When to apply horse manure to the soil. Horse manure in granules. Agroscience offers two storage options.

Manure is an organic fertilizer consisting of the excrement of domestic animals. This is the most famous and used fertilizer in all countries of the world throughout the history of mankind. Manure is formed in the process of microbiological and enzymatic processing by animals of various feeds.

Manure as a fertilizer is a natural source of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus macronutrients necessary for plants, as well as many trace elements, including sulfur, chlorine, silicon, lime and magnesia. Manure improves the structure of the soil and its physical and mechanical properties: it activates the soil microflora, enriches the soil with carbon dioxide and promotes the absorption of mineral fertilizers by plants, including indoor ones.

IN Russian Empire manure was the main fertilizer. IN Soviet time in terms of efficiency, only vermicomposts could be compared with manure. Today, fresh manure is still considered the best fertilizer, despite the fact that it depresses many plants and contains harmful microorganisms and weed seeds. And although supporters of everything new and progressive argue that manure is not as effective as balanced mineral complexes, that it smells bad and is not suitable for all plants, this organic product forms a fertile soil layer, while mineral fertilizers only deplete it.

Manure is used not only as a fertilizer, but also as a binder in the construction of village houses. In addition, biogas and paper are produced from it, and dry manure is used as biofuel.

Types of manure - features

Depending on the amount of moisture in the manure, there are three types of this organic fertilizer:

• - litter, that is, solid or dry manure, the moisture content of which is about 80%;
• - semi-liquid - manure with a moisture content of up to 90%;
• - liquid - manure, the moisture content of which is above 90%.

Dry manure.

Bedding manure is formed from animal excrement and bedding materials, meaning manure with sawdust, straw, leaves or peat. The composition of such manure includes all the elements of plant nutrition. Depending on the degree of decomposition, dry manure is divided into:

• - on semi-overripe;
• - rotted;
• - humus.

There are three ways to store manure:

• - hot;
• - hot-pressed (according to the Kranz method);
• - cold.

The hot method involves storing manure in a loose state in a heap into which air easily enters. Such a content of manure leads to the active growth of microflora that destroys organic components, which results in the loss of up to 60% of the mass of dry organic matter and up to 50% of nitrogen. With the Kranz method, manure is stored in a compacted state, removing air from it, which causes the temperature inside the mass to rise to 50-60 ºC. This slows down the development of microflora and increases the thermal conductivity of manure. best manure obtained during cold storage: the manure is compacted and stored in cool rooms on a concrete floor.

Semi-decomposed manure. In such manure, the straw becomes brown and easily destroyed: the loss of organic matter in the manure is 20-30%. Semi-rotted manure is used in agriculture more often than all other types. Crops such as cucumbers, zucchini, squash, spinach, cabbage, pumpkin respond well to the introduction of semi-rotted manure, and the next year, potatoes, radishes, carrots, beets and other root crops can be grown on a site fertilized with semi-rotted manure without additional organic matter.

Overripe manure. The rotted manure is a highly decomposed manure, that is, a homogeneous mass, where neither straw nor sawdust can be distinguished. The loss of organic matter at this stage of decomposition is about 50%. Mature manure is also often used to fertilize the soil. How much manure is needed to fertilize a plot for crops? When digging, 10 kg of fertilizer is applied per 1 m² of soil. And rotted manure, mixed with soil in a ratio of 1: 2, is a good substrate for growing vegetable seedlings. This manure is also used for liquid feeding: 2 kg of rotted manure is mixed into 10 liters of water.

Humus. Humus is a product of the final stage of manure decomposition, a loose dark mass that has lost about 75% of organic matter during decomposition. It is used both for creating soil mixtures and for surface mulching. Humus as a fertilizer is suitable for any plants, its presence in the soil improves taste qualities roots, potatoes grow large and crumbly, and onions and radishes lose their excessive bitterness, acquiring tenderness and sweetness of taste. Humus is introduced into the soil for digging in a ratio of 1:4. To obtain humus, fresh manure is tightly laid in special boxes in layers, sprinkling them with phosphorite flour (20-30 g per 10 kg of manure) and moss peat (2 kg per 10 kg of manure). After six months of natural decomposition, you will get rotted manure, and after a year or two, the manure will turn into humus.

