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Farmyard Manure
Our Farmyard manure is our budget compost. It boosts fertility and
improves soil condition... and that makes your flowers, fruit and
vegetables grow in plenty.
Farmyard manure is a highly nutritious organic soil amendment. It
can be applied to flower beds, rose beds, and before planting potatoes,
and nitrogen hungry greens – pumpkins, cucumber, cabbage,
marrow ect.
It is used as organic mulch in ‘no dig’ gardening. But
it can equally well be mixed into the top few inches of soil.
Our farmyard manure may include: horse manure, cow manure, and pig
manure. Horse manure has a reputation for containing weed seeds.
Pig manure rots down quickly. Cow manure is rather good because
digestion is more complete. The manure is usually mixed with straw
bedding, urine and other organic residues.
All our manure has been left for a minimum of 6 months to rot down.
It’s best to protect it from rain under a tarpaulin or plastic
sheet leaving room for ventilation. Composting increases the ph
from acidic to more normal and stabilises the nutrient content.
The dung is usually mixed with straw or wood shavings. Their high
carbon content helps stabilise the nitrogen in the dung and make
humus. Composting produces a hot heap that kills weed seeds. Keep
the heap under a cover sheet to reduce leaching of nutrient liquid.
When ready for use it has a pleasant earthy smell.
Manure is a great soil conditioner too. It builds up black moisture
retentive humus and improves soil structure. All soils benefit.
Farmyard manure is best applied in late winter or spring.
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