Horse Manure (Trail Gold)

[flowerbug]

Anyways, so every tree I plant I surround by a layer or two of cardboard, then i cover it with a few inches of manure. I also did the same for our raspberry and blueberry patches

that's about the opposite way of what i would do with it. cardboard over the manure. woodchips or rocks to hold down the cardboard.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

that's about the opposite way of what i would do with it. cardboard over the manure. woodchips or rocks to hold down the cardboard.

Agreed. But my main point is to give the trees a few months of weed free growing before the cardboard breaks down and the manure begins to integrate with the soil.

 

[flowerbug]

Agreed. But my main point is to give the trees a few months of weed free growing before the cardboard breaks down and the manure begins to integrate with the soil.

it will do that, but unlikely to be that quick unless it is pretty thin stuff and you have a ton of worms or other activity going on out there. usually around here cardboard is good for most of a season and if i put down more than one layer it's going to last until the next spring.

manure is a weak nutrient and if it is composted manure it won't even have the benefits of the fresh urine or liquids in it. i'm not sure what you're hauling... either way by the time a few months are up exposed to the elements you've lost or had it leached away from around the tree (unless you're digging a pit and angling the cardboard down towards the tree trunk - which isn't probably a good arrangement in the soggy north the way the weather and snows have been).

next year try a few trees with putting the manure under the cardboard too (if you need it to hold down the cardboard that's ok) and see how they compare to others planted at the same time using the other method...

 

[digitS']

Get the horse manure outta the way, first . What I have liked about it is not its nutrient value but what it does for the soil texture, moisture retention, plants seem to love being able to get their roots down in that soil.

This thread didn't start out the way I thought it would. I'm sorry that you lost your friend, Sprig'. A lot of us have had these guys in our lives. For me, it was probably first and foremost a Social Problems professor. It didn't take much learnin' to know that we had social problems in the 60's: war - hot and cold, assassinations, jim crow, demonstrations, riots. I learned that he wasn't a sociologist or a social worker, he was an anthropologist .

His anthropology 101 class - still remember how I hung on his every word. He had studied and taught high school in Tlingit communities in SE Alaska. He was a good drawer and even when he turned around to the backboard, you knew that something dramatic was up there for when he turned away so we could see his drawing of a canoe or ceremonial mask. I was a good student and enjoyed bringing things in and talking to him. But, I was also a young father and was running out of resources in the middle of the school year. He tracked me down and arranged for financial aid and a job in the library. I changed my major from history to anthropology!

Well, if I had thought that there wasn't much of a future in history (), there was probably less of one in the social sciences. Still, I didn't sweat it much since I figured that I'd just be driving circles in a field for my working career.

His field wasn't all that great. I realized that he didn't really have the personality for all the crap that goes on in academia - great teacher and nice guy that he was. He moved on into social work out of academia. Hmm? Made me suspect that I wasn't gonna be happy with a career inside the ivy covered walls, either.

Anyway, he moved out into a wonderful home in the country and drove into town every day to help people . Ya know, somebody who would be a real nice neighbor. I visited and stayed in contact with him ... and, with his widow, after his passing.

Steve

 

[baymule]

We have 4 horses. Currently I am using them and their manure to improve soil on a pipeline that goes through our property. Our soil is pure sand. So i'm putting the hay round bale on the pipeline, moving each time we get a new bale. The waste hay gets stomped into the soil, they stand around, eat, poop and poop some more.

My Daddy was my mentor on horse manure. He was an organic gardener before it was cool. My earliest memories are of toddling behind him in his garden. I can remember going with him to horse stables where he filled the back of his old Dodge panel truck with manure. I am my Daddy's girl, carrying on his horse poop legacy. LOL LOL

​

 

[seedcorn]

@baymule. When we were kids, commercial fertilizer didn’t exist. Everyone was “organic”.

 

[baymule]

@baymule. When we were kids, commercial fertilizer didn’t exist. Everyone was “organic”.