Fresh manure.

Despite the fact that nutrients from fresh manure are more difficult for plants to absorb, sometimes you still have to add it to the soil, because there is not always time to wait for the humus to ripen. How to apply fresh manure? Can:

• - dig the soil with it in the autumn on the site to a depth of 30-40 cm at the rate of 1 bucket of manure per 1 m² of land;
• - in winter, scatter manure around the garden directly on top of the snow cover at the rate of 1.5 buckets of fertilizer per 1 m² of area;
• - use fresh manure for the greenhouse in spring to build warm beds.

Seasonal top dressing is better fresh manure do not produce, because worms and others can not migrate to the soil useful to plants and humans micro-organisms.

liquid manure.

Most fast way prepare fertilizer from manure - pour it with water in a ratio of 1: 1 and insist for a week. Before use, the resulting infusion is diluted with water 1:10. Keep in mind that fertilizing plants with manure can burn their roots, so the solution is poured not under the plants, but into the grooves made around them at a certain distance.

Granulated manure.

It is not always possible to buy fresh manure, and the processing of manure into fertilizer requires space and time, so many people prefer to buy granular dry manure packaged in bags and plastic buckets in specialized stores. What is this fertilizer? How is it produced? Manure is composted when heated to 75 ºC, adding straw to it to improve the organic properties. After composting, the mass is dehydrated, dried and granulated. This fertilizer, when properly stored, does not lose useful properties within 5 years.

Manure in granules has all the advantages of fresh, it is easy to use, but devoid of a specific smell and pathogenic organisms. The composition of manure in granules includes nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, copper, zinc and boron. Granulated manure improves the structure of the soil, makes it looser, helps to retain moisture in it, creates a favorable environment for the development of beneficial soil microorganisms that turn organic waste into nutrients for plants.

Granular manure has a neutral pH (7.0) and is suitable for almost all plants. The duration of its action in humus is several years. How to use manure in granules for soil fertilization? In early spring, it is dug up with soil, planted to a depth of 10 cm. The amount of manure is 1-5 kg ​​per m² of land. After manure, it is desirable to water the soil well. You can use granular manure for liquid top dressing: it is poured cold water and insist two weeks, after which the composition is thoroughly mixed and applied to the soil. Each type of manure has its own dosage and consistency. It is indicated on the packaging.

What kind of manure is better?

Horse dung.

Horse manure has a loose porous structure and decomposes quickly, releasing 50 to 70 ºC heat. It is an ideal soil fertilizer in greenhouses, greenhouses and greenhouses. Horse manure is also suitable for the garden: it does a good job of fertilizing heavy and infertile soils. Such manure is especially valuable for cucumbers, potatoes, celery, cabbage, squash, marrows and other pumpkin crops.

The composition of horse manure includes nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other valuable elements that contribute to the growth of plant productivity, increase their resistance to external factors and diseases. The effect of horse manure is prolonged, so its one-time application provides an increase in soil fertility for several years.

2 kg of fresh horse manure is diluted in 10 liters of water, 1 kg of sawdust is added to the solution, insisted for two weeks, stirring regularly. Vegetable crops are fed with this infusion after heavy rain or watering. You can make fresh horse manure for autumn digging, but in this case, the manure will lose half of its useful properties.

Horse manure is perfect for arranging a warm bed: dig a trench half a meter deep in the greenhouse, lay a layer of fresh horse manure 20 cm thick into it, fill the trench with soil over the manure and spill it with a warm pink solution of potassium permanganate with the addition of Nitrophoska (2 tablespoons) and wood ash (1 cup). It is impossible to use horse manure as a biofuel if a fungal coating has formed on its surface. Insufficiently rotted manure is not suitable in this capacity, since ammonia that has not weathered can poison plants. It is undesirable to use horse manure to fertilize too dense soil, since when it decomposes, hydrogen sulfide and methane will accumulate, which also poison the roots of plants.

Do not spread fresh horse manure under the potatoes, as they are vectors for scab.

