Horse manure as fertilizer
Content:
In order for the plant to actively grow and develop, it needs to be helped by fertilizers. Natural substances can be used for the fertilizing material. They are a good alternative to minerals. Horse manure is considered the most popular fertilizer among the people. Fresh manure is very difficult to find, and not all cities have stables that will be ready to put up for sale, a hard-to-get product.
This feeding will be beneficial and nutritious for different types of plants. It allows you to greatly increase the fertility of the soil, and also improves the quality of the fruits obtained.
What does the fertilizer consist of?

Horse manure has a significant effect on plants, as it is a strong catalyst.
The following organic compounds are present in fresh fertilizer:
- Water - less than 73%
- Organic - 26%
- N (nitrogen) - 0.3-1%
- Ca (calcium) - 0.2-0.8%
- K (potassium) - 0.2%
- P (phosphorus) -0.2-0.7%
Manure does not contain a large amount of nitrogenous compounds. In the composition of nitrogen, organic matter decomposes, as a result of the reaction, nitrogen is released in additional doses. A positive result of horse manure is not visible in the first year of feeding.
Fresh fertilizer does not contain much nitrogen. As a result of the decomposition of organic substances that make up its composition, it is released additionally. Therefore, the benefits of such dressings do not always appear in the first year.
How to apply correctly
So that the result of using horse manure does not keep you waiting, you need to follow some rules and recommendations.
Its application is similar for any soil and plant. No more than 6 kg of fertilizing material is used per 1 m2.
If you have to fertilize the soil with your own hands, then in order to measure the raw materials used, a bucket with a volume of 10 liters is used. The container holds no more than 8 kg of manure, and if the fertilizer is mixed with sawdust - no more than 5.5 kg.
Fertilizer is usually applied in the autumn. Manure is applied after picking up the fruits for digging the soil.
This result is ensured by the fact that the organic matter included in the manure decomposes when interacting with the ground.
Fertilizing material is used both for personal purposes and for farmland.
Degree of decomposition of manure
It is used in various consistencies. The fertilizer has its own special classification, which is determined by the degree of degradability and its duration.
- Fresh fertilizer is used to equip the soil in the autumn, when it is necessary to dig. This is done so that the manure perepolat on time. It is not recommended to add it to crops in the soil, as it can be said in the appearance and taste of plants. The fertilizer may contain spores, fungus, seeds of crops, as well as larvae of worms. Since rapid organic processes take place in the manure, plants can die from such exposure.
- Kizyak, which is quail by ½, fertilize the soil while digging the site, or alternatively, it is mixed with water to obtain fertilizer material.
- If there is no fresh manure at hand, then they are more often used rotted horse excrement. After it is laid, its mass is reduced by half, and the fertilizer dries up. It is used in a ratio of 1:10 - where 1 is square meters, and 10 is kg of used manure.
- The most useful qualities are humus, which is very difficult to obtain. This is a laborious process that takes more than one year, but the effectiveness of such a fertilizing material is at a high level. In stores, you can buy droppings of the first freshness, but in order to maximize its positive properties, it is placed for a while in a dark place so that the fertilizer is infused and can be drunk with the most useful compounds.
Fertilizer storage rules
After the manure has lain down for a while, it is saturated with useful substances.
The most precious and effective are nitrogenous compounds that are found in grass or hay, which animals absorb during consumption, as a result of digestive activity, nitrogen passes into manure. Most crops love soil that is saturated with nitrogen, but there is one catch - as a result of the reaction of air and nitrogen, the latter evaporates and turns into ammonia. It is advisable to store the fertilizer so that oxygen reaches it as little as possible.
To achieve the desired result, you need to make a compacted stack. First you need to choose a place where the litter will be located. Then peat is mixed with soil and covered with fertilizer material on top. Everything needs to be tamped, in general, the thickness should be at least 0.3 meters. While the droppings are lying down, in the course of its vital activity, condensate forms, which absorbs the peat.
On top of these layers, it is necessary to put horse manure, which is tamped with effort. Initial substances are added to the next layer - soil, peat, or they can be mixed together. From above, the surface is covered with film, reeds or hay.
In general, the stack goes up to 1.5 m in height, and the layers with fertilizer material have a height of no more than 1 m.
If the layers turned out to be not so large, then it is unnecessary to despair, you can proceed as follows: layers are made of peat and horse manure, constantly changing them among themselves. Horse excrement in height leaves a maximum of 10 cm, but the peat layer turns out to be about 40 cm.
Even despite such a complex structure, nitrogenous and phosphorus bases still evaporate gradually, so that the substances do not evaporate so quickly, you need to add no more than 3% superphosphate to the fertilizer, so as not to harm.
