carmine@qusavx.UUCP (Carmine Scavo) (05/29/84)
We often collect horse manure from a nearby stable for use on our vegetable garden. Sometimes the manure is put in the compost heap and sometimes it is used uncomposted. We have just found out that the owner of the stable uses different kinds of drugs to control worms in the horses. Does anybody out there in net land know if chemicals are passed through horses and so collect in the manure? Does composting do anything to remove these?
seb@mtgzz.UUCP (s.e.badian) (10/22/85)
Horse manure is excellent for enriching the soil. If you have sandy soil you will need more than just horse manure. Since sand does not hold water well (as I'm sure you've noticed) you will also have to add peat moss or some other material to increase the water retention of you soil. Peat moss is probably your best bet since it's cheap and it's acid. I hear that western soils tend to be alkaline and the peat moss may correct the pH balance also. Don't take me on my word on that though. That's conjecture on my part. To use the horse manure you will have to compost it. It has to break down before you use it. I'd advise building a compost pile. I don't think horse manure takes very long to break down. You can also add any other vegetable organic material to your compost pile. This will give you more balanced compost. A little of everything. The book "Square Foot Gardening" talks about composting and creating your own soil for gardens. And any good organic gardening book would probably give you more information. Sharon Badian ihnp4!mtgzz!seb
jeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman) (10/26/85)
> > Horse manure is excellent for enriching the soil. If you have > sandy soil you will need more than just horse manure. Since sand does > not hold water well (as I'm sure you've noticed) you will also have > to add peat moss or some other material to increase the water retention > of you soil. Peat moss is probably your best bet since it's cheap and > it's acid. I hear that western soils tend to be alkaline and the peat > moss may correct the pH balance also. Don't take me on my word on > that though. That's conjecture on my part. > > Sharon Badian > ihnp4!mtgzz!seb I would stay away from the peat moss. My experience is that it is a water repellant. It is very hard to wet. After I added some to a large planter box several years ago, water would run off of the surface instead of soaking in. I have never used peat moss since. Redwood compost help water retention, and is easy to wet. I imagine that it's very expensive on the east coast, but in California it's cheap. Many western soils are alkaline, but that's because they're made of clay. Water tends to leach out alkalinity, leaving an acid soil, but if the water runs off the top of the soil (as it does with clay), there will be no leaching. For this reason, I would expect sandy soil to be acid, not alkaline. -- Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.) "Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent..." {amdahl, sun}!rtech!jeff {ucbvax, decvax}!mtxinu!rtech!jeff