people on this forum who are much more knowledgeable than me about this.

Cooo....very helpful.

I will consider the above over the w/e

Many thanks Vic or is it Bob

No probs - hope it's helpful and best of luck with growing stuff.

We're big fans here, plus we have pigeons in the garden , but 'fraid it'd have to be Victoria or Roberta

Hi  I have an allotment where we are lucky to have a large heap of stable manure ,

its often all used up by the end of march and if one is not quick none left all cleaned up real smart, I used some a few year ago and spread it all over one piece of ground 2inches thick in october, and dug it in early march with little weed growth other than some thistles that just pulled up with no struggle, but I wondered if the weed growth the following years were due to that manuring from the years before, I did wonder at the time just how old the stuff was, I do realise it should be 6 months or more if poss, and as for the manure having some sort of hebiside on it some people on my allotments had a problem and their spuds looked just like they had blight , a sample was sent off and it was confirmed about the stuff that was sprayed onto the grass that is for the horses grazing is to keep down broadleaf growth, sorry I seem to have gone on rather a lot,  Jim

Hi Jim

I am piecing together a fuller story re horse manure

Got some 4 months ago and just spread it on a couple of my beds to sink in over the autumn

Will get some more soon and experiment with 1. spread some now 2. Spread it in new year 3. spread it just before i sow / plant

Thanks for your input

NewBoy