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Buying large quanities of horse manure

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  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited January 2022
    Loxley said:
    If you want really large quantities, it might be worth trying here.

    :D - we'd like manure from a heathy horse, not an incontinent ass.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I'm thinking of the first week of March as a good time to receive and lay down manure. Are there virtues to doing this earlier? Thanks
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    The company you're looking at was recommended by several professional gardeners / garden designers / landscapers / horticulturalists when I was studying at Capel. It's bloomin' miles from me so I won't be trying it myself, but wouldn't hesitate if I was over your way. And the price seems good to me too.
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    @LG_ Thanks.  It's right near Capel. Is early March the optimum time you would choose?
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    thanks
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    The timing depends on the soil. If it's very wet or very dry, don't mulch. When it's  as near right as you can get, pile it on.
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    Personally I'd have it sooner, but as @Posysays, it depends on the situation. I'd like to have it to hand!
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I'm ordering on behalf of dozens of people in my garden group (hence the thread). Maybe Feb is better for most people in preparation for March planting?
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    @Fire - I wouldn't pretend to know the ideal time for mulching (and your gardening knowledge far transcends mine!) but one practical consideration would be that there are simply so many more jobs to be done in March (seed sowing, pricking out, last chance for all those pruning and cutting-back jobs, start of more frequent lawnmowing.. etc..). 

    That's why I've been phasing my manure-mulching through the winter so I don't have to worry about it in the busy springtime. And I don't regret it, as it's taken longer than I thought - inevitably each mulching session is preceded by a thorough weeding so it's filled a good couple of weekends.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    There is an argument that if you mulch too soon, the nutrients are washed out of the soil and do not benefit the plants. I don't know if this is true, I mulch largely to improve texture and I do it over winter when I don't have to worry about damaging shoots. My soil gets waterlogged so this is my main consideration with timing. However,  Spring and Autumn are traditional times for spreading muck and it's always good for your soil.
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