Let’s talk manure

November 6, 1:21 PMBackyard Living ExaminerJane Gates

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Horses, cows and sheep are just some animals that produce useful manure to recycle in the garden.
Photo by Jane Gates

Manure is one of the best ways to improve the planting medium of your garden. It is nature’s way to help things grow better in soil. It will add substance and organics to sandy soils, nourish lean, stony soils, improve the texture and drainage of clay soils and help balance alkaline soils. The best time to add manure to your garden is in the autumn so it has time to integrate with the rest of your soil.  In warm-winter climates you can dig in manure in the winter, too.  Early spring is also a good time so long as your manure is well aged. Don't dig in fresh, hot, animal manure in the spring unless you intend to wait until mid-summer to plant.

There are two basic types of manure: green and animal. Green manure is created by over-planting empty growing areas with a low-growing cover crop. Usually these quick growing crops are seeded at the end of the season and dug under before new plantings go in. The best green manure crops add nitrogen and trace elements when they are dug back into the soil. Typical green manure crops you can seed are alfalfa, clover and buckwheat among many others.

The other kind of manure is animal manure. Fresh animal manure is usually hot both in temperature (as it breaks down) and in content so it can ‘burn’ plants and potentially carry disease. It is best to compost animal manure. Aging transforms these animal manures into nourishing soil conditioners with no odor or dangerous organisms. The best animal manures to use for gardening are cow, horse, llama, poultry, rabbit and sheep. Avoid any manure from carnivores – and that includes your dogs and cats – as dangerous organisms are not always killed even with the aging process or composting.

Always wear gloves and be careful handling fresh animal manure as it will not only smell, but it can carry disease. Fresh animal manure can be dug directly into the soil but it needs to age for a full season before planting. Better is to age it in a heap before digging in.  Green manure does not need to age. Turn the soil containing your manure to blend and aerate the mixture.  The organics and nutrients will help your plants grow healthy and happy and the added texture should help soil retain moisture when it gets hot or dry.