Mostly fresh manure (of any animal) is brought into the soil for autumn digging. Under crops with a long growing season, manure can be applied in the spring.

Mature horse manure is much more beneficial for plants, since it contains several times more nutrients than fresh manure. They fertilize near-trunk circles of fruit trees (5 buckets each) and berry bushes (3 buckets each). Mulched beds with tomatoes and strawberries are mulched with rotted horse manure, and if there is a lot of sawdust in it, then it is suitable for mulching near-stem circles of fruit trees after watering.

Since it is problematic for most gardeners to purchase fresh horse manure, horse manure in granules is sold in stores. The most popular granulated manure is "Horse Orgavit", which differs from fertilizers of other brands in that most of the nutrients contained in it are stored in a form available to plants. In addition, it does not increase the toxicity of the soil, it does not contain weed seeds and substances harmful to humans. You can buy horse manure in bags, each of which contains 40-50 liters of dry matter weighing 35-40 kg. Not so long ago, a liquid concentrate of horse manure appeared on sale in containers of 5 liters, which was highly appreciated by gardeners.

Cow dung.

Cattle manure is the most common fertilizer that is applied to all types of plants. But despite such widespread use, cow dung is one of the most non-nutritious organic fertilizers. 1 kg of cow manure contains:

• - 3.5 g of nitrogen;
• - 2.9 g of calcium;
• - 3 g of phosphorus;
• - 1.4 g of potassium.

Mullein also contains magnesium and sulfur. However, it should be borne in mind that, depending on the sex and age of the animal, the composition of the manure may vary. For example, the manure of adult cows contains 15% more nutrients than the manure of calves of the first year of life. On the positive side, due to the low nutrient content of mullein, plants are not at risk of overdosing on nitrates.

Cow dung is most effective for sandy and sandy soils. It is rarely used fresh, because it contains ammonia in large quantities, which is harmful to the roots. cultivated plants. But you can make liquid fertilizer from fresh litter. To do this, one part of the manure is placed in a deep container and poured into it with five parts of water, stirred well, covered with a tight-fitting lid and infused for 2 weeks, stirring the infusion every three days. If you do everything right, small bubbles will appear in the composition, then the infusion will brighten, and large particles will settle to the bottom. Before use, the infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:1 and added for every 10 liters of 500 g of ash and 100 g of superphosphate. The output is a balanced complex fertilizer.

Rotted cow manure and humus from it can be used in autumn for digging, and in spring as mulch for almost all garden crops, berry bushes, fruit and ornamental trees and perennial flowering plants. On the basis of humus, mixtures are made for growing seedlings of garden crops. Holes are filled with mullein humus when planting tomatoes, eggplants, watermelons or zucchini.

Chicken manure.

A very popular fertilizer is chicken manure, and primarily because of its availability: poultry is often kept both on summer cottages as well as in private homes. But availability does not detract from the valuable nutritional qualities of chicken manure. This type of manure contains nitrogen, calcium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus at a concentration that is three to four times higher than in the manure of other animals. For example, nitrogen in chicken manure is 1.5-2%, while in mullein it is only half a percent, and in sheep manure no more than 1%. In addition, chicken manure is characterized by a prolonged action: since nutrients are released from bird droppings slowly, it continues to nourish the soil even 2-3 years after application.

The pH level of chicken manure is 6.6 units, which is why it is called a "soil former": it not only increases crop yields and enhances the activity of plant photosynthesis, but also participates in the formation of humus in the soil and contributes to soil deoxidation.

The advantages of chicken manure include the fact that it is non-toxic, does not cake, increases the resistance of crops to diseases and adverse external factors. It is absolutely environmentally friendly and is much cheaper than mineral fertilizers.

Like any other type of manure, it is better not to apply fresh chicken manure under plants due to the content of uric acid in it. In addition, the concentration of phosphorus and nitrogen is too high in it, so you need to keep chicken manure in the open air for a long time so that the excess and unnecessary can evaporate. Sometimes, in order to rid bird droppings of excess uric acid, they fill it with water for two days and change it several times. However, even after the completion of such treatment, the litter cannot be applied under the root of the plants: it is buried in the aisles or in the grooves around the tree trunks.

