Horse manure...

A question about : Horse manure...

Our local stables is giving manure away - the question is can we put it straight into our compost bin?

Best answers:

• Best place for it! I think there's only a problem putting it near plants; if you dig it in I think you need to leave it a while before you plant but composted it should be brilliant.
• Horse manure needs to be "well rotted" before you put it near any plants - apparently, fresh manure could damage the stems if placed too close.
  Compost heap?? Yep, ok, that sounds logical.
  In the days when my dfriend of yesteryear provided an abundance of manure (free!) I would accept some, then leave it in a spare corner of my garden to *rot* in the sun/elements, until Autumn time and then use it as a top dressing on my soil.
  Didn't have a compost bin in those days
• My book says "It needs to be stacked for at least 6 months, 'cos otherwise it is too hot and will damage plants!!!"
  I have helped myself to some locally... my kids did complain that the area stank (probably the wheelbarrow) but it all fine now inside the compost bin.
• You can also simply stack it in bin bags, or straight onto a bit of spare ground.
  It should be OK to use in the Autumn/Winter when you dig it into the ground, where it will further rot down.
  Any "fresh" smell will soon disappear
• You could also put some in a pair of old tights and hang it into a water barrel. It rots quicker and makes your water more fertilised!
• Ooooh, mink! Like ... compost tea? I've made compost tea and my garden thought it was getting a double vodka and tonic!!! Most happy were the plants
• Well rotted manure doesn't smell at all. Fresh manure will burn the plants, and it stinks - and steams.
• Just glad I don't drink tea
• be wary next time Queenie offers tea and cakes.....
• Manure placed in a heap, covered by a piece of old carpet will soon rot down.
  I built myself a small wooden enclosure a few years ago and during the warm summer months an added bonus is to regularly find a family of 'slow worms' lying directly underneath the carpet, enjoying the warm rays of the sun
• Welcome jeff
• Incidentally, I remember Geoff Thing from Gardeners' World years ago talking about the double benefits of horse manure:
  Stick it in a corner as advised and leave to rot down. While it's rotting down, it gets very hot, as already noted. So you use it as an outdoor propogator - put your plants in trays on top of it (not necessarily DIRECTLY onto it, you could stick a bit of carpet on it of course) and the heat from the manure will speed up the growth of all your plants. I've tried this and it's really brilliant.
  Then, when it's well-rotted, dig it into your garden. Two for the price of one!
  What's old Geoff's surname by the way, it's bugging me now...
• Don't all shout at once, I've just remembered it's HAMILTON. Thank goodness for that.