I can’t find the exact answer I’m looking for with the search function so apologies if this has been asked before-
Once composted, can horse manure be used safely in vegetable gardens? Obviously these are my personal horses, who are routinely dewormed etc.
A friends dog recently was poisoned by picking up some Ivermectin from her horses and it made me worry about using manure in our own food stuffs
thank you!
Try doing a search. I know there was a thread which mentioned something about herbicides from hay or alfalfa breaking down if you compost the manure for a long time, like two years.
I’ll see if I can find that thread.
Yes you can.
Yes it works great!
it sounds like 2 4 D has a relatively short half life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4-Di…oxyacetic_acid, as does Round Up.
Collies and related breeds are especially sensitive to invermectin, if they lick up spilled wormer or eat the manure of freshly wormed horses. However, it looks like invermectin is in fact given as an oral dose to humans in some situations involving parasites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin
who knew??`
Properly composted and mixed in with other types of compost is what my father has been using for years. Like any compost if it isn’t broken down properly it can cause problems. Typically my dad wants the poo to be a very dark brown color while dry. When mixed there are no large particulates and not hot to the touch.
What about Grazon herbicide?
Hasn’t killed me (or friends I share produce with) yet.
Year 15 of composting stall cleanings directly in vegetable beds.
Dump Fall thru Winter, plant in Spring.
Breaks down to a nice, loose planting medium.
Purdue Extension agent told me the urea in soiled bedding actually helps fix nitrogen.
Yes but don’t put on manure that has been recently wormed as you don’t want to kill the earthworms.
Don’t put on manure if you have fed pumpkins to your horse. The pumpkin vines will take over your garden!
Grazon will kill your tomatoes deader than a doorknob in about two weeks - personal experience. In fact it will kill everything except corn which is a grass and weeds. Nothing kills weeds. You would need to compost that manure two years or more and if that hay comes from Garrison’s - they use Grazon. That was a hard lesson that I learned. No tomatoes that year.
Grazon Next HL is a great effective herbicide.(there are several different formulations of Grazon) I’ve used it in the past. But, it’s a waste to use it on hay fields. When the hay is cut, the Grazon is taken off the land. Also, it’s an added task to educate hay buyers on the manure restrictions.
Better to use it on pastures, so the residual effects from the manure help keep the weeds down. My pastures are great lush fields of grasses, with nary a broadleaf weed.
I’ve used a lot of horse manure over the years and who knows what was on the hay those horses ate? It never crossed my mind until I started reading these threads!
Anyways I’ve never had a problem with it. I just till it in good and plant.
Since the guy with the local lettuce contract loves my manure and will text “have your horses stopped pooping?” if I don’t show up at least once every two weeks… Yes it’s fine :lol: I use it also. I haven’t ever sprayed inside my paddocks, at least not on top of poop, and if I did it would be 2-4-d, which degrades super quick. Ground clear type products are for driveways only. Sorry to hear about your tomatoes @SusanO , I’d be heartbroken!
This is really interesting. Grazon (pictorin) basically passes through the animals gut so it is pretty much nontoxic but is persistent in the manure. That lets the manure continue the herbicide process. Clever for pasture management but you don’t want it in your compost. It is also getting into the water supply and killing plants watered with it.
I am not sure if anyone uses Grazon on hay fields. It might not be the best choice as you take the hay off and lose the long term effect.
And they may have stopped. I’ll ask, we’re in there often (Susan this is Kat from just north of garrisons ).
We have plenty of earthworms wriggling around in our manure pile, even immediately after deworming or later. No one dewormer kills all internal parasites, let alone earthworms.
I use our horse manure on both vegetable and ornamental gardens. For edibles, I go beyond what is necessary and compost manure six months to a year. For ornamentals I wait until the “time release capsules” begin to break down. Roses and irises love it fresh and would grow under a horse’s tail if they got the chance.
The biggest complaint I hear from other manic gardeners is that horse manure needs extremely hot composting to get rid of weed seeds. My minis and small ponies are on dry lots, so the worst I deal with is orchard grass popping up in my perennials.
I need to rebuild my chicken flock — that is some hot shit!
I cannot thank you all enough for the wisdom! My horses have been home for a little over a month and I am CONVINCED that there is no way it would have gone nearly as smoothly preparing for them and settling them in without the COTH hive. What an incredible forum.
thank you all!!!
One word of caution from experience. I used straight manure in the pot of my favorite azalea. It totally burned the roots and I lost it. I’ve been cautious ever since. It does sound like tilling it in over time and letting it compost is the trick.
There’s another thread in “Off Course” entitled “When do you put your garden in” that is discussing this same topic.
Isn’t it wonderful to have your horses home! Enjoy!
yeah straight from pony to pot is going to burn it up 
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