[xx75]

Will horse manure help on food plots as a fertilizer? We have a neighbor at the farm that has a horse stall he is cleaning out. Our plots are doing good but tests show we need a little more fertilizer. If not what would be a good fertilizer for the plots. PH is close 5.5 -6.5 just needs a little help.

 

[henry]

It will help with organic matter. There may be some nutrient benefit

 

[beanpile]

just remember whatever that horse ate..like Fescue could also be in your soil at a later date

 

[CamoNinja]

Will horse manure help on food plots as a fertilizer? We have a neighbor at the farm that has a horse stall he is cleaning out. Our plots are doing good but tests show we need a little more fertilizer. If not what would be a good fertilizer for the plots. PH is close 5.5 -6.5 just needs a little help.

Horses are extremely inefficient at digesting food. That's why horse turds look like balls of grass after they leach out. Like @beanpile said, they don't even digest all of the seeds from invasive grasses, etc. It is basically a bunch of cellulose. If you could compost it first, it would be much better. Adding some water, blood meal, lime or gypsum, and letting it cook down some first would probably give you better results. Of course, composting is a science all it's own, and you can get as deep into that as you like.

 

[jmp1463]

Chicken **** is the absolute best

 

[BackyardBandit]

Spreading non-composted horse manure will introduce tons of bad seeds to your plot.

 

[rat]

save up your own poop for a while.... free fertilizer!

 

[swat1018]

Buddy has had horses his whole life. He has about 30-40 in stalls every night in his barn. He has a pile at the back of his property with composted crap. It's been there long enough it's like black dirt. I put 6-8" on my whole garden last year, and am getting ready to do it again this year. I started my first compost pile last summer out of poultry litter. I'm going to start using my own brew next year.

 

[henry]

save up your own poop for a while.... free fertilizer!

I've been fertilizing trees at the farm with mine for years. I have tall trees.

 

[CamoNinja]

Buddy has had horses his whole life. He has about 30-40 in stalls every night in his barn. He has a pile at the back of his property with composted crap. It's been there long enough it's like black dirt. I put 6-8" on my whole garden last year, and am getting ready to do it again this year. I started my first compost pile last summer out of poultry litter. I'm going to start using my own brew next year.

You have an air pump and stone in your future!