Manure Management on a small acreage

[DMK]

before you decide on a dumpster be sure it is an option, or how much extra it costs… Around here they either stopped taking them or charge significantly more (the trucks are weighed at the dump and charged accordingly, it didn’t take the various vendors long to figure out they were on the losing end of that equation)

I use a newer spreader and it really is perfect for small acreage/1-3 horses. It chops the manure up and spreads it so it is a lot better for the pasture than a regular spreader. If you had the energy (and concrete pad/bin) to make a proper mulch pile, that would probably be the best of both worlds for small acreage.

The only downside is you can’t put a lot of long stemmy hay in them, but I have done just fine with a moderate amount (you just have to back up periodically when spreading to loosen it up)

[specifiedcupcake]

I wouldn’t spread fresh manure on grass- the pH is all wrong and you want any worms/bacteria to die. We made a heap that’s longer than it is wide, and as it ages, take chunks away to spread (once it’s hit about 8 months old). It ends up reaching a kind of stasis. WELL WORTH IT to put hardcore down as that area gets boggy with all the decaying organic matter, don’t want to get your little tractor stuck.

[vxf111]

I feel like I have the luckiest setup ever. I am surrounded by farmland. I pick every day and spread (well, fling, really) what I pick on a fallow field. By the time the farmer gets to that field and turns it over to plant, the manure has composed. I keep only a small “pile” and that’s from the dead of winter when it’s too challenging to spread.

Part of what makes this work is that the horses live out pretty much 24/7 so there’s very little by way of shavings in the mix. And of course the proximity is key.

If I didn’t have this setup, I would rent a dumpster. There’s a company here that does it for under $150 per trip.

[SmartAlex]

[QUOTE=vxf111;8956825]
I keep only a small “pile” and that’s from the dead of winter when it’s too challenging to spread. [/QUOTE]

Oh the memories of trying to spread manure in the winter. With a ground driven spreader. First you break the chain loose and perform a blessing and pray the chain doesn’t break, especially with a full load. Then you load the spreader and drive out to the field. You have to plan your route so you are not going up hill and not going with the wind. (NEVER spread with your back to the wind)

So you start down the grade (because the tractor will not pull up a grade with a fully loaded spreader in two feet of snow). Then you angle into the (bitter) wind and try to shorten the route home. At which point the chain slips off the gear completely so you have to put the tractor on crawl, climb up in the spreader, and shovel the rest out.

Good Times.

[keysfins]

Major veer off topic:

SmartAlex, I browsed your blog. And found your entry about vintage finds at flea markets. Like the watering cans. The vintage galvanized one you have in the photo is the same one my G’ma had, that I received when she died. I even repaired the seam myself a couple of times, because I hate the plastic ones. It was lost in our last move, and even tho it was “only an old watering can”, the loss has left a hole in my gardening heart. <<Sniff>>

Love your blog, and I am very jealous of your space to have gardens.

[stb]

[QUOTE=keysfins;8957122]
Major veer off topic:

SmartAlex, I browsed your blog. And found your entry about vintage finds at flea markets. Like the watering cans. The vintage galvanized one you have in the photo is the same one my G’ma had, that I received when she died. I even repaired the seam myself a couple of times, because I hate the plastic ones. It was lost in our last move, and even tho it was “only an old watering can”, the loss has left a hole in my gardening heart. <<Sniff>>

Love your blog, and I am very jealous of your space to have gardens.[/QUOTE]

Where is the blog? I have a watering can thing.

[SmartAlex]

Thanx keys

This is the Flea Market Post

And this is a later post inventorying my watering cans

[FatCatFarm]

Have been horse keeping on a small acreage (first 12 now 17.5 acres) for 20 years and have never had a manure pile and have kept anywhere from 4 to 10 horses. Horses being hard on the property, there is always some barespot, wash, or ditch that can use the topsoil replacement/erosion inhibitor. Never an issue. I would never pay someone to haul away what can be readily used and repurposed.

[She_s_Pure_Gold]

[QUOTE=DHCarrotfeeder;8952456]
While this is sort of true, the average gardener shows up with a few empty buckets to fill and each person takes a little chunk of your time. If you have more than a couple horses, this never adds up.

Even if when a more serious gardener takes a couple of small trailer loads, it barely makes a dent in my pile.[/QUOTE]

DH and I have a small farm, 2 horses and a mini donkey, and clean stalls daily when they are in at night (half the year) and pick the paddock all year unless frozen (not enough land to spread/drag it on, and no tractor). We used a dumpster for the first almost 2 years and it ended up being a disaster (long story!!). After that, we added concrete barriers (the large kind, like you’d find on a highway) around an existing concrete area and pile our manure there. We keep a sign out front advertising the free manure and used to post on CL, and we can’t keep up with the demand. It doesn’t take up any of our time other than a couple of minutes to direct people to the pile the first time they come. We have many regulars (who also leave us vegetables in season from their gardens as thanks) and tell people to come and go as they please and take as much as they want. We do not load for them, it’s very much a self-service type thing. We’ve been doing it this way now for over 2 years and have yet to even come close to needing to pay someone to take it away; it gets emptied many times throughout the year by gardeners. It’s possible that we are too trusting, but so far (knock on wood!) we have not had any issues with anyone, just lots of thankful gardeners who have also been very respectful of our property. FWIW, we live in a very residential area without many farms and next to very urban towns and cities, so there isn’t a lot of other ‘competition’ or options for people to get manure like this elsewhere. YMMV.