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Yes, yes! Let it age, first. I was at my mothers' a couple
of years ago with my horse. Ray made a nice pile, and Mom
insisted I put it on her prize peonies. I thought it was a
good idea, too. Well, those peonies shot for the sky: inside
of about a week they were twice their height. But because they
were so thin and pale, they fell right over.
But I've given the "aged" stuff to neighbors and they're
thrilled with it. That's at least a year old.
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| Horse manure is usually always safe to use, because its best use
is as a soil conditioner, not as a fertilizer. Very fresh manure
is usually not good (say less than a few weeks outside exposure)
because if it still contains urine, it can burn your plants and
the decomposition of the solids will rob your soil of nitrogen.
For these reasons it is usually used as a soil conditioner, and
this is done by working several inches of not-fresh stuff into
the soil with a rototiller or fork depending on the size of your
garden. The soil conditions improve to the point that it is almost
the equivalent of fertilizer. (If your check the N-P-K makeup of
manure you will find it be VERY low in fertilizing ability compared
to say 7-7-7 or 5-10-10)
I will use manure loose from the paddock in my garden this Spring,
I believe a year is certainly OK but I usually wait about one month
for "rakings" from the paddock.
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