Got a load of free horse poop. Now what?

[Esprit]

We've been blessed with an unlimited supply of horse poop from a neighbor. He dropped off a large trailer full. It is mixed with hay as it's from the stables. Since it's fairly fresh, how long does it have to sit before I can use it on my vegetable gardens? I do know I need to stir it regularly to help decomposition.
Thanks
Todd

[Bearfootfarm]

I'd use it next Spring

[TnAndy]

And compost it as HOT as you can (add lawn clippings, turn several times), because it will reduce the weed seeds in it....and often horse (and cow) manure is full of them.

[geo in mi]

If your neighbor is so generous as to load and unload it for you.....ask him for some more! It will compost by getting hot in the core first, then you should turn it so the outer parts are on the inside. Sometimes the outer , cooler parts will sprout the seeds that are in it--you can yank them out and kill some of the plants that way, too By letting it sit in a pile for a season, you can turn when you have time, after it has heated. The heating process will start again.

geo

[COWS]

Horse manure is highly overrated as to nitrogen content. It is weaker than chicken or cow. A relative with a spreader truck was given a large pile from a horse boarding place which had aged a year. He spread it on pasture and was not impressed. It does, however, have a lot of value for plant food. Years ago we had a horse in our pasture. It had the habit of staying under some low trees on a red, eroded place. After a short time the grass there was ridh and lush from the constant droppings.

I would go ahead and use your load now, or at least part oft it. Experiment with different levels of application.

COWS

[brosil]

If he's feeding whole oats to his horses, you'll end up with a nice crop of oats if you use it fresh. Then you'll spend the next 5 years tearing it out of your garden. Compost it.

[MichaelZ]

You definitely want to hot compost this for two reasons:
1. It will make it useable much quicker.
2. It will kill the weed seeds.

If you put it on your garden as is, even next year, you will be sorry! (Reason #2) But if you compost it, you can use in as short a time as 3 weeks. You Struck it Rich - Just start that compost pile and celebrate fantastic gardens that you will be blessed with from now on!

And even if it is too late to put into your garden as you plant, you can spread the compost over the top of the soil as a mulch that will feed the plants, preserve moisture, and block weeds.

[Bret]

I am so excited for you. There's got to be a horse in there somewhere.

[MichaelZ]

And to compost it, you will need to set up a large compost bin - 4 wood pallets fastened together and fastened to a few metal fence posts. will do it. Then create layers of your manure, green matter (lawn clippings), brown matter (leaves and brown grass), and some soil. Repeat the layers till you fill the bin. Water it good. After a week or two, to really get good compost fast, get 3 more pallets and fasten to what you have along side. Turn the one pile into the new bin - this will insure that it gets mixed well and air gets to it all. The compost should get very hot. You will want to be able to remove the front of the compost bins so you can get at the compost easier.

[Patchouli]

If you are getting whole trailer loads I would do like we did with what we collected from the cows over the winter. Shovel it all into a great big mound, flip it maybe once over the summer and next Spring you will have a wonderful addition to your garden.

[CountryMom22]

Compost it very hot! Those weed seeds are fierce. Horse manure alone, even with hay/straw or shavings is not hot enough on its own to kill the seeds. Lots of fresh cut grass or cow manure (fresh) to provide the heat you need. Great score on the free manure, as long as you compost carefully it will really help you soil. Good luck!

[Maura]

You want fully composted manure. Mix it with the appropriate amount of plant material, even straw, also add water. It should be turned every 1.5 minutes. Otherwise, turn it as often as you can, keep adding kitchen scrap and leaves.

[DEKE01]

People make composting a lot harder than it need be. Horse manure is most likely full of stall sweepings, pine flakes, chopped straw, or whatever is common in your part of the world. That makes it very well balanced on C:N.

If you really need to exercise, you can add some greens to it, but it is not necessary. You can turn it as often as you like, but it is not necessary. You can add water if the pile appears to be cold and dry, but it is not necessary. You can build a bin, but it is not necessary. All of these additions of material and labor speed up the process. The compost will be ready sooner but it is a trade off. You can add lots of human effort or just let the microbes exert all the effort. The end product will be the same.

If you do get weeds sprouting, count that as a good thing. Either turn them under or just pull them and lay them on top. Seeds can only sprout once, so anything that appears in your pile is not going to grow in your garden.

Horse manure can be too dry, but it is very absorbent so if you've had any rain at all and it was stored outside, it is generally fine as is on moisture content, whereas cow is usually too wet.

You only need a bin if you have a smaller amount of material in order to contain it and hold heat. If you have a few truck loads worth, just make a pile.

As Patchouli says, make a pile, turn it once in a few months, use it next year.

And the best advice I got out of the extreme composting thread, make your pile where you plan to use it. Put it right in the center of your garden if you don't have a tractor. That way, you can just spread with a rake it in all directions when the time is right. If you do have a tractor, make the pile at the end of the garden so that you can push it where needed.

[Esprit]

Excellent advice! Thanks guys! I'm pretty stoked to be getting all this manure for free. Our neighbors advised me that I can have as much as I want and they don't mind delivering it! Great people!!!! I was just talking to them and they said they have some well aged manure that I can have to put on the garden this year.
I even invested in a "manure fork" to turn the pile