Properties of manure as a fertilizing material
Horse excrement is used to feed vegetables, fruits and flowers. Its most effective use is considered to be for cabbage, pumpkin, potatoes, cucumbers, etc. It is also used as a fertilizer for seedlings that are in greenhouse conditions.
If you plan to use manure in the autumn, then you should not think about which plant it is suitable for. It will be versatile for bushes, vegetables, fruits, trees.
If the fertilizing material is planned to be used in the spring, then it is more suitable for late-ripening cabbage and potatoes, because during the period of active growth, the manure will have time to overheat.
Which manure has more positive qualities
If you do not take into account the positive characteristics of a particular type of manure, then we can easily say that whatever the fertilizing material, it will in any case be beneficial by saturating the soil with valuable and nutrients. During its existence, it is able to emit carbon dioxide, which is necessary for the normal life of plants.
Horse excrement has a low acid content, which means that it will not oxidize the soil and will not harm crops. If, in addition to horse manure, take the excrement of a pig or cow, then you will notice that in the first form there is less rot and weed.Horse droppings also have a pronounced effect that lasts for a long time.
Also, this type of fertilizer significantly improves the general condition of the soil, regardless of what kind of land needs to be fertilized. With lightness of the soil, the use of horse manure ensures sufficient saturation of the soil with moisture. In heavy and dense soil, fertilizer is a baking powder.
If we compare pork and cow dung with horse manure, then the latter has low moisture and looseness. Fertilizer decomposition occurs instantly, with the effect of warming up the soil to high temperatures.
Horse excrement is considered one of the best compared to others, and it is also considered a great advantage that it significantly increases the amount of the crop.
The manure melts over time and supplies the soil with nutrients in stages. It is used in different variations: in a rotted or fresh version, you can also purchase fertilizer materials in specialized stores, where horse manure is present in the composition. It can be used to prepare a fertilizer material in granules, in a liquid consistency.
Biofuel use
To make your beds insulated, you need to use horse manure, as it is able to warm the soil up to + 80 ̊С.
Fertilizer is used in winter by gardeners who grow crops in greenhouses and greenhouses. It is necessary to lay a layer of manure with a height of 0.3 meters.
It is also possible to equip high ridges in open soil. This option is used for heat-loving vegetables. These crops include: cucumbers, pumpkins, tomatoes and others. The bottom crops warm up well for faster ripening and higher yields. Also, gardeners claim that the taste characteristics are significantly improved.
Fresh manure
Early maturing crops are usually fed with fresh manure. This type of feeding is prepared in advance, in the autumn period, and you can do it earlier. Fertilizing material is introduced after harvesting the fruits into the soil. But it prepares the soil for fertilization in advance, the area is cleared of weeds and other plant residues.
In 1 m2 of soil, which will be used for planting, add 1 bucket of fertilizing material. It is best to dig up the soil to mix the soil and droppings. To obtain the maximum result, the planting site is covered with film material until the spring period. Such a measure is necessary so that nitrogen and other compounds do not escape from the manure.
By the spring, the land will be ready for planting. It will only be possible to use organic or commercially available minerals to supply the soil with additional elements. The manure has already pereperet by this time, it will be possible to plant any plants on the ridges.
Liquid consistency
In liquid form, horse feces are most commonly found in concentrated and diluted form. At factories, manure is packaged in containers with a volume of 5 liters. They are convenient to move and use in private households.
The use of liquid and raw fertilizers is no different in quality, but there is one feature - liquid manure has a more watery consistency, it has a more delicate effect on the soil.
Liquid manure is also made by hand, in the following ways:
- There is a "Horse brew" method. Within 3 days, it is necessary to insist a decoction, which is made from nettle, flooded with water. The mixture is covered with a lid. After the appointed time has passed, horse manure is added to the broth in a ratio of 1:10 - where 1 is a bucket of droppings, and 10 is liters of water. The consistency must be mixed well, covered on top and left to infuse for two days. Before irrigation, the broth is thoroughly interfered with, the nettle leaves can be pulled out, since they are no longer useful. Feeding is carried out in the evening.The mixture not only fertilizes the soil, but also sprinkles it on crops.
- Also, to make fertilizer, you need to apply dung. You can buy it at any farm where there are horses. The slurry has the following positive qualities: it acts as actively as possible on the soil; plants develop more actively and faster. To prepare the fertilizer, you need to dilute the droppings with liquid in a ratio of one to six and sprinkle the vegetables with the mixture. Tomatoes at the time of active growth are most actively perceived by such feeding. The fertilizer mixture enriches the soil with N (nitrogen) and K (potassium).
Fertilizer in granules
In the imagination, it is very difficult to imagine how to transfer fresh horse manure from place to place. If there is no horse farm nearby in the region, then the use of organic fertilizer becomes extremely limited.
