Oh, they're cute alright, but despite their actual coloration, they are little black holes into which you throw money.

woofie said:Oh, they're cute alright, but despite their actual coloration, they are little black holes into which you throw money.

Well, you have to spend it somewhere!

Well, at least with Chelle's report here, at least I may be able to spend just a bit less on potting soil! Thanks, Chelle!

woofie said:Well, at least with Chelle's report here, at least I may be able to spend just a bit less on potting soil! Thanks, Chelle!

Yep. The feed is already paid for and the horse only uses it once!

Seriously though...keep in mind that this is just one person's findings, and I haven't used it with plants that aren't expendable. I'm sure that everything will sink down as the materials decompose, but I'm not sure of anything else. I've taken cuttings/pieces of a lot of these and started them elsewhere as well...just in case. As long as we have materials on hand to reset the plants or cover exposed roots when/if that happens it might turn out okay in the long run, but starting with short term projects might be best. I figure with the temps here cooling way down now that decomposition will be slowed significantly enough for my fall display beds to make it, but during warmer weather it might be too quick a process.

I was actually thinking about using it for making some new beds for next spring. Can't really do that with the stuff from the goats...too many weeds. But the ponies are only fed grass hay, so this could work out well. I'm always scrounging for filling for raised beds!

>> I still contend that I never get sick precisely because I am exposed to all those germs that people nowadays are so afraid of.

I agree.

The Yale graduate department of nutrition / food science (whatever they call it) did a field trip to China many years ago. They had done some calculations on the diet reported in remote villages, and thought that the people there SHOULD all have multiple deficiency diseases.

They confirmed NO deficiency symptoms, and the diet WAS too sparse to provide enough of several critical vitamins (or maybe other nutrients, I forget).

So they took a lot of notes, and when they went home, they put a bunch of grad students on that exact diet. Right away they came down with every nutritional disease expected.

The Chinese village farmers had NOT evolved to produce their own vitamins.

It turned out that the cooks at Yale were WASHING all the foods much too well. The bacteria and soil fungi remaining in the small amount of soil clinging to food in villagers' diets was providing them with the essential nutrients they needed.

So a little soil can be good for you.

Perhaps needless to say, they were not using herbicides or insecticides at that time, because they couldn't afford them and none were trucked in.

Oh, that's interesting, Rick. And funny! Just proves that too much cleanliness is NOT good for you! (I'm going to live forever!)

Yes, very interesting.
If you every happen to come across a link to that study, I'd love to see it.

I was thinking more of pathogenic diseases, rather than deficiencies, but it all goes hand in hand.

I vaguely recall reading something about people advocating eating dirt. Have to see if I can track that one down again. Sigh, this does NOT seem like something that should be done in excess.

My request is only "in passing".

Don't spend a lot of time looking, either of you.

I would much rather take my vitamin pills. No eating dirt! At least not intentionally.

Doesn't take much looking. Here's one:
http://geography.about.com/cs/...

>> Sigh, this does NOT seem like something that should be done in excess.

Especially if your soil was built up from straight horse poo.

I've read about pregnant women in the American South eating clay, and other people making a big fuss about its dangers. I don't know.

>> happen to come across a link to that study, I'd love to see it.

I heard it as an anecdote from some Yalie when i worked in the Nutrition & Food Science Dept. at MIT. The Yale study I heard about would have occurred before, or much before, 1974. I was guessing in the late 1950s or 1960s.

Here's a debunking opinion, a claim that only "tiny amounts" of vitamins could be gotten from soil. Despite calling himself a "scientist", he announces his opinion as a fact without citing any evidence:
http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/ed...

Here's another indirect anti opinion. He thinks there are racial differences in vitamin requirements, at least as regards ability to survive on vegan diets:
He also thinks that vegan diets are "too yin" and "Very low in etheric energy".
So your mileage may vary.
http://drlwilson.com/Articles/...


Maybe the book he is debunking ("The China Study (2006) ") has a mention of the Yale study. Despite debunking it, he doesn't provide an ISBN number or link or publisher.
http://drlwilson.com/Articles/...

download PDF:
http://www.socakajak-klub.si/m...
Ben Bella Books, Inc.
[email protected]
ISBN 1-932100-66-0

I'm a lover of horse manure as well. I've always used somewhat ages, a few months and use it on all my planting beds. I have used green horse manure on roses as they love it. Horse manure with leaf compost is the best way to improve clay soil. When I lived in northern ohio that is what I used and my garden club members couldn't believe how fast my garden grew.

I'm spreading my pile out on the garden beds now; a thin layer of mowed leaves, manure on top...repeat. I'm too busy with seedlings and the veggie garden to get the flowerbeds done in the spring...plus, it's just too buggy to enjoy doing it then.


I made another straight manure bed for some end-of-season sale plants that I got for a song. Their planting spots aren't ready yet and the dead trees won't be removed 'til late winter to free up the area, so this will carry them over nicely, I think. They're loving it so far.

Woofie

When I had my herd of Nigerian dwarf dairy goats I used their droppings all the time. never had any stay weeds pop up. But then I keep it in a pile and just used from it through out the year. I would add new and integrated it with the old and just kept using. I use to put the (what I called them) nanny berries in a large bottle and used it as fertilizer for my potted plants and veggies. Now I did rotational grazing with my herd.

Don't waste that wonderful source of fertilizer that is yours already.

Newyorkrita said:NO!!!! Do not use cat or dog poop. Too many possible parasites.

Not only parasites but the meat proteins are not good for plants.
GF mulches her gardens with horse barn straw for the winter. It works great.

Has anyone ever heard of composted horse manure for sale bagged in the big box stores for those of us that don't have a source for horse manure?

daylilydreams said:Has anyone ever heard of composted horse manure for sale bagged in the big box stores for those of us that don't have a source for horse manure?

I haven't seen any; plenty of steer and cow, but not horse. Any of these will work. I used bagged processed (composted) cow manure this spring to start a lot of my in situ seeds. It worked like a charm. Bovine compost usually runs a higher ratio of nitrogen, sometimes double that of horse, so if you have nitrogen-sensitive plants some dilution might be necessary. I haven't found that a two inch layer applied on top of garden soil to be detrimental in any way, though, so if that's what you can get it's worth a try.

Daylilydreams

I would recommend you contact a horse farm, a riding stable for sources of local horse manure. The big box stores don't carry it. When I lived up north, I found several farms that were close and I organized a mucking party, where members of my garden club would get together once a month and go out and get horse manure for our gardens. It helped the owner out and us as well. It was a lot of fun and once the member saw how well the horse manure was for their garden beds, the number increased each time.