There are different ways to prepare manure that is rich and nutrient filled for the soil in order to enable the growth and germination of plants.
The use of horse manure is an age old golden solution that is very easy to do in the comfort of your garden. In order to enjoy the total benefits of horse droppings, you need to use it with the composting method.
What is composting?
When you make a compost, you are involved in the process of mixing various beneficial organic materials such that they are recycled and can be used as fertilizers to the soil.
Components that are added are allowed to decompose in a monitored and controlled environment while embracing aeration, that is, allowing the presence of air in the process.
Foods leftovers, vegetables, or kitchen, yard and house wastes generally.
Engaging in this process helps the soil to retain moisture and also prevent erosions which might likely happen.
Composting can be done in very easy ways, it is easy to control the smell with the right proportion of components and the allowance for the passage of air.
In the process of composting, bacteria, worms, fungus, insects, and other micro organisms are allowed to exist to the benefit of the compost.
The matter becomes not only decayed but also being eaten and passed out by the organisms which guarantees a biological influence and changes to make it an earthy rich substance.
What is Horse Manure?
Manure comes in different forms, it is any organic material whether from animals or humans which is used to fertilize the soil.
It is a form of natural fertilizer which can be in form of waste, greens, bones, droppings, decomposed dead animals, liquid like urine,organic compost materials etc.
Horse manure is mostly derived from horses’ poop. It may contain some wood materials like hays, straws or sawdust.
It is considered a very great manure for various reasons, one of which is because of the nutritional value it contains compared to a cow’s dung.
This is so because horses’ digestion process is a less thorough process compared to that of a co. The less digested food or grass leaves some of its nutrients still protected and conserved.
Their poop is also considered to be biodegradable and sometimes soaked with nitrogen rich urine. Horse manure is a very potent fertilizer which not only permits seeds to grow but also weeds.
How do you compost horse manure?
The first trick is to know that water is very important in composting manure. Most animal manures are advised to be composted before usage.
In the preparation of horse manure, you do not need to put any layer on the floor because contact with the soil helps to allow the breeding of micro organisms.
To ensure this, you need to be sure that the horse manure have not been filtered with additives.
Horse manure takes a longer time to compost because of the loose digestion system.
To start, find the right site where you want to seclude for your horse manure
Remember that you do not need to put a layer that will hinder the contact of the manure from the soil, so you can add a woody layer that can still allow the flow of air
Make an 8inch or above layer of plants, trimmings and other greens that are natural and have not been tampered with or treated with chemicals, pesticides or insecticides
Add other layer of your composting and wet at each layer as many layers as you make. Note: you can add an inch of soil before putting the horse manure.
Your hays and light straws are needed here. You just add a pile of hats and straws on top of the layers you have made, make holes for the passage of air and don’t forget to practice the turning over of your compost pile every now and then.
Why do you compost horse manure?
Composting helps cure manure. Curing is the final stage of composting. It is a maturity stage where the heating process has been completed.
When a horse manure is fresh, it has a high level of alkalinity or high nitrogen which some plants may find perfect while others may not.
To solve this, it is important to engage in the process of composting in order to bring it to a more neutral state.
Although horse manure may have weed seeds that can germinate while in the soil, there are other benefits which includes but are not limited to:
- It is cheap
- It helps to build the soil
- It is less likely to be inefficient
- It can be easily accessed
- It takes less stress to compost
How to make a weed free compost
There are different ways to make your compost weed free or weed seeds free. One of the most popular option is to use a hot pile composting method. When you get your horse manure, pull out any visible weeds you can see.
Here, you make the temperature range between 140-170 degrees. The higher it is, the more chance that it kills the highly resistant seeds and for as long as 30 days.
You should also engage in turning the pile so that you can monitor it to know when it is ready. To do this, when you turn the pile and it’s no longer has a foul smell and quite warm, you can accept that it’s ready to use.
Also, turning helps push weeds into the center of the pile thus cooking them and making them recycled into a compost material.
FAQ- can I use fresh horse manure?
Yea you can. It’s very easy, just spread over the soil and it’ll fertilize the soil. However, in cases where some plants are sensitive to the nitrogen or alkalinity level, it may burn the plant. But the more mature the manure is, the richer it is.
How do I prevent the manure my horse produces from littering the environment?
Yes you can, you can opt for use a horse bag to collect the manure
What else can I add to my horse manure?
Other materials that can be beneficial to the composting process are: egg shells, blood meals, hats, straws, organic waste, etc