Correction. After WW2 commercial fertilizers became the wonder drug of modern farming. Unless you are VERY old they certainly were available. I can remember my Daddy trying them. His mantra; it will either burn them up or make 'em go! He also used sevin dust, then decided to go back to the old ways, like he was raised--you know BEFORE such things became available.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Get the horse manure outta the way, first . What I have liked about it is not its nutrient value but what it does for the soil texture, moisture retention, plants seem to love being able to get their roots down in that soil.

This thread didn't start out the way I thought it would. I'm sorry that you lost your friend, Sprig'. A lot of us have had these guys in our lives. For me, it was probably first and foremost a Social Problems professor. It didn't take much learnin' to know that we had social problems in the 60's: war - hot and cold, assassinations, jim crow, demonstrations, riots. I learned that he wasn't a sociologist or a social worker, he was an anthropologist .

His anthropology 101 class - still remember how I hung on his every word. He had studied and taught high school in Tlingit communities in SE Alaska. He was a good drawer and even when he turned around to the backboard, you knew that something dramatic was up there for when he turned away so we could see his drawing of a canoe or ceremonial mask. I was a good student and enjoyed bringing things in and talking to him. But, I was also a young father and was running out of resources in the middle of the school year. He tracked me down and arranged for financial aid and a job in the library. I changed my major from history to anthropology!

Well, if I had thought that there wasn't much of a future in history (), there was probably less of one in the social sciences. Still, I didn't sweat it much since I figured that I'd just be driving circles in a field for my working career.

His field wasn't all that great. I realized that he didn't really have the personality for all the crap that goes on in academia - great teacher and nice guy that he was. He moved on into social work out of academia. Hmm? Made me suspect that I wasn't gonna be happy with a career inside the ivy covered walls, either.

Anyway, he moved out into a wonderful home in the country and drove into town every day to help people . Ya know, somebody who would be a real nice neighbor. I visited and stayed in contact with him ... and, with his widow, after his passing.

Steve

That's a great story. Thank you for sharing your inspiration and experiences

The mulch around the trees is one thing. I could use wood chips and be happy, but my main focus is trying to make the entire prairie healthier. I just happen to have a plethora of manure . The trees are all varieties that I am.growing for my tree farm. The target is in the future to be able to source seeds directly from my property as well as replacing all the Amur Maple that someone decided to plant everywhere 20 years ago.

As for the prairie sections it's a giant nearly monoculture and all clay. Some of it was even corn field last year or the year before, so you know there's zero goodies in there; there's a few flowers here and there but really it's blah. So, I dump manure by the bucket full around to help and last year I chose five 40'x40' plots that I mowed to the soil then spread manure mixed with wildflower and prairie grass seed all over. It'll take a few years but those plots should help to spread flowers and prairie grass elsewhere. Looking forward to seeing some Rattlesnake Master growing wild on my own land.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

We have 4 horses. Currently I am using them and their manure to improve soil on a pipeline that goes through our property. Our soil is pure sand. So i'm putting the hay round bale on the pipeline, moving each time we get a new bale. The waste hay gets stomped into the soil, they stand around, eat, poop and poop some more.

My Daddy was my mentor on horse manure. He was an organic gardener before it was cool. My earliest memories are of toddling behind him in his garden. I can remember going with him to horse stables where he filled the back of his old Dodge panel truck with manure. I am my Daddy's girl, carrying on his horse poop legacy. LOL LOL

​

that looks beautiful!

 

[baymule]

As for the prairie sections it's a giant nearly monoculture and all clay. Some of it was even corn field last year or the year before, so you know there's zero goodies in there; there's a few flowers here and there but really it's blah.

To help improve the clay, plant long root radishes, like daikon. Let them grow, bloom, and die. The roots will bust the clay apart, when decaying, will add humus and food for earth worms. The decayed radish roots will leave openings in the clay, helping rain to absorb instead of running off. Plant rings of long root radishes around your trees, it will help a lot.