Composting?

[borg]

Will keep that in mind,, have to use the septic bacteria anyway.

[borg]

OK,,, what is born from the farm store?

[MT Gianni]

Well, I picked up the load of horse, I noticed when we were loading , it had a very SLIGHT smell of ammonia. Is that going to be a problem composting? Do you think a ratio of 3 horse and 1 chopped leaves will be alright? ( no herbicide on the horse, grown in house)

Few things are a rank as a stud barn with ammonia odors. I think you could cut manure 50-50 with leaves and still be fine.

[johnson1942]

sorry i misspelled it, boron, is a trace element. epson salts and boron will make plants have a lot sturdier stems and structure. they both are very very good for mineral up take in plants. only a very little boron is needed as it is a trace element and epson salts can be used in a little larger amounts. epson salts help peppers and tomatoes form on the plant. boron is very important for humans and animals also. i, my wife and my son and daughter take 3 mg. every day. it very very important for bone density health. if one owned a race horse or valuable animal you would want to make sure that every day it got 3 mg of boron per 150 to 180 pounds of weight for the very first part of its life. that would insure that it would grow up to the size that its gentic potential is set for. if you have a larger dog breed, 3 mg of boron a day would protect its bone density longer than if they didnt get boron. its good for plants and animals in the right doses. chickens raised on the same diet but one group gets boron and one group doesnt show a big difference in size and strength. the boron group are always larger and stronger then the non boron group. same with plants. i think boron is one of the best discoveries in the last 30 years. the university vet and medical department together at the u. of n.dak discovered this about 30 years ago.

[borg]

Good info, I'll put it to use.

[johnson1942]

we are here to share and learn.

[MaryB]

Thought everyone knew this trick, good old 20 Mule Team Borax is a great source of boron for your garden http://homeguides.sfgate.com/role-20...ing-74730.html in higher doses it can kill Creeping Charlie too!

[Jr.]

Awesome thread have learned alot. Keep it coming guys!

[johnson1942]

mary b, your creeping charlie must be what we from n.dak call creeping jenny. its down here in nebraska also. this year im going to try polar bear(the brand name) live fungus dust to assist my plants in a better root system. going to put in my potting mixture when i plant seeds in the house in march for the garden in may. we will see if it works or not for better root development. denver is having some warm weather and it is starting to creep my way.

[44man]

Horse manure is good to compost with but don't put fresh on a garden. Cow manure can be applied anytime, chicken should be composted.
Only thing to keep away from is black walnut.

[MUSTANG]

Lets see currently -9° outside. That means 60 to 90 days before I can collect 6+ months of manure from the two calves, the 10 chickens, and two horses. All currently frozen hard as rock. The wife will want to begin prepping elevated Garden beds at that time so I'll collect and compost the manure.

Hopefully the compost pile at the local dairy will be good to go by then as I'll need composted product ready for her at that time, and the cost per bag is unreasonable at the Nursery/Garden stores.

[borg]

I thought it was the other way around, that cow is hotter and burn the plants

Horse manure is good to compost with but don't put fresh on a garden. Cow manure can be applied anytime, chicken should be composted.
Only thing to keep away from is black walnut.

[MUSTANG]

Horse manure needs to be composted to eradicate the seeds still viable after digestion. Cows with multiple stomachs rarely pass viable seeds.

[Jr.]

Agreed if horse manure is applied fresh your garden will become pasture in short order don't ask how I know

[44man]

It is also hotter and burns.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Thought everyone knew this trick, good old 20 Mule Team Borax is a great source of boron for your garden http://homeguides.sfgate.com/role-20...ing-74730.html in higher doses it can kill Creeping Charlie too!

When I moved into my House, there was no charlie in my yard. It was in several other yards, and seemed to thrive in the shade and high traffic areas. I thought it'd be a good green ground cover for troublesome lawn areas. I always joked with one neighbor about transplanting it into my yard. That was 20 years ago.
Charlie found it's way into my lawn, all by itself, about 6 years ago. Beautiful purple flowers, goes well with the white flowers of the dutch clover, I thought. Til charlie found the edge of my garden. When charlie gets good soil and sun, holy moly can it stretch it's legs mighty fast and choke out my veggies. Now I'm not so found if it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

composting:
In the fall, I just pile mixed tree leaves (from my yard and some from other peoples yards) into a concrete "bunker" and let nature take it's course, not much happens during the Minnesota winter. In the spring, I use some as garden mulch, til the grass is long enough to cut, then use grass clippings to add to the mulch. Mid summer, when I start having excess lawn clippings, I start mixing it in the bunkered leaves, that really gets the compost a heatin'...this is also when I start mixing in my kitchen veggie/friut waste that's stockpiled elsewhere all year long, what's left in that bunker is usually fully composted by fall and gets tilled into the garden. And that's when it gets filled back up with leaves...it's a wonderful cycle.

[popper]

Oak, yes - live oak - no. Bermuda - no. Wet newsprint, mustard and lots of worms. Composted cow pies & horse daubers, yes - green, no. Difference between compost pile and composting the flower beds for weed control.

[borg]

Why do you say "live oak- no"? They seem to have broken down quite well mixed half and half with horse.