Canadian Tire sells Cattle Manure, Sheep Manure Shrimp compost , mushroom compost etc... Can anyone shed some light on the difference uses of this stuff?
What is the difference between composts and manure?
Sorry I guess I should have mentioned my gardens need more dirt etc..... I saw that the cow manure was on sale right now and just wondering what the differences are between all these things???
In general, manure is fresh poop - generally too high in nitrogen to be used directly in the garden in large quantities. It would 'burn' plants. Compost is organic matter that has been aged enough where micro-organisms have done their thing and broken down the raw stuff into a mix that has nice consistency, great drainage, low NPK numbers and lots of micro-nutrients. You add it to the garden directly. You should 'compost' your 'manure'.
Hmmm ok so you are saying use as much compost as I would like and avoid the poop! LOL
Just let the poop age. Like fine wine.
I'd check the label to see if it says "composted" manure. Otherwise, as Victor said, it will burn plants. We avoid all fresh cow/chicken manure even for our compost bins.
Beware of that stinking fresh offal,
It burns up your plants something awful.
But compost it well,
'twill get rid of the smell,
And produce soil amendments quite lawful.
Don, love it!(the poem not the poop)(Well, unless it's composted)
You can compost manure but you can't manure compost - sorry, just couldn't resist.
Somewhere along the way people started thinking of compost as an alternative to garbage/trash/refuse, etc. You only get out of it what you put in it. Put in items that should have been sent to the dump and you won't have anything your plants want. Nothing diseased, no thorns or prickles, no black spot, no iris borers, etc. but people I've known just toss anything and then expect miracles. It doesn't happen that way.