Dumping manure around trees?

[PonyRiderMom]

Eventually I want to set up a three-bin composting system, but right now I have nothing, so I’m trying to think about what to do with all the manure. I’ll have three or four horses here in a few weeks hopefully.

I think the best thing to do, even without official concrete pads and piles, would be to heap it in a big pile and tarp it. That would keep flies down. But it would also make a big ugly pile.

I have a lot of trees on the property, and some heavily wooded areas, and I’m wondering about just dumping it in there, in a layer of not more than six inches deep. Particularly the fruit trees might like it. But I’m worried that this will create more of a fly problem, and it might smell more. Also might it choke out their oxygen supply?

I am planning on getting fly predators.

Are there any best practices for dumping fresh manure in and around trees?

[Simkie]

I wouldn’t, not with trees you want to keep. Fresh horse manure is probably too hot and will burn them. Generally you want to allow it to compost before using it for fertilizer.

If you do try it, keep it well away from the trunks. You don’t want to cover the root flare.

[luvmyhackney]

It will fry your trees and possibly kill them.

Just dump it, cover, and flip it occasionally. I have three horses and in 3 years I have about 7 truck bed loads of gorgeous compost, 1 pile of in progress compost, and one fresh pile.

[NancyM]

Rather than dump it around your trees, it can be useful to fill low spots in your pasture… if you have any, and if any pasture you have is nearby. Best to not include too much sawdust though.

[trubandloki]

@NancyM

Rather than dump it around your trees, it can be useful to fill low spots in your pasture… if you have any, and if any pasture you have is nearby. Best to not include too much sawdust though.

This only works if your pasture is big enough that the wet messy spot you are making is not in the way of every day life. Plus, make sure that the low spot you are filling with manure is not draining right into some water source.

[S1969]

A manure pile really doesn’t attract flies. I find that in my pile, even the most recently added manure is still less attractive to flies than manure in stalls and paddocks. Once it has been scooped and piled, the temperature changes and I think it’s just not good for fly larvae, etc.

Yes, it can be ugly, but tarping it is definitely not going to be helpful - just very messy! There is always going to be some ugly on a farm…best advice is to find an easy to manage place where you can get around it with a tractor from all sides. Hopefully you have a tractor with a front end loader. Once flipped, they really just look like piles of dirt.

What kind of bedding will you use? That makes a very big difference in manure management and the rate at which your piles compost. I used shavings for about 2 weeks, and then realized what a giant messy pile it would eventually be. Pellets compost so much faster and add far less to your pile - making the management of manure easier.

As for putting it around trees…yeah, you could probably do it and it probably won’t kill most of the trees. But it also won’t compost if you spread it out, so it will just look like manure on the ground instead of a neat pile of dirt. Once you’ve composted it to some extent, sure - dump it in low spots and around trees, etc.

[B_and_B]

Rule of thumb on adding soil or compost around tree roots is no more than an inch a growing season or year; otherwise you will suffocate (literally) the tree. It will take years, but it will damage or kill them. The ‘volcano’ mulch method is one of the reasons so many residential trees are stunted and lacking vigor, they are repeatedly starved of oxygen. No mulch, compost, or soil should ever be touching the actual bark of the tree. (exposed roots are okay to cover with that inch a year amount, they have a different bark that tolerates cover)
In addition, as others have mentioned, fresh horse manure is notorious for being too hot both in terms of actual temperature and in amounts of various nutrients.
Pile it for at least six months, if it is not covered, before spreading. If it is covered with a tarp you actually should wait longer.

[2DogsFarm]

From Natural Lazy & lack of a tractor, the “output” from my horses - 2 for 12yrs, now 2-1/2(mini) - has always been piled, uncovered in 1 of 3 locations. I bed on shavings, though I used pellets for a couple years.
#1-Original pile - with the greatest of intentions - was a place just outside one of the side sliding doors to my indoor arena. I even used discarded fenceposts (6" rounds) to form a border on 3 sides.
But, trucking a filled wheelbarrow from the barn, through the sand footing, got tedious. That area has been unused for years.
#2-Now the largest & oldest dump pile is just outside the fenceline where barn connects to indoor. Created by me forking stall cleanings over the fence and/or picking the drylot there.
A neighbor takes away most of that pile every year, but I’m pretty sure the bottom-most layer is nearing 20yrs undisturbed.
On top it’s Black Gold, composted so well there’s an ashy layer that steams when I turn it.
And I don’t turn the entire pile, just what I’m taking to use in my vegetable garden & to plant annuals in containers.
#3 runs along the land that borders the ditch separating my property from the road. It’s a short trip from my barn to that area with the wheelbarrow in any weather.
To date it’s a long row, maybe 2’ high & 50’ long, hidden from the road by scrub & isn’t that unsightly - just looks like piled hay mostly.
Same composted state, after maybe 6mos.
No smell or noticeable draw for flies at any of these areas.

Agree that fresh manure will burn anything you pile it on.
I may try using the composted stuff around the base of some bushes where I can’t mow close enough & need to weedwhack

[Ghazzu]

Here is some good advice regarding manure and fruit trees.

Short answer–fresh manure should not be applied.