Fresh chicken manure has another drawback: the presence of harmful microorganisms in it.

Liquid fertilizer can be prepared from fresh manure: pour one part of manure with 20 parts of water and keep this solution in the open air for 10 days, stirring occasionally. The resulting infusion is watered between rows of beds with vegetables after heavy rain or heavy watering. However, neither under the roots of plants, nor in the holes during planting, this composition can not be poured. Do not keep the manure solution in an open container for more than two days, as ammonia starts to come out of it. If you are confused by the unpleasant smell that occurs during the fermentation of fresh chicken manure, add a little iron sulfate (200-300 g) to the container, and then the solution can be used not only as a fertilizer for plants, but also for the prevention of fungal diseases.

For the preparation of rotted manure or humus, chicken manure is placed in a box or container on a bed of grass or leaves, alternating layers of manure with the remains of garden plants, sawdust, peat, straw and other organic waste. Since the decomposition of chicken manure takes place at a very high temperature, the processing process is completed much faster than when composting horse manure or cattle manure: poultry manure laid down in the fall will be overripe by spring. You can judge how much heat chicken manure generates during decomposition by the fact that in winter no owner heats a room with chickens: in a pillow of chicken excrement that covers the ground in a chicken coop, leaks chemical reactions with the release of methane, which maintain the temperature in the room normal for poultry.

The optimal dose of dry chicken manure when fertilizing the soil for digging is 50 g per m² of land.

The disadvantages inherent in fresh chicken manure are not present in granulated manure, which is easy to purchase in specialized stores. There are neither fly larvae, nor helminth eggs, nor viable weed seeds, nor an unpleasant smell in it, and granulated bird manure retains its valuable qualities for a long time. It is easier to dose, and if the granules are ground into flour, they can even be added to the wells when planting. Just be careful in the calculations and try not to exceed the dosage. Granular chicken manure is used as a dry fertilizer, introducing granules into the soil for digging, but you can also prepare liquid top dressing from it in accordance with the attached instructions.

Do not fertilize garlic, onions and other herbs with chicken manure during its active growth period: this can only be done in June, at the very beginning of the growing season. They also do not like chicken manure, all root crops, except for potatoes.

Rabbit manure.

Rabbit manure is the most valuable view manure from livestock. Farmers jokingly call it "rabbit gold". By consistency, this type of manure is much drier than cow, chicken and horse manure, so it is more convenient to transport it. Another advantage of rabbit manure is that it does not contain weed seeds, as rabbits only eat the stems and leaves of plants. Rabbit manure contains magnesium, nitrogen, potassium, water and organic matter stimulating plant growth and giving them vitality. Of the harmful microorganisms in rabbit manure, there can only be coccidia that cause harm to rabbits, so it is impossible to store manure near cages with animals, and cleaning in cages must be done regularly.

However, rabbit manure cannot be applied fresh under the roots of plants, since it burns out their root system, supersaturating the soil with nitrogen and releasing methane.

Rabbit manure is used, as well as cattle manure: they are brought into the soil in advance for digging, composted and used in a rotted form. For example, liquid top dressing is made from it: put 1 kg of rotted rabbit droppings in a bucket of water and insist for 12 hours with regular stirring. With this infusion, holes or furrows are shed before planting. vegetable crops, spending from 1 to 2 liters per m².

However, there is one way to use rabbit manure, which is impossible for the excrement of other animals: rabbit pellets are dried in the sun and pounded in a mortar, and then this powder is used as fertilizer not only for the garden or garden, but also for top dressing indoor plants. How to fertilize houseplants with manure? For example, add 1 tablespoon of rabbit manure powder to 3 liters of earth, mix thoroughly and use as a substrate for growing indoor flowers.

Rabbit manure is composted according to the same principle as other types of excrement. It is kept in boxes or piles, layered with other types of organic matter: sawdust, straw, weeds, peelings of vegetables and fruits. To improve the composition of rabbit humus, you can run worms into the lower part of the compost, and after a month and a half, the worms are removed and the pile is mixed. Moisten the compost heap with water or a solution of mineral additives. The result is an excellent humus fertilizer for crops such as pumpkin, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, as well as gooseberries, currants and barberries. But, as we already wrote, top dressing is applied to the soil before planting. For example, in winter, compost is scattered around the garden, and in spring, when the snow begins to melt, the soil is saturated with useful substances from rotted rabbit droppings.

