UPDATE:
I wrote this post after an afternoon of major weeding. I would like to correct something. Horse, Cow and Chicken manures are awesome soil amendments, but should be properly composted to kill weed seeds and ready it for garden use.
Check out these links for the inside scoop and composting poop:
(original post below)
Horse Manure and Weeds Seeds Can Go Hand in Hand
Spring weeds found in my raspberry patch, courtesy of my friend Flicka
On the daily bus/ferry commute my friend Rud contends that someone will bring up the subject of manure well before we reach the West Seattle Fauntleroy dock. On an island where gardening trumps TV and horses outnumber bicycles, Rud is right; all roads lead to that which lines a stable. So when the subject arises (and it always does), Rud remains stoic, takes a side glance at his watch and simply states the time, “seven twenty-two.” We then laugh and he returns to his paper, book or conversation—a conversation which doesn’t include talking about you know what.
This year I had an epiphany; unless a stallion jumped my deer fence, horse manure had no place in my garden. After spending years adding horse manure as a soil amendment to my upper vegetable garden and raspberry patches, a simple observation showed me the error of my ways. Horse manure comes with millions of weed seeds.
I created a large vegetable garden on the sunny frontage of my property, a place once ruled by scotch broom, blackberry brambles and weeds—lots of weeds. After bushwhacking and mowing back the brush, I took the tractor to the area and tilled it several times over a period of a couple spring months.
It’s now August and the weeds are minimal, except one area, the spot where I added one load of ‘composted’ horse manure. Within a month, that corner of the garden was a consumed by weeds, just like the upper gardens and patches. The common denominator: horse manure. From that point on, compost became my soil amendment of choice. I have the pictures to prove it.
Weeds to the left, sunflowers to right
No horse manure added and thus; no weeds, or very few
Clean rows in the cornfield makes Tom happy
What I was blogging about a year ago: How to Build a Better Berry Basket (or Bucket)
20 responses so far ↓
1 brion // Aug 5, 2009 at 1:30 pm
“Holy Crap, Tomcat!” What is horse manure but predigested compost? I’ve read that you should not compost weeds for that very reason as well and cat poop for some reason. At the same time, now that I’ve vented, I must add that there are a couple of things that should never be discussed in polite company, religon, politics and composting. Then I will go on to say in my undisciplined, poorly punctuated comment and at the risk of sounding self-righteous, that composting needs to be hot and thorough. Thanks, I needed that.
2 Tom // Aug 5, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Brion you funny man, good points all! I do have friends who cover their horse manure with black plastic to super heat it and thus (and hopefully) kill weed seeds. I’ll see how that goes for them before I try it.
Oh, in the words of Rud….”seven thirty-one.”
A
3 Linda // Aug 5, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Tom,
Wow !! That corn seemed to thrive in the record heat. I can’t believe how much it has grown in a week. Hopefully, you’ll be eating corn on the cob by September. As for the manure, plastic bags and poop that’s a lot of work. What about the stuff in the pretty bags at the hardware store ? Doesn’t it do as well? Manure facts that I never knew.
4 Tom // Aug 5, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Funny you should mention it; only chicken and cow manure are offered commercially as soil amendments…and so I rest my case.
Note to self: time to secure coop and get chickens!
5 brion // Aug 5, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Tom – why do you think the honey locust trees grow around and in the barn? Because the seed pods taste great…to a cow.
6 Tom // Aug 5, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Ouch!
Hey, there’ll be no debunking of my hypotheses mister. ….cows, you don’t say.
7 Tom // Aug 6, 2009 at 3:21 am
Okay, Brion…I’ve thought about this and I have black locust saplings all over my property and around my barn and yet no cows. So uh, the ball is back in your court.