Delivering the product will cost a lot of money, and it won't be a very pleasant problem.
If the home plot is planned to be fertilized with horse manure, then it is possible to find an alternative option - fertilizer in granules.
Granular droppings are as effective as when used normally. It brings great results as it is natural.
“Orgavit” is becoming popular among gardeners - it is manure in granules. The great merit of such fertilization is that the breeders retain all the main useful elements, and as a result of top dressing, the soil is not contaminated with toxic substances.
There is no weed in granular manure, which is in its natural form. During the processing of the droppings, they are destroyed.
Also fertilizer in granules is an alternative to minerals. Apply them in accordance with the instructions.
Granular fertilizer "Orgavit" must be filled with liquid. The proportions must be observed as indicated on the package. The granules are completely dissolved in water to obtain the desired consistency. They are infused for about 4 hours, the beneficial compounds will be immersed in the liquid. The organic mixture is stirred prior to use to prevent phosphorus precipitation at the bottom. In order for the beneficial qualities of fertilization to be manifested to the maximum, the plant must be watered according to the recommendations that are indicated in the instructions.
How to stack mulch
Horse manure, in addition to being used as fertilizer, is used as mulch. This solution can solve many problems:
- Weak soil is enriched with useful compounds. During each irrigation, nutrients penetrate the soil, thereby the plant receives additional nutrition.
- The soil is protected from lack of moisture.
- If the mulch is laid in a large layer, then the soil will be protected from the germination of weeds.
Horse manure is used as mulch, which is quail. The best thing would be to use it as a humus. The manure must be mixed with straw, hay and sawdust in equal proportions and tamped in the area around the crop.
Mulch is supplied to plants such as vegetables, flower crops and trees.
Impact of horse droppings on a variety of crops
Application for flowers
For example, if you take flowers such as roses, you will notice that they need meticulous care, which is very laborious. To improve the quality of a flower, it must be fertilized with horse droppings. The planting site for this flower culture is being prepared in advance in the autumn, because the most nitrogenous bases are released in the spring. Other flower crops also respond positively to horse manure.
Use for apple trees
For apple trees, horse dung is applied in regular form or in a liquid consistency.
To add horse excrement, they dig up the soil near the trunk in the perimeter of about 40 cm and apply fresh fertilizer. You can also dilute the manure with water, dig a trench in the near-trunk zone and pour out the liquid manure.After feeding the earth, the trench is covered with earth.
Application for strawberries
For a rich and sweet harvest at harvest time, strawberries need to be fertilized regularly.
Use horse droppings for berries in a liquid state. It is necessary to wait in advance for a certain time so that the mixture is infused. Take 0.5 buckets of manure per 100 liters of liquid. After settling, the infusion is mixed and diluted with water when the berries are irrigated. Water in a ratio of 1: 1 liters of infusion and a bucket of water.
Application for cucumbers
Cucumbers are considered one of the heat-loving plants. Horse dung may I help create warm conditions for culture. If you plan to plant cucumbers in winter, then the use of droppings in the greenhouse will be able to translate what you want into reality.
Straw and droppings are mixed in equal proportions and laid out on an open planting area. The stop signal will be the moment when a small smoke goes over the mixture. This means that the fertilizer mixture can be used.
At the supposed place of the bed, it is necessary to make a groove into which the droppings are poured and tamped. After the procedure, irrigate the sown area with water. The grooves are covered with a film material, after two days the shelter is removed. The trench must be covered with earth.
Application for tomatoes
Tomatoes grow especially productively in the area where the soil was fertilized with horse manure a year ago; fresh droppings are poorly accepted by the vegetable crop.
You can do this: plant zucchini this year and fertilize the soil, and then plant tomatoes next year. With this method, the form is a significant result. Fresh manure is not suitable because the manure contains nitrogen, which significantly increases the weight of the vegetable.
Application for potatoes
In what cases manure should not be used
Horse dung is a natural and useful substance, but its use is not always advisable:
- If there is sediment on top of the droppings, then the fertilizer material will no longer serve as biofuel. This state of affairs is affected by a fungus that forms a plaque.
- Not rotted manure is also not used for fertilizing cucumbers, since vegetables will not receive heat, but only ammonia fumes will get in, this can significantly affect the quality of the vegetable crop.
- Very often, horse excrement is used for fertilizing potato crops, but not in all cases this can be beneficial. Manure can carry scab, which will negatively affect the health of vegetables, in which case it is better to resort to other fertilization methods.
- If the soil is dense in the greenhouse, then the manure cannot be used. The excrement will decompose for a long time, during the reaction a large amount of hydrogen sulfide is formed, which adversely affects the root systems of any culture.
To get the most out of the fertilizer application, you need to follow certain guidelines and rules.