You can buy rabbit manure at farms and garden pavilions. Rabbit dung sold in specialized stores better themes that it is disinfected, dried and ready for use, since it has already passed the overheating stage. Farmers highly appreciate the quality of rabbit manure, arguing that after it is applied to the soil for two years, the land on the site becomes airy and soft, but at the same time it does not germinate with weeds, as after applying horse manure or mullein.

Pig manure.

Many readers ask if garden plants can be fertilized with manure from under pigs. Pig manure is different from other domestic animal manure, because pigs are omnivores, that is, they eat not only vegetable, but also animal food. This leads to the fact that pig manure is not suitable for all plants: its pH is shifted to the acid side, and it has very little calcium. In addition, pig manure has a low heat output and decomposes more slowly than manure from other animals.

The introduction of fresh pig manure into slightly acidic and acidic soils makes them unsuitable for agriculture. If you still decide to use fresh pig manure, first neutralize its oxidizing properties by adding lime (50 g per bucket of manure), then mix it with horse manure in a 1: 1 ratio. But it is best to resort to infusion of fresh manure: dilute it with water in a ratio of 1: 1 and let it stand for a week. During this time, the bacteria will die, and the amount of nitrogen will decrease to an acceptable level. Before use, 1 liter of infusion is diluted with 10 liters of water. Ready fertilizer is poured into shallow furrows between rows, around trees and bushes. They do it in the evening. Never water plants with liquid fertilizer from fresh manure under the root.

And yet it is desirable to use pig manure in a rotted form: when composted, it becomes more nourished and useful for structuring the soil. And to speed up the rotting process, add a little chicken or horse droppings to the pig manure.

In 1.5-2 years after laying pig manure in a compost pit, you will receive rotted manure, in which there will no longer be any weed seeds or microorganisms dangerous to plants. By this point, the manure has lost half its mass and darkened, and if you put straw in the pit, then it easily disintegrates at this stage of composting. Such fertilizer can be applied to the soil for digging in the amount of 6-7 kg per 1 m², and for cooking liquid fertilizer Take 2 parts of manure to 10 parts of water.

Pig manure that has lain in a compost pit for more than two years turns into humus - the most valuable fertilizer containing a minimum of moisture and a maximum of useful substances in a form accessible to plants. Since the amount of nitrogen in the manure is largely lost at this stage of decomposition, it is safe for the roots and can be incorporated into potting mixes for growing seedlings. Pig humus is applied to the soil in autumn or spring in a ratio of 1: 4, but a mixture of pork and cow humus will still be an ideal fertilizer.

It is not recommended to use pig manure in greenhouses, greenhouses and places with high level humidity, which activates the pH shift of the medium to the acid side. It is also undesirable to use pig manure as mulch.

Goat manure.

Goat manure, like any other, is better not to use it fresh because the nitrogen in it is in a free state and, in close contact with the roots of plants, can burn them. But you can make liquid fertilizer from fresh manure: pour 1 part of feces with 10 parts of water and insist for a week by placing the container in a greenhouse. Before use, the infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10.

The quality of goat manure depends on the nutrition of the animal, and the best litter in this respect is obtained from eating roughage: bran, hay and straw of legumes. If animals graze in roadside plantings, it is likely that their manure will contain heavy metals that are harmful to plants and people.

In general, goat manure is 7-8 times more effective than cow manure, since it contains twice as much nitrogen. Goat manure is considered hot: it quickly decomposes, releasing significant heat, so it is used to fertilize cold and dense soils. One ton of goat dung contains 2.5 kg of phosphorus, 5 kg of nitrogen and 6 kg of potassium. They can be introduced into the soil five times less often than mullein, and 4 times less often than horse manure. This type of litter is used as a fertilizer for vegetable, grain and fodder crops. On beds fertilized with goat humus, cucumbers and tomatoes give an excellent harvest, and onions turn out juicy and acquire a delicate taste.

