Evening all...
is it possible to use horse manure and shavings instead of the usual straw?
the t'other half has a horse but he is on a bed of shaving not straw...
there is sometimes hay in the bed also(from his hay net).
i was wondering if i piled it up and left it to break down would i be able to use it etc. if so how long should i break it down for?
Horse manure with shavings
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Shallot Man
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We had some delivered to the allotments some years ago, consensus was thank you but no more.
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Clive.
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For several years now we have collected Horse manure with shavings from a local stable....they keep putting a few bags out by the roadside...large ex feed bags. There is an occasional bit of hay and also some hair from grooming.
We tend to collect 3 or so bags at a time, once in a while, and add them to our compost heap at home here. 3 bags make a useful layer just nicely covering up what has been put on the heap previously. Useful if a dry layer of Pea or Bean haulm has been put on for instance. So the Horse manure and shavings are just one component along with a myriad of regular garden compostables.
We run 2 adjoining wooden sided compost bins each about 6ft square and 3.5ft high. We fill into bin 1 and use from bin 2. In late Summer we turn anything left in heap 2 out and re fill 2 from heap 1...effectively a turning exercise. The remnants previously out of 2 go back on the top if there is not an immediate use for the compost.
This is a system we have used since the late 1970s.
The shavings can still just be seen in the resulting compost but it proves to be a good addition to our quite light soil.
Recently the shavings at collection seem to be thinner wood planings so it will be interesting to see if they rot more completely.??
Application of the compost happens via mulches around soft fruit, as a dressing on top of Potato plantings prior to filling back the trench and also worked into the top prior to the Strawberry bed annual move....hence by rotation is distributed throughout the garden in turn. We have also used some of the second year compost, once riddled, as a basis for a pot plant compost.
Clive.
We tend to collect 3 or so bags at a time, once in a while, and add them to our compost heap at home here. 3 bags make a useful layer just nicely covering up what has been put on the heap previously. Useful if a dry layer of Pea or Bean haulm has been put on for instance. So the Horse manure and shavings are just one component along with a myriad of regular garden compostables.
We run 2 adjoining wooden sided compost bins each about 6ft square and 3.5ft high. We fill into bin 1 and use from bin 2. In late Summer we turn anything left in heap 2 out and re fill 2 from heap 1...effectively a turning exercise. The remnants previously out of 2 go back on the top if there is not an immediate use for the compost.
This is a system we have used since the late 1970s.
The shavings can still just be seen in the resulting compost but it proves to be a good addition to our quite light soil.
Recently the shavings at collection seem to be thinner wood planings so it will be interesting to see if they rot more completely.??
Application of the compost happens via mulches around soft fruit, as a dressing on top of Potato plantings prior to filling back the trench and also worked into the top prior to the Strawberry bed annual move....hence by rotation is distributed throughout the garden in turn. We have also used some of the second year compost, once riddled, as a basis for a pot plant compost.
Clive.
Hi Surferal,
It really depends on the ratio of Manure to Shavings. If composted for a couple of years then there is no real problem. Shavings will have a tendency to reduce the nitrogen content as they biodegrade.
Is it possible to greatly reduce the amount of shavings. Locally they generally set fire to the piles in the dry summer (which dry summer you might ask!) which gets rid of some of the shavings and certainly the excess of shavings that are on the surface of the pile and those that are within the pile go down with time.
Locally they compost shavings with raw Chicken Muck which is of course very strong and they do layer for layer and cover with black heavy duty Polythene which makes very good compost in the fullness of time. If you could get hold of some raw chicken muck then you would be well away by combining the two.
If you have nothing else then some nutrition is better than no nutrition so I would dig it in well.
JB.
It really depends on the ratio of Manure to Shavings. If composted for a couple of years then there is no real problem. Shavings will have a tendency to reduce the nitrogen content as they biodegrade.
Is it possible to greatly reduce the amount of shavings. Locally they generally set fire to the piles in the dry summer (which dry summer you might ask!) which gets rid of some of the shavings and certainly the excess of shavings that are on the surface of the pile and those that are within the pile go down with time.
Locally they compost shavings with raw Chicken Muck which is of course very strong and they do layer for layer and cover with black heavy duty Polythene which makes very good compost in the fullness of time. If you could get hold of some raw chicken muck then you would be well away by combining the two.
If you have nothing else then some nutrition is better than no nutrition so I would dig it in well.
JB.
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glallotments
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You also need to be aware that shavings may have come from wood that has been chemically treated. When I was studying the aminopyralid problem I read quite a bit on this type of thing.
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Hi Surferal. We had a load of horse muck which contained shavings a couple of years ago and wasn't very happy with it at all. The wood shavings took ages to rot down and some of it never did completely, despite the muck ending up like black gold! However, we used it and two years later, still come across shavings in the soil. Needless to say we won't be using it again. 
We ask now to ensure there are no shavings in the muck and reject it if there are.
Cheers.
We ask now to ensure there are no shavings in the muck and reject it if there are.Cheers.
Happy with my lot
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peter
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Why the worry about the shavings persisting?
Surely they will aid drainage and friability by improving the soli structure.
Indeed composted shreddings from forestry are sold as "soil improver".
Surely they will aid drainage and friability by improving the soli structure.
Indeed composted shreddings from forestry are sold as "soil improver".
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The question I wish to ask Shallot Man and Elaine.
Did using Horse Manure with shavings give you bad results?
Certainly shavings will persist visibly in the soil for some years to come but as Peter says does this really matter. Composted shavings are sold as soil improver's and do remember that something doesn't have to be perfectly composted to actually be beneficial to the soil. Only when the majority of the 'Manure' is shavings would I think of rejecting it and then only on the grounds as an expensive way to buy shavings!
JB.
Did using Horse Manure with shavings give you bad results?
Certainly shavings will persist visibly in the soil for some years to come but as Peter says does this really matter. Composted shavings are sold as soil improver's and do remember that something doesn't have to be perfectly composted to actually be beneficial to the soil. Only when the majority of the 'Manure' is shavings would I think of rejecting it and then only on the grounds as an expensive way to buy shavings!
JB.
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Shallot Man
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Johnboy. For myself I had no problems with it, as I tend to put delivery's on the compost heap for at least six months, having Essex clay I found it OK, unfortunately we have a minority on site who have read all the books and tend to pontificate to all and sundry. They convinced the Committee to cancel same, rather suspect the committee went along with it for a quite life.