Using dried horse manure - help

fimonkey

Hi All,

Having just made my raised bed planter I need to get ready to fill it. I won't be able to do this until after the tulips have finished flowering as they are currently in the garden on the edge of the lawn where I want to place it.

I'm beginning to think of how to fill it, I have a cold compost heap which will fill about a 1/3rd of it. I also have free access to horse manure, I currently have a bag of it which is very dry and light (but 2 weeks 'new' - it was from the top of the manure pile where the sun has dried it out).

If I add this manure into my compost heap (it will be about 1/5th of the current heap) how long should I then wait before adding this to the planter? I can get more manure, should I aim for more to go in the compost heap?

I will then add Jon Innes or something similar - along with vermiculite to fill up the planter.

In this mix: will Carrots, Onions, Spring onions, Leeks and Courgette grow well?

Thanks.

Lotus-eater

If you have free access to a manure heap, dig into it until you find stuff that looks like soil, use that straight into the bed.
New manure you should really leave to rot down, at least a few months.

fimonkey

The stuff in the middle of the manure heap is very wet, damp, sticky, heavy and stinks! It's been there since autumn when we had the horrid weather.

The stuff on top, although newer, is drier, crumblier, much much lighter and doesn't smell. I took this stuff purely because I could fill a bag of it and still move it!

So given I have this 'dried' light manure, if I add it to my cold compost heap how long should I wait before using it in the raised beds please?

Thanks.