Most often, goat manure is stored in briquettes under a canopy or in a ventilated room, laid on a bed of straw. But still, it is desirable to compost goat manure, for which the briquettes are placed in a compost pit or container and mixed with other organic waste: vegetable and fruit peels, wood shavings, sawdust, straw, foliage, and so on. If bedding manure is laid in the pit, it is not necessary to add organic waste to it. Layers of manure are interspersed with layers of soil, the top pile is also covered with a layer of earth and watered. Within 2-3 weeks, the manure rots at a temperature of approximately 65 ºC. During this process, infectious agents, helminth eggs and weed seeds are killed. However, the decomposition of manure will require regular moistening of the compost heap, since goat manure is very dense. In addition, decaying manure must be turned over from time to time to saturate it with oxygen. To keep the compost slightly moist, it is covered with plastic wrap to keep the moisture from evaporating. Fertilizer can be applied to the soil after four months of composting for digging in the fall, and in the spring, if necessary, the procedure can be repeated, but humus is laid directly into the pits prepared for seedlings 2-3 weeks before planting.

Sheep manure.

Sheep manure is a highly effective fertilizer. Because it has a high decomposition temperature, it can be used to fertilize loam and clay soil. The composition of this type of manure, in addition to nitrogen, includes magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and calcium. However, sheep manure does not contain as many nutrients as other animal droppings. It differs from cow, horse and pig dung in dense build and dryness, and in order to improve the quality of sheep dung, it is watered with slurry.

Basically, sheep dung is used as fuel.

How to apply manure

Application of manure in the garden.

Actually, we talked about this in each of the sections, but let's refresh our memory on the procedure for introducing manure into the soil. So:

• - You can not fertilize the soil with fresh manure. To do this, use semi-rotted, rotted manure and humus;
• - a solution of fresh manure is used to fertilize mature plants, but it is poured not under the root, but into a furrow specially made in the aisle or along the perimeter of the trunk circle;
• - real fertilizer is manure that has lain in a compost pit for at least a year, and not in its pure form, but layered with straw, sawdust, grass, foliage, shredded paper and other organic waste;
• – best time introducing rotted manure or humus into the soil - autumn, because the whole next year the plants will live due to the gradual breakdown of nutrients and the release of elements in a form accessible to plants. How quickly the processes of decay and release will occur depends on the moisture and temperature of the soil, its friability and other indicators. However, if poor soil is fertilized with manure every autumn, a real black soil can be created from it in a few years;
• - the introduction of humus into the soil at the beginning of the growing season is very important for plant nutrition, since in spring and early summer they grow and develop most intensively. Thus, we can say that the autumn application of manure is very important for increasing soil fertility, and the spring application is very important for plant nutrition. Therefore, it is best to do this: in the fall, add humus to the soil for digging, and in spring and summer it is better to feed the plants with a solution of rotted manure.

Manure in the greenhouse.

Fertilization with manure of the soil in the greenhouse is of great importance. However, it is important not only to feed, but to create conditions under which plants can easily absorb nutrients. But first you need to fertilize the soil in the greenhouse. Manure or humus is placed under the soil layer below the depth of root germination since autumn, so that it releases heat and nutrients into the soil all winter. If you don't have much manure, mix it with straw or sawdust. Cucumbers respond especially well to sowing in beds heated with manure. To fertilize the soil, it is better to use rotted horse manure, but if you don’t have it, then get at least a small amount in order to start the process: lay any manure that you have under the soil, and add horse manure pointwise to initiate combustion.

How to make fertilizer from manure yourself

As we already wrote, the best fertilizer is humus and well-rotted manure. Choose a shady spot to compost the manure. You can dig a hole for composting, just keep in mind that water will accumulate in it, so it’s better to make a collar: a wooden box with a lid and a removable front wall to make it easier to mix the compost. It is better to install it on a concrete surface. The height of the box should be 1-1.5 m. A layer of straw, leaves or sawdust should be laid on its bottom, and manure mixed with organic waste should be placed on top: the same sawdust, foliage, weeds, wood shavings, mowed grass or straw. If the manure is liquid, dry it for several days, and only then mix it with organic matter and lay it in layers in the pile, alternating them with the soil, and the top layer with a thickness of at least 10 cm should be earthen. Each layer of manure with organic additives should be no thicker than 50 cm. If the manure is too dry or dense, pour water or slurry over it, then cover the pile with polyethylene. When the temperature in the compost rises to 60 ºC, compact the layers well.

