How to Use Horse Manure in Vegetable Gardens

Clear a good location for your horse manure compost area or areas, depending how much manure you anticipate collecting or generating. Areas that are level and slightly higher than any low-lying spots on your property are good choices because they will help keep your manure from becoming waterlogged. Also locate your compost operation in a convenient location.

Build two or more 8-foot square bins that are 4 feet tall for your horse manure compost system. You can use various materials: choose the least expensive type of wood available in your area or use felled trees. Leave about 1/2 inch of space between the boards or logs to allow air to reach your composting manure. Leave the front edge open for easy access. You can build your bins side-by-side. Provide a covered roof, or simply cover them with a tarp.

Shovel manure into one of your bins daily. When the level is about 2 feet high, drill 3/8-inch holes into the sides of several 2-inch PVC pipes and then drive them into the composting pile to provide oxygen to the center.

Add garden waste, lawn trimmings and other materials to your compost pile if you wish. Water the pile if it becomes dry: if the moisture level is correct, the smell will be earthy, but not overwhelming.

Stop adding manure and other waste to your pile when it reaches 4 to 5 feet tall. At that time, begin to use your second bin and allow the first bin to "cook" for about two months in summer and up to five months in winter. It will be ready to use when the height decreases by about half and the manure and other materials look like soil.

Spread 1/2 inch of your finished compost onto the soil around your vegetable plants beginning in late spring and continuing through early fall. You can use a total of 3 or 4 inches of composted horse manure on each plant throughout its growing season when you apply it at evenly spaced intervals.

Make compost tea if you prefer using your finished compost in that way. Add about 1 gallon of horse manure compost to a 5-gallon bucket, fill with water, stir well and allow it to "steep" for up to 24 hours. Then use the liquid to water your vegetables every two to three weeks.