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Indiana

Hey Guys,
I know absolutely nothing about manure, so here I am. If I add 4 inches of fresh manure this fall, will it be composted down this spring if I till it yet this fall? I have an 8 inch deep soil profile right now, and 4 inches would make it 12 which I can till it that deep. Sand, Peat Dirt, and dairy manure. I figure lots of you have more experience with this than me.

Thanks,
Tom

9/10/2004 1:08:50 PM

Taber, Alberta

I put in about 6-8 inches of horse manure last October and by mid-April it was all broken down.
Alan

9/10/2004 1:39:06 PM

KENTUCKY

tom,
Last fall I put about 10-16 inches down, thAT WAS WAY TO MUCH! the 4 your putting down sounds good. Just insure you make admedments with the manure so your PH doesn't go outa wack. Trust me, watch the PH when adding lots of manure. It took till june/july for my 10-16 to break down. I will not add that much again in one year.
I am taking the advise of others and staying 1 year ahead. I've been composting about 4 dump truck loads all year. This will go in this fall, then I'll start another pile for next fall.

Mike

9/10/2004 2:41:18 PM

[email protected]

Tom
Your 4 inches of fresh manure will only give you an extra inch or an inch and a half in the spring.
I add 4 inches of manure, 3 inches of grain straw (leaves are hard to come by around here) and 3 inches of pete moss and only gained 2 inches of soil.
all that I added raised my Organic Matter by 3%.
I've done soil and tissue tests all summer and other than adding fish, kelp and some mollasses, I haven't added a drop of fertilizer, and I'm still sitting with good to high readings on all my nutrient levels. And not 1 split this year and last year I lost 3 of 4 to splits. I will break my PB even with the year of crappy weather we have had. This fall I will do the same again.
Hope this helps you.
Eddy

9/10/2004 2:45:02 PM

Northern Cambria, Pa.

The most important thing about fresh manure is to till it in immediately. It will loose up to 50% of the N the first day that it is not. Very fresh manure can be impossible to till immediately though. I usually till it the next day after it is scattered.

9/10/2004 3:27:38 PM

Waquoit Mass

add some nicw big fat worms worm castings are 40 % organic

9/10/2004 4:33:09 PM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

Tom B doesn't know about manure?

9/10/2004 4:45:46 PM

Joliet, IL

tom,
is this question a result of communiction with the petersen
carlson tag team? i did see that they said they never
used fertilizer all year and thought maybe this is
the reason for your post. i would be interested in hearing
any or all soil prep ideas from that bunch along with
scott armstrong. maybe you all can put together an article
about soil prep to be added to article archives.
or just post as much basic info and prep secrets so
us newbies will keep you guys on your toes in the future
and together we can all keep pushing each other to keep
pushing the bar higher.
shazzy

9/10/2004 6:15:17 PM

Wichita, KS

Depends on the kind of manure, too. If its horse manure, you will need to compost it first, because the stuff is salty. Water it down and draing the salts out before layering your patch. I use a lot of horse manure as of this year, because I have 5 horses stationed on the outside of my fenced in garden. Southern uses it a lot, too.

I do know a guy who grows directly in steer manure. It is higher in N, has a decent consistency, PH is managable, low salts... decent stuff. He grows in 18" raised beds that are about 4 years old now. The beds are 100% steer manure. His garden is beautiful, but he won't grow AGs. Their size scares him. kinda like how I feel about clowns with chainsaws. I guess you start to feel that way once you reach 85 years of age like he has. :-)

9/10/2004 6:23:35 PM

Clinton, Iowa

we would love to put somethign together..Personally I call it growing Atlantic giants on abudget!!LOL!! hey father of 4 kids you have your limits....and with some luck we have proven it can be done with nothing more then soilprep..and of course let us not forget Mother nature....with out her..we struggle....like everyone else...
DAN...

9/10/2004 6:31:40 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

kiss

9/10/2004 11:03:27 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

k.i.s.s.

9/10/2004 11:03:41 PM

Sheridan . NY

TOM old advice --4oz of fish 8oz of molasses and 4oz symbex over manure till in 4-6 inchs will get the stuff brakeing down this fall

9/11/2004 8:45:13 PM