Everyone knows that manure is awesome addition to any garden.
But all manure is not created equal.
Growing up we had horses and an HUGE pile of manure that we used on the garden. I won’t tell you what we did with that huge pile in the winter when it was covered in snow, but it involves a sled.
Hey, we lived in Central Indiana, not a lot of hills.
I can always remember a lush garden full of ripe tomatoes, piles of green beans, and baskets full of peppers and cucumbers.
But my dad knew that we couldn’t use that manure right away. You see, horse manure is what is called hot manure. I remember this huge pile giving off steam as it composted, this is because hot manures are typically high in nutrients and low in moisture content. These types of manures release their nutrients much more quickly. The manure gets very hot as it composts. That’s why I would see steam coming off it as it cooked. If my dad had put this on the garden right away, it would have burned the plants.
Now we have huge piles of goat manure. This is considered cool manure. Cool and cold manures release nutrients more slowly and could, theoretically, be applied to the garden without issue.
What does manure do anyway?
Long story short, it amends the soil and fertilizes plants. It also helps with retain moisture and reduce nutrient loss from run off. It’s also full of microbes. This adds to the microbiome of the soil, which is so important for plant health.
We use composted chicken/duck manure and goat manure on the farm. Goat manure that is combined with hay that the goats bed in is added directly around mature plants likes tomatoes and peppers. Most of it is composted and used later and I have never had a problem with it burning plants.
Need some goat poo? Give me a holler and I’ll see if we can’t hook you up!