North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Mark_Bugaieski@rlicorp.com]

I'm behind on postings, but my two cents on this thread.

 I was taught "hot" manures are those too rich to use "fresh" as they'd
burn plants - I believe goat manure is in this category and must be
thoroughly composted before using.

For years, I've taken my horse manure right out of stalls and mulched trees
and shrubs (fruit and nut trees and many natives) directly with it with no
ill effects.  It is mixed with urinated sawdust and spoiled hay, though.  I
put in on thicker than you hear mulches being recommended (sometimes 12+
inches), but it settles over time and this thickness is required to keep
the grass I'm mulching over from growing up through the mulch.

I'm sure composting and incorporating the compost into the soil is
best-case, but probably 2-3 times the trouble!

Mark




I made the mistake once (in a previous garden) of getting a couple of loads
of municipal compost from one of those suburban yard waste dumps.  The
stuff must have been half crabgrass seed.  Don't make that mistake, folks.

On the horse manure heat business though---horse poop was traditionally
considered a 'hot' manure, and that of cattle cold.  Because horse manure
heated up quickly it was the manure of choice for manure- fueled hotbeds
(coldframes warmed by fermenting manure dug into a pit beneath them).  I
have not performed the experiment myself.

Steve Herje, Lone Rock, WI