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Horse manure and weeds

Filipemacedo73795Filipemacedo73795 Posts: 4
in Fruit & veg
Hi all,

I've noticed some hay seeds germinating in my fresh manure spread over a raised bed and was wondering if there was another way to use the horse manure (with Hay) on my clay allotment.

As i'm doing a no bed approach, i was thinking of laying the horse manure/hay on the ground and then putting my cardboard on top, then building my raised beds.

I'll leave it for a few months as i put the remaining horse manure/hay in my 1x1m compost bin; which hopefully i can get it hot enough to then use in the Spring.

My thinking was to improve my clay soil underneath (in case i want to remove the raised beds in future) whilst killing any seed germination from the horse manure.

Sensible approach or should i just cardboard > raised beds and then use the manure ontop after composting it for a few months.

Thanks for any comments! :)
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  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I used to have horses. They ate grass and wild flowers in the paddocks, supplemented with hay. I piled their droppings and the bedding from the field shelters into a manure heap and let it rot to a dark crumbly compost which I mulched my borders with. My flowers grew well but so did the weeds! Weed and grass seeds survived and my beds were full of them.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • war garden 572war garden 572 Posts: 664
    edited December 2023
    the answer is simple you are not composting the manure at a high enough temperature to kill the weed seeds. 
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    That is hard to do when home composting. You need a heck of a lot to get really hot.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • war garden 572war garden 572 Posts: 664
    nope just large bag of molasses 
  • WhiterotWhiterot Posts: 51
    That's the reason that I have never used horse manure. We have well rotted farm yard manure delivered at a bargain price but even so the plot holders on our allotment site who had it last year are plagued with weeds. I had 2 loads 3 years ago and it seems to have reduced the weed content somewhat as it rotted down.  I know that I am going to be critisised for this but following major heart surgery I had to try something easier in order to keep my allotment. I look at Wardy's Waffle on you tube and he sprays with glyphosate on some crops prior to drilling. I tried it on one part of my asparagus bed where I have always suffered with an abundance of weeds result asparagus continued to grow but weeds died off. Then I sprayed my over winter onion and garlic bed 3 weeks before setting result onion and garlic look terrific but no weeds. As I said I know that it is not for everyone but in my case needs be. One plot holder winter dug a month ago but he is now covered in weeds last year he was covered in nettles throughout the growing season all from the cow muck.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    It’s why I stack manure and let it rot and mature before using it.  That way any weed seeds can germinate and be hoed off or removed in some other way. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • StephenSouthwestStephenSouthwest Posts: 635
    edited December 2023
    Filipemacedo73795 said:
    Hi all,

    I've noticed some hay seeds germinating in my fresh manure spread over a raised bed and was wondering if there was another way to use the horse manure (with Hay) on my clay allotment.

    As i'm doing a no bed approach, i was thinking of laying the horse manure/hay on the ground and then putting my cardboard on top, then building my raised beds.

    I'll leave it for a few months as i put the remaining horse manure/hay in my 1x1m compost bin; which hopefully i can get it hot enough to then use in the Spring.

    My thinking was to improve my clay soil underneath (in case i want to remove the raised beds in future) whilst killing any seed germination from the horse manure.

    Sensible approach or should i just cardboard > raised beds and then use the manure ontop after composting it for a few months.

    Thanks for any comments! :)
    Yes, that sounds sensible. 
    The manure and cardboard will improve the soil and suppress weeds, and the composted manure on top is, in my experience, good to plant most things into.
    You will need to make sure that top layer above the cardboard is well rotted and/or mix it with something less fierce.

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Busy-Lizzie said:
    That is hard to do when home composting. You need a heck of a lot to get really hot.

    This isn't a problem unless you have weeds or weed seeds to contend with
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    If you have fresh manure, you will by definition have weed seeds.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • StephenSouthwestStephenSouthwest Posts: 635
    punkdoc said:
    If you have fresh manure, you will by definition have weed seeds.

    I'm not sure I follow - the bedding is straw, and the food may well be short (unseedy) grass...
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