Mature humus looks like a dark monotonous mass that has lost its unpleasant smell: it smells like forest floor or fresh earth.

Manure storage

Manure is stored in compost heaps about 2 m wide and up to 1.5 m high or in shallow pits away from residential buildings. However, in open pits, manure dries out quickly.

Actually, compost heaps are manure storages, which can be kept hot, loose or cold. During hot and loose storage, manure decomposes quickly, losing a lot of nitrogen, therefore, from an agrotechnical point of view, it is more efficient cold way storage, which does not allow the substance to overheat, lose a lot of nitrogen and promotes uniform decomposition of organic substances.

For cold storage, you will need a concrete pad or a place with well-compacted soil. A layer of peat, earth or dry leaves 25-30 cm thick is laid on the site, which will serve as an absorber of flowing manure moisture. As it arrives, the manure is laid in layers and compacted, sprinkling it with superphosphate or phosphate rock every 15-20 cm. One ton of manure will need 10-20 kg mineral fertilizer. But it is much better to shift the manure with the same height layers of low-lying ventilated peat. The pile filled to the top is covered with a layer of earth or peat at least 20 cm thick, on top of which a layer of leaves or reeds of the same thickness is laid. In winter, the pile is covered with snow.

To prevent the loss of nitrogen, slurry is stored in closed containers, but it is undesirable to leave it for the winter, since it can freeze. It is better to use it to moisten the compost.

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Even in ancient times, when cultivating land, people appreciated the use of organic excrement of domestic animals in crop production. Back in the 2-3 millennium BC, the Egyptians and Indians practiced soil fertilization with manure - horse, cow, bird droppings. The animal organic matter introduced into the soil significantly increased the yield, the plants pleased the eye with a healthy appearance.

The development of industrial agriculture caused the emergence of mass production of chemical fertilizers on the agricultural market, limiting the use of natural plant nutrition only by private farms. And only in recent years, with the development of the popularity of clean ecological nutrition, there has been a return of interest in natural technologies for tillage using natural fertilizers, in particular, horse manure. Although with a significant decrease in farms and personal households where horses are kept, this has become a difficult task.

Benefits of organic horse manure

The structure of this biological substrate is 70% water, 25% organics, the rest is useful substances. Among all types of animal organics, horse is considered the best in many ways. First of all, its composition contains a relatively large amount of useful nutrients - phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium. A unique feature of manure biomass is its ability to heat up to a temperature of 80 degrees during decomposition. This quality is widely used in the construction of "warm" beds in the open field, as well as in the arrangement of greenhouses and hotbeds as a biofuel.

When we talk about horse manure, we certainly include in this concept the bedding for the animal itself, the variability of which determines the quality of organic matter - straw, peat, sawdust. Peat is considered the most preferred bedding.

The usefulness of fertilizer from horse organics for the soil

In addition to the already mentioned yields, attractive appearance, increased disease resistance of crops cultivated on horse manure, we must mention the benefits of fertilizer for improving the structure of the soil itself:

• loosens dense soils, enriching them with oxygen;
• retains moisture, preventing leaching of nutrients;
• provides soil heating;
• supports the activity of beneficial microorganisms;
• increases soil fertility for several seasons ahead due to the long after-effect in the process of decomposition.

What crops is horse manure suitable for?

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Manure as fertilizer for roses

The biggest "fans" of this type of fertilizer are gourds(pumpkins, zucchini, squash). Good results are also obtained when feeding them cucumbers, potatoes, celery, cabbage.
Types of horse manure

The use of manure top dressing has its own specifics, due to the various stages through which it passes in the process of decomposition:

• fresh - the remaining particles of bedding straw and sawdust are visible;
• half-rotted - having lost a third of its weight, with dark brown blotches of organic matter and a loose structure;
• rotted - shriveled half the weight of fresh dark homogeneous mass without visible patches of straw and sawdust;
• humus - completely rotted loose dry dung with a uniform structure of soil color.

