using cow $hit as compost

[Nicklausjames]

I have a bunch of cow crap that has been sitting in my field the past year. I was planning on cleaning up as much of it as I can. Is it still valuable as compost since it has been sitting in the elements out in the open for the past year?

 

[BC]

What are you wanting to use it on? If you are wanting to use it in a vegetable garden and you sprayed Grazon P+D or GrazonNext, there is a chance that the residual herbicide could be in the manure and get your broadleaf plants.

 

[Dave]

It certainly will work. It will have lost about half the nitrogen in that amount of time but the P and K are still there. Straight cow manure doesn't compost too well as you will have a hard time getting and keeping enough air in it. And mixing old hay, straw, and sawdust into it help keep it loose will cause your C to N ratio to be off. It will help a garden barring any issues with past herbicides. Mostly by increasing the organic mater in the soil.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

What are you wanting to use it on? If you are wanting to use it in a vegetable garden and you sprayed Grazon P+D or GrazonNext, there is a chance that the residual herbicide could be in the manure and get your broadleaf plants.

That is affirmative! Where I used to work, they brought a truck-load of manure to the veggie area, and it killed off half of what was planted.

 

[Dave]

What are you wanting to use it on? If you are wanting to use it in a vegetable garden and you sprayed Grazon P+D or GrazonNext, there is a chance that the residual herbicide could be in the manure and get your broadleaf plants.

That is affirmative! Where I used to work, they brought a truck-load of manure to the veggie area, and it killed off half of what was planted.

There is an herbicide named Clorperalid (sp) that gets used on grain crops. Use that straw in compost and it will sure kill all the peas and beans.

 

[Double R Ranch]

Every year we scrape our corral and feeding areas when the ground starts to dry out. Push into a pile and turn every few weeks to compost it. Put it in the garden every year. Works great!

 

[greybeard]

Every year we scrape our corral and feeding areas when the ground starts to dry out. Push into a pile and turn every few weeks to compost it. Put it in the garden every year. Works great!

How long do you let it compost before using it on your garden?

 

[Double R Ranch]

Every year we scrape our corral and feeding areas when the ground starts to dry out. Push into a pile and turn every few weeks to compost it. Put it in the garden every year. Works great!

How long do you let it compost before using it on your garden?

We just use scoops from the previous years pile when we’re planting then after we tear out the garden put the entire remaining pile in and till. It takes many months to no longer be hot. Basically when it looks like dirt/potting soil is when we use it.

 

[Nesikep]

Some plants like a hotter manure... not steaming hot but before it looks like dirt.. tomatoes, peppers, squash are some... Onions, garlic, lettuce, cabbage, a bit older is better.. Carrots usually don't need any, VERY old if you do though

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

OK - you guys are confusing me. My first thought was "I'll ask Ken", but as most of you know - that ain't going to happen LOL.
Anyway, are you saying if you spray your pastures with Grazon P+D or GrazonNext, it will pass thru to their manure? Is this true if you graze too soon or just anytime thru the summer? What is it doing to the meat?
I am NOT a health nut, don't believe in organic anything, but really surprised on this???

 

[callmefence]

OK - you guys are confusing me. My first thought was "I'll ask Ken", but as most of you know - that ain't going to happen LOL.
Anyway, are you saying if you spray your pastures with Grazon P+D or GrazonNext, it will pass thru to their manure? Is this true if you graze too soon or just anytime thru the summer? What is it doing to the meat?
I am NOT a health nut, don't believe in organic anything, but really surprised on this???

The manure is grass. Yes the residual herbicide can stay in the grass / manure.
Although the realistic residual staying power in grazon is more like 3- 6 months not year's.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Darn "heart" still won't work - errr.
Thanks!

 

[greybeard]

Darn "heart" still won't work - errr.
Thanks!

Jeanne:
1. Click the heart.
2. It will most likely bring up a page that says something like this:
{"toggle_action":"add","toggle_post":"1504610"}
3. Hit the 'back' button. It will return you right back to the page/post where you were wanting to do the 'heart' thing.
4. Now, hit 'refresh'. That will make your heart entry show up as soon as the page re-loads.

 

[BC]

OK - you guys are confusing me. My first thought was "I'll ask Ken", but as most of you know - that ain't going to happen LOL.
Anyway, are you saying if you spray your pastures with Grazon P+D or GrazonNext, it will pass thru to their manure? Is this true if you graze too soon or just anytime thru the summer? What is it doing to the meat?
I am NOT a health nut, don't believe in organic anything, but really surprised on this???

Nothing is happening to the meat. Dow would not have gotten a registration and a label if it had shown up in the meat. The herbicide can pass through the cow and is in the manure. In the early 1980's when Grazon P+D came on board, I saw damage to vegetable gardens where the owners had applied barnyard manure.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Thanks for the info - also a BIG THANKS for getting the "heart" to work. Kind of a pain, but works.

 

[Nesikep]

Darn "heart" still won't work - errr.
Thanks!

Jeanne:
1. Click the heart.
2. It will most likely bring up a page that says something like this:
{"toggle_action":"add","toggle_post":"1504610"}
3. Hit the 'back' button. It will return you right back to the page/post where you were wanting to do the 'heart' thing.
4. Now, hit 'refresh'. That will make your heart entry show up as soon as the page re-loads.

Step 4 is optional, just to see if it worked.. the heart action has been taken, just doesn't show

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

You are RIGHT. I left & came back. It worked. Thanks.

 

[Jogeephus]

Cow manure is good stuff but the key is to let it compost and go through a heat. If you'll do that and not use green noncomposted manure you shouldn't have any problems with anything including weed seeds. Here is some I've been composting for a project I have in mind. It has cooked down pretty well and ready for use but I'm not ready to do the project just yet so I'll keep adding and stirring till I'm ready.

 

[slick4591]

Every year we scrape our corral and feeding areas when the ground starts to dry out. Push into a pile and turn every few weeks to compost it. Put it in the garden every year. Works great!

Every spring I scrape up the areas where I fed hay and make one large pile. I turn it about once a month and when fall comes around I have a lady that comes out and I'll load her pickup bed with it. She unloads in her garden and loves the stuff.

 

[SPH]

Every year we scrape our corral and feeding areas when the ground starts to dry out. Push into a pile and turn every few weeks to compost it. Put it in the garden every year. Works great!

Every spring I scrape up the areas where I fed hay and make one large pile. I turn it about once a month and when fall comes around I have a lady that comes out and I'll load her pickup bed with it. She unloads in her garden and loves the stuff.

We pile our winter feeding areas up too and let it compost down a couple years and it also makes for a high place where the cows and calves can get out of the mud the following year too. I live in town and when we moved to our current house that had a lot of clay in the soil I hauled in a couple pickup loads of some that had composted down at least 2 or 3 years to make a garden and the neighbors have taken notice how much better my plants grow than anyone else's does. Almost wonder if we could sell it by the pickup bed full or loader bucket. Did a quick craigslist search and there are a few ads ranging from $15-25 either by the ton or pickup load. Has me wondering if it's worth a shot to post an ad next spring, even if you only got 4 people to come out that's still an easy $100.

The 1 main lot we feed hay to cows in the winter shares a fence line with the neighbor's corn field. We tell them every year just open the gate to our lot and help yourself to some free manure because it's as close of a haul as they will get for that field plus helps us clean it out. They are hit or miss on taking us up on the offer, probably won't happen this year with the late spring we had and everyone is scrambling to get their fields planted right now.