What can grow in 6-month old horse manure/shavings + very old compost?

[wsmoak]

I had some "help" filling one of the 4x8 garden beds, and it now has a tractor bucket of ~6 month old horse manure and shavings (it was just piled and has been rained on. It's cold (temperature) but not well broken down) and a scoop of very old compost. It's *too* old, doesn't hold water well, seems to be mostly sand with bits of organic matter. Elsewhere I've been mixing it with some sandy clay soil to get it to hold water.

So... it's there, and I'm not moving it! What can I put in it that might have a chance? I'm thinking of pumpkins or butternut squash. (Things I won't be *too* sad about if they don't work. )

Any other ideas?

-Wendy

 

[Rozzie]

Could you replace a bucket or two of soil where you plant your seeds (squash, etc) and then let them ramble over the rest of it?

 

[digitS']

What I was thinking, Rozzie. Perhaps the old compost would be suitable for that.

Your choice of pumpkins seems like a good one to me, Wendy. I used to grow pumpkins on my compost pile - waited 18 months to use it but that was here, not there. The last few years of plantings on old compost, the choice was basil.

Only added horse manure and shavings once and there was so much shavings that the result wouldn't have been even very good mulch. I hope it breaks down better for you but that was back in the day when I was still willing to put ammonium sulfate in my compost.

Steve