8 brion // Aug 6, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Tom – I meant no disrespect my Captain. I, unlike you, have a short commute and am somewhat antisocial. Forgive me, I have no outlet for my opinions on the breakdown of organic matter by decompostition, let alone its production and/or the beneficial and appropriate uses of the result. But I know manure when I see it. The leaves and pods of the Honey locust are just a little too flavorful for grazing animals, so much so that eons ago the tree developed thorns to regulate access to its foliage. The Black Locust became …poisonous. Yes, the leaves, pods and bark. One could postulate that any cows living near your farm probably died off long before your stewardship. In addition, cows are notoriously bad swimmers so I’m sure not many could have made it across from the main land. But I digress, The pods unlike the that of the Honey Locust is smaller and easily carried by the wind. Could this account for the distribution of your Locust saplings? Be careful before selecting chickens as your source of fertilizer.
9 Tom // Aug 7, 2009 at 3:46 am
Drat, I thought you’d cave. Okay how about this smoking gun. While I’ve found countless rusty horseshoes on the property, nary a cow bell, steer horn, or milking pail has been unearthed. A-hah, there’s my smoking gun (weak, but my smoking gun nonetheless).
10 Tom // Aug 7, 2009 at 4:55 am
One more thing, if you still want to use horse manure, the University of Colorado extension service points out that, “Horse manure is legendary in its potential to introduce a major weed seed problem into a garden. Composting the manure before application may kill the weed seeds if the pile heats to above 145 degrees F and the pile is turned to heat process the entire product.”
11 brion // Aug 7, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Tom – Cow pies are your best bet. I’m just saying that all manure will have some residual seeds. Even birds. That is, of course, if you don’t subscribe to the Chinese method… you may not want to leave your coffee cup out there anymore . One solution is to amend soil in the fall and then just about anything will do. How’s the weather been out there anyway…
12 June@Four Green Acres // Aug 10, 2009 at 4:51 pm
So happy to have my little chickens. I just have to make sure it gets a good rest and a tumble with the rest of the pile before it gets into the garden.
13 Tom // Aug 10, 2009 at 7:52 pm
So true June, I loved having chickens contribute to compost pile, that is until the racoons descended with armored tanks pillaging my coop. I am currently laying land mines and barbed wire to keep the racoons at bay. When I succeed in the effort, I share reintroduce my feather friends to a more secure home (as if a moat, and gun turret weren’t enough).
14 Apricot Preserves Recipe: Jam Making as Alchemy // Aug 4, 2010 at 11:24 pm
[...] One year ago: Horse Manure: Crappy Soil Amendment for Your Garden [...]
15 Susan // Jul 18, 2011 at 11:18 am
Why not introduce the chickens to the compost and horse manure. They are great at finding seeds and stirring things up.
16 Tom // Jul 18, 2011 at 11:56 am
Susan you are a genius, I like the idea and plus I need to update my take on manure as now I’m a believer with a few caveats
Tom recently posted..MacGyver Mom Takes On Mutant Alien Deer
17 Alex Beum // Dec 5, 2011 at 8:17 am
Clearly you do not know what you are talking about. You say the horse manure was composted but did you confirm it reached proper temperature to kill the seeds? NO! That is why the seeds survived. Just because horse manure is broken down does not mean that it reached proper temperature. Call it broken down not composted the next time you post instead of misleading people. Clearly you just delete comments people write that are not agreeing with you, it is sad. I studied horticulture and your post is so far from scientific it is funny. Try getting horse manure, composting it properly and then trying it. Until then stop spreading ignorance! -Humboldt Grower
18 Tom // Dec 5, 2011 at 9:13 am
Alex, ouch! Your comment is surprisingly harsh. Could you not have begun with I disagree and here’s why. You went from zero to sixty in a few words. First of all, no comment deletion here. I welcome all non-offensive comments, even the less gracious ones (as you can see).
Now to the issue at hand. Yes you are right, horse manure is awesome, and I use it regularly now and will update shortly saying such. Yes, I had used some manure that had not been composted properly and it had every seed in King County in it.
So Alex, truce, you were right and I was wrong: horse manure needs to be properly composted to kill weed seeds. Good growing to you in Northern California.
19 Dusty Reid // Feb 8, 2012 at 10:54 am
well handled Tom, Alex came out guns blazing hey! More Way and Less Bark i say – good on ya!
20 Dusty Reid // Feb 8, 2012 at 10:55 am
More WAG
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