Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk AL Garden and Farm Top soil or composted horse or cow manure

Anyone in the Clanton area that hauls either. Looking for a load if I can afford it.

Thought most dont like using horse manure because of all the weed seeds it carries?

If it’s been composted long enough it works pretty good. If the pile is big enough the heat cooks the seeds as well as the harmful bacteria.

ah ok. I just remembered hearing someone once fussing about putting out manure that was supposed to have been cow but turned out to be horse barn cleanings and all the new weeds and such that sprouted up on his once pristine weed free fields he had worked on for years to get that way.

If you're using it in a garden, I'd recommend the manure IF you can make 100% certain that the animals that produced the manure didn't graze on grass or eat hay that was sprayed with Grazon

You won't have a garden for a year or two if they did. Been there, done that.

Yeah I’ve run across that problem as well. I’d take top soil just need something better than rock and sand.😄

Buy a spreader truck load of chicken litter. I spread it 6" deep on my parents garden about 10 years ago. I spread it in the fall and let it set all winter and spring. They had squash vines the size of a VW beetle that next year. Seriously.

I might have to do that if I can’t get any of the other. I put out 350 tons of chicken litter a few years ago on some pasture land before I got out of the cattle business. I had grass belly deep for about 4 years before it started losing it’s strength. This is going to be for a couple raised beds and a few flower beds for the boss.

Me too.

Mushroom compost works also

Yeah I’d love to find somewhere to get it by the pickup load other than a 40 lb bag at a time.

Call around to the Co-Ops in your area, Google some, there might be a mushroom farm in your area also.

What about Cotton Burr Compost? Anyone ever used any of it? I saw some late last summer at a seed/feed store. I've been reading a little on it. I'm thinking about putting some on my small garden prior to tilling it this spring.

I’ve got a lot of leaves and good top soil mixed I pushed up with tractor near my cabin. Thinking of breaking my garden and then putting that on top and tilling in real good what y’all think of that

I get mine from the cotton gin. It works good, but there is some kind of thorny plant that grows out of it

Thanks GH. I may rethink putting it out.

Years ago I stopped at a local guys house to visit. It was spring time and he was getting ready to plant his garden. He had a rack built about two feet off the ground with two pieces of tin on it, lying flat. He had a fire going under it and on top of the tin he had mule manure. He was cooking the seeds to kill them and then he would ad it to the garden area. He did have a nice garden.

It really helped my squash and maters. Just had to pull those thorny things early or they will stick you good.