Rotted Horse Manure

We haul it in from a local horse farm. My neighbor has started a co-op garden and asked if we would donate several loads. Of course was the answer. We delivered 24 cu yds to them last evening. Today she called and asked if I would certify that it is organic. It's not my horse farm and am not sure of every single thing they feed the horses. The horses graze on land that I'm sure at some point has or has had fertilizer put on it. I want to help - how would I certify this or is this impossible? They want their co-op garden to be totally organic.

My DH's response - after hauling and delivering all the manure was "well, after it's gone through the digestive system, it seems pretty organic to me" Unfortunately, my neighbor was not amused!

Honestly, is there a way to let her know it's either OK or not? I don't want to mess up their plans for a totally organic community garden. Thank you.

Check out these two links. Good places to start. I think they could help.

The NOP certification is actually a rather lax set of conditions that allows large scale producers all sorts of wiggle room (government regulations, and the writing shows it):

http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/

Here is another link about the definition and certification of organic materials (very interesting info here):

http://www.omri.org/

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the gardener, I believe, not yourself, to determine if the materials they are adding to their garden are organic.

Adam.
Edited for spelling.

This message was edited Wednesday, Mar 26th 10:40 PM

Thank You!

a friend of mine is certified organic and he gets the same think from a local farmer. and i will have him add his opinion when he gets here tonight. but i would say that it is not chemical fertilizer so it is fine for them to use

Troy's friend Mark Here.... I just read all the threads on this topic. I haul semi-composted horse manure from a local stable, it's still steaming when it comes off the truck. As far as it being organic, once it is fully composted, it is considered an organic soil amendment. As far as I'm concerned, once it is composted, the process is supposed to decompose all the nasties which might be from residues on feed, deworming meds, etc. If your friend wants a totally "organic" garden he/she may have missed the boat since the organic standards state time frames of 3 - 6 months for application of manures prior to growing anything on it to be sold as "organic". It can really get to splitting hairs when someone is almost fanatical about "being organic", because if you really want to get down to it, there's leaching of pthalate esters from the packaging that the bag of organic potting soil was sold in, or the trace dioxins in the seed packet paper as part of the production process,not to mention the amount of toxins present in any precipatation event in our modern world. Also. growing organic is no guarantee that your food will be residue free, it is simply a process of growing to minimize the residues on the food you produce, no guarantees that the spray applied 5 miles away and carried on the wind is'nt going to drop on your plants. As a final note, the only person who could certify the manure would be a recognized, independent third party certifying agent. Also, in order for their garden to be considered organic, it has to have been grown that way for the last 3 years. Good luck with your neighbor.

Hey Mark,you know your uh**stuff huh? I have 2 horses,1 donkey,& 2 goats.I was wondering how they compost this and for how long.does it have to be turned at certain times and all that?I still buy composted cow manure because I really dont know what the heck Im doing!HeHeThanks for visiting this crazy wonderful bunch here at Dave's. Weedlady

Mark, thanks for the real "poop" on this!

As far as my neighbor goes she could have been a bit more gracious but my DH keeps telling me: "Only do something for someone else for your own enjoyment/peace. If you ever expect even a thank you in return, you'll always be disappointed. If you get thanks, well that's just a plus"

I think he's right.

DoHopp ~~~

24 Cubic Yards must have weighed a lot. A couple tons, I would imagine. You spent your time. You spent your generosity.

The underlying details, which are spelled out so clearly and completely by "Troy's friend Mark," truly are the responsibility of the gardener, and not the person doing the favor.

You were the shipper not the producer. Fed Ex does not warranty the things they deliver. The manufacturer does..., and it is the responsibility of the "buyer" to understand the terms of the guarantee.

Your kind act, as far as I'm concerned, goes under the catagory called: "No good deed goes unpunished." Except for the fact that you know you did a fine thing that in the end is very helpful to others.

Adam.