Janet Reed wrote:Just some thought.
“Hot” manure generally means new; green; like right out of the cow’s tail. Fresh. Aged manure of different types is plantable but hot manure is not.
Manure is like home brew. You need to age it to use it.
If they are telling you their manure is too “ hot” to plant in I’d listen.
Rebecca Norman wrote:I filled some beds about 8 inches with just cow manure late last winter, and it wasn't even that well composted. I direct seeded cucurbits, beets, basil and coriander in it, and transplanted broccoli into it, and all of them are doing great. My best garden yet, by far.
Some of the beds I mixed some of the underlying soil up into the manure, but the broccoli and cucurbit beds are really mostly just manure the top several inches. The medium feels spongy! The only problem I've had so far is hundreds of alfalfa seedlings because of how the alfalfa hay is done here. I'm already scheming on how I'll do more beds like this next year but then also top with a deep mulch of dried plant matter.
Ben Zumeta wrote:I also am coming from my own mistakes where I bought a large amount of greenhouse poly that turned out to be very unsustainable in our 10” rain days with 70mph winds. I made my money back many times over but recently our local small town recycling company had to stop taking the plastics it used to due to oil prices dropping, and now I am looking for ways to repurpose holy greenhouse plastic. I only need so many tarps!
William Bronson wrote:Well, you probably won't have any weeds.
Chickens seem pretty good at devastating weed seeds.
If you fill the raised beds with compost on.the bottom and sandy soil on top, the plants could grow down to find their own food without sitting directly in it.
stephen lowe wrote:Ah yes Matthew you have figured the misunderstanding perfectly. Used as a plastic mulch seems like a fine idea.