I told my children i wanted some cow manure for my birthday and got
it; loads of the dried material from the floor of ancient but still
usable barn. This material never got wet through the years and I am
wondering if it might be quite strong with uric acid???? wondering if
it needs to be put through a composting time or whether it is, being
quite aged, aleady suficiently "composted." (I had expected fresher
stuffG but thought this would be fine...)

I used some of it to make compost tea with an air pump to aeriate it
and i think it may have burned a couple of plants but then let it
keep 'working'and tried it out, diluted, on a little Tradescantia
fluminensis mouse ear that wasn't doing as well as i thought it
should, and it livened up tremendously!

do i need to compost it or is it already considered to be ok to use
as a top dressing on the garden????
thanks in advance.. leo/lee

In article ,
(Lee) wrote:

I told my children i wanted some cow manure for my birthday and got
it; loads of the dried material from the floor of ancient but still
usable barn. This material never got wet through the years and I am
wondering if it might be quite strong with uric acid???? wondering if
it needs to be put through a composting time or whether it is, being
quite aged, aleady suficiently "composted." (I had expected fresher
stuffG but thought this would be fine...)

I used some of it to make compost tea with an air pump to aeriate it
and i think it may have burned a couple of plants but then let it
keep 'working'and tried it out, diluted, on a little Tradescantia
fluminensis mouse ear that wasn't doing as well as i thought it
should, and it livened up tremendously!

do i need to compost it or is it already considered to be ok to use
as a top dressing on the garden????
thanks in advance.. leo/lee

My guess: If it smells wholesome when you wet it, it is fine. If it smells
like cowshit, it should be composted.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

It should be safe to use as a mulch. Don't apply it close to peonies
or bulbs. They get Anthracnoie..




I told my children i wanted some cow manure for my birthday and got
it; loads of the dried material from the floor of ancient but still
usable barn. This material never got wet through the years and I am
wondering if it might be quite strong with uric acid???? wondering if
it needs to be put through a composting time or whether it is, being
quite aged, aleady suficiently "composted." (I had expected fresher
stuffG but thought this would be fine...)

I used some of it to make compost tea with an air pump to aeriate it
and i think it may have burned a couple of plants but then let it
keep 'working'and tried it out, diluted, on a little Tradescantia
fluminensis mouse ear that wasn't doing as well as i thought it
should, and it livened up tremendously!

do i need to compost it or is it already considered to be ok to use
as a top dressing on the garden????
thanks in advance.. leo/lee

(Lee) wrote in message . com...

do i need to compost it or is it already considered to be ok to use
as a top dressing on the garden????
thanks in advance.. leo/lee

it depends. Melons love it as-is, for example. If you have access to
dead leaves to mix in, they will mellow the manure in a matter of one
month. and top dressing is generally quite a mild application, it will
take two years for it to be completely absorbed by the soil - so for
most plants you will have no prob topdressing now.

(paghat) wrote in message news:paghatSPAM-ME-
do i need to compost it or is it already considered to be ok to use
as a top dressing on the garden????
thanks in advance.. leo/lee

My guess: If it smells wholesome when you wet it, it is fine. If it smells
like cowshit, it should be composted.

-paghat the ratgirl

sounds quite plausible! guess i'd better do a little sniffing G.
and derryl, if it doesn't stink, will get the shovel and start
mulching!

simy1, I do have a lot of leaves and leaf mold so will try an area
with a mixture of leaves if the smell is ok and if not, will just add
it to the leaves and let them do a bit of composting. --thanks to
all--leo/lee