In crop production, there are several methods by which you can bring the structure of fresh organic manure to the required consumer qualities.

Use of fresh horse manure

Fresh horse manure is ideal in the spring as a biofuel in indoor crop production facilities - greenhouses and greenhouses. For the arrangement of internal beds, a soil layer of 40-50 centimeters is chosen, filling the volume with a layer of up to 20 centimeters with unpacked horse manure, irrigating it with a warm solution of potassium permanganate (3 grams: 10 liters of water) to protect against diseases. Pour over the manure layer wood ash(1 glass:1 m2).

The last layer is a mixture of soil with ash to the level of the upper cut of the soil, secondarily impregnated with a solution of potassium permanganate.

In the summer season, plants are fed with fresh manure with a mixture of it with water 1: 4, spilling fertilizer over the near-stem hole, using 1.5 liters of the mixture per 1 m2.

IN open ground fresh dung pellets are scattered in the proportion of 4-6 kg (1 bucket) per 1 m2 of land for autumn digging to a depth of 30-40 cm to let it rot in the winter. However, the disadvantage of this method is that by the beginning of the sowing season, the manured soil can lose up to half of its nutritional value.

Infusion of fresh manure

On open beds apply top dressing from a liquid horse substrate mixed in a ratio of 1:10 with water. Before applying liquid fertilizer, the plant requires preliminary plentiful watering. Only after that, the manure solution is poured directly under the roots of the plant.

Or another way to prepare a liquid mixture. It is required to make a mixture of manure extract in proportion with water 1: 1, let it brew for 1-2 weeks in a sunny place. Then again dilute 1:10 with water and use absolutely any plant crops for fertilizing. However, being careful not to add the mixture to the roots, but to the grooves drawn around it.

To stimulate the growth of cucumbers in a greenhouse, the so-called external processing is used. Fresh horse excrement is diluted in containers to a semi-liquid suspension and put inside the greenhouse for fermentation. The carbon dioxide released at the same time magically accelerates the ripening of cucumbers.

How to make a compost pile

How to make a composter quickly

The compost heap is formed as follows. The bottom layer is lined with "opara" - last year's composting product, a supplier of bacteria fermenting the pile. Further, layers of household or garden organics (grass, leaves, tops, food waste) and manure layers are interspersed until the height of the collar reaches 1.5 meters. Plentifully spill the collar with water, cover with a plastic film and leave to overheat for several months, optimally - 1 year.
Decomposed organic manure is the best feeding option for most plant flora, devoid of harmful microorganisms that died during the decomposition process. It does not burn the roots of the plant, contains a minimum amount of ammonia. It contains two to three times the useful substances than in its liquid fraction. They are mulched after pre-watering fruit trees(4-5 buckets around the trunk), berry bushes(2-3 buckets), strawberry and tomato beds.

"Bucket" arithmetic for reference - one bucket holds about 8 kg of fresh or 5 kg of rotted manure by weight.

Horse manure storage

To prevent horse manure from losing its rich nutrients, especially nitrogen, it needs to be stored rationally and intelligently.

Agroscience offers two storage options:

• cold method, when open manure piles are formed (arbitrary length, 2-3 m wide, 1.5 meters high) on the field, compacted, covered with peat or straw, and on top - with dense soil to minimize oxygen access;
• hot method, when stacks are formed in layers with a width of 50-60 cm without compaction.

The order of laying the layer is soil 20 cm, peat or sawdust 20 cm thick, manure 20 cm, phosphate rock (20 kg per 1 ton of manure), peat, etc.

The stack is covered from above with a polyethylene film, dry leaves.

The best method for storage is cold, which excludes a large loss of nitrogen and superheating, which ensures a uniform process of decomposition of organic matter.

Horse "litter" is a truly invaluable fertilizer for the grower, guaranteeing him a productive harvest and maintaining soil health for subsequent agricultural seasons, and, ultimately, providing the consumer with environmentally friendly, healthy vegetables and fruits.

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