Cow Manure Bonanza Questions

I have just discovered about half a hockey rinkful of old cow manure in the barn behind my PA house. Not sure how deep.... it's at least 4". Will measure better next trip out there.

I'm pretty new to gardening, but I know it's a goldmine... what do I need to worry about, before putting it into lasagna gardening in s. OH?

A few poss concerns occurred to me....

Sterilize?
Analyze composition? (It's from dry cows fed on haylage and not grained)
Separate uneaten old hay (seeds), and take that as mulch?
Use as is or make tea?
Dust mask needed when scooping it up?

How far might a gardening enthusiast travel to help shovel this as-is, so I can do some barters?

Thanks in advance for any help,

~Susan.who.loves.barn.chores

I grew up in the country. The neighbors had cows and horses, I had chickens. What I know: Cow and horse manure can be used "as is". Chicken manure has to be aged - its too hot and will fry anything you put it on.

We never worried about germs, diseases, bugs.... The manure sold in bags in the store these days is not the manure of old. The new stuff smells almost pleasant. I remember buying it years ago and having to drive home with the windows open.

You might find some organic gardeners out there that would be excited to find the real stuff but I'm not sure what its worth.

Daisy

Thanks, Daisy!

Advice elsewhere included using it as a top-dressing on beds, and using a pre-emergent weed killer with it when I use it in lasagna-style new beds.

At the Ohio house we will retire to, where I've gotten a very small start with the garden, there's about the same square footage as this barn's floor. So I plan to lasagna away one garden "room" at a time, of which several are planned plus large containers. It sounds from your feedback like my best barter might be plant starts.

~Susan

Duplicate post deleted

This message was edited Dec 24, 2015 7:27 PM

I would always suggest you age it. If it's more than a year old I wouldn't think the weed seeds would be viable, but I sure don't know that for a fact. I'd probably use a preemergent, but remember planting seeds will be iffy for awhile after that.

I hope you can find some help in shoveling. How are you planning on transporting to Ohio?

Thanks Joyce! It will travel in book boxes lined with plastic bags, on an open cargo trailer, like all the waterproofed valuables have the last 5 trips.

The first batch moved in May will be rather small because the clumpiest section farthest from the door is already frozen, while the front section that has been walked on the most (by hooves on their way to purchasers' trailers) is already as fine as dust, will require a mask, and is more likely to be boxed before the rest thaws in May. So I will have this first batch to play with and see if it needs a weed killer. (I estimate the stuff that's frozen now may not get boxed till after the May trip south, and used in July.)

Good news yesterday was that I found some working lights, and a switch that runs 'em. I can now put bulbs in empty fixtures to find out where other switches are..... lighting in there is really poor.

This message was edited Dec 6, 2015 4:45 PM

A recent Freecycle pickup of used cardboard boxes and packing paper (for moving) resulted in a huge haul towards my lasagna-gardening plan, I learned today. I had assumed that the 7' box stuffed full of used packing paper would be newsprint sheets the size of newspapers. Wrong! Unpacking that bix today into trash bags, about 4 bag-fuls were double-bedsheet sized pieces already in 3-layer batches with brown and white paper sandwiched together-- enough to lasagna-out major yard areas. The smaller white sheets are about twice the size of a newspaper, for the smaller areas.

What a haul! It would have taken years' worth of weekly papers to cover my lasagna plans, and many hours of paid labor to piece those smaller sheets to cover. This seems almost too easy (but I'll take it!), and is a wonderful boost in cow manure motivation!

This message was edited Dec 24, 2015 7:30 PM

Wow! You really did luck out! Yay you!! :0)

Thanks Joyce! Happy new year of gardening!

Happy New Year of new gardening to you!

Poolrunning? Not all cow manure is created equal. Pasture raised beef cattle manure isn't as hot as dairy cattle feeds. Has to do with what they are fed. From grinding our own feed experience on a dairy- ground cottonseed mill and urea salts as well as any minerals that the cattle appeared to be missing were ground into the milo and corn. An iris might even burn if used to liberally. Thats why the aging and composting are smart.

PS- dont use the moldy stuff

This message was edited Jan 16, 2016 9:24 PM

Thanks Joyce!

Thanks also Kittriana!