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Verve horse manure

gardenman91gardenman91 Posts: 429
in The potting shed
Good evening all!

So I have just purchased this verve horse manure but I’m unsure if it’s well rotted? The reviews on the website are not great and seem to just describe it as soggy wood chippings. I can’t see that many wood chipping but it is quite claggy. Anyone had any experience with this before? -PS- I am intending to mix this in with soil and plant some perennials straight away.

many thanks :smile:
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Posts

  • AstroAstro Posts: 433
    I haven't bought verve horse manure but have bought the compost a few times and was pleased with it. 

    I have used manure though and ideally it wants to be crumbly rather than claggy. There would be a greater chance of the roots being damaged/rotting if it is claggy.

    In this instance I'd either lay it on the beds and let the worms/bugs and weather break it down some more over winter or do as you suggest and mix it into the soil. Really the soil doesn't want to be holding too much water over winter as there's more chance it could rot some of the perennials.
  • gardenman91gardenman91 Posts: 429
    That’s a fair point about the claggyness. I’ll open up the bag tomorrow and post a picture or two to show you what it’s like 😁
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I bought some Thompson's manure and it's pure bark. Very disappointing. Perhaps there has been a major run on manure (so to speak) with all the gardening going on this year. They're selling bark in its place. Cheeky b**t**s.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    B&Q's quality can be truly variable...so avoid them if I can. Have been using this one for quite a while and it's always great to use and nicely soft smelling and open textured https://www.longacres.co.uk/gardening-products/compost/country-nature-organic-stable-manure/
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • BigladBiglad Posts: 3,265
    I've used it to revamp a side border. Pretty heavy but claggy might be a bit harsh. Mixed it with some MPC and happy with the consistency and drainage.
    East Lancs
  • gardenman91gardenman91 Posts: 429
    Okay lovely thanks guys thanks for the advice :) could I ask, would it be okay to mulch a border with this manure? The border I speak off has some osteospermums and a sedum, penstemon, brunnera and a few others.
  • gardenman91gardenman91 Posts: 429
    Bump :smile:
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    You can use pretty much anything as a mulch. If there are plenty of worms in the ground they will do the work for you. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • SydRoySydRoy Posts: 167
    Buying compost or manure in bags (or loose for that matter) is always going to be inconsistent to an extent. The majority will be well rotted and perfectly usable. The odd bag will have the odd bit of coarse compost or incompletely rotted manure but generally speaking it's all good organic material which will help soil structure.
    I buy Lidl compost..peat free, dirt cheap, quite coarse but great for a clay soil mulch.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Lidl compost works out quite expensive for the average to bad quality theyathey offer as their bags are small. Many garden centres will do 60ltr compost of better quality on a 4 for £10 offer which is more cost effective. I like Lidl for many things...compost is not one of them. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
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