How to Kill Grass With Fresh Horse Manure

Many gardeners dislike the idea of using chemical pesticides or weedkillers on their gardens and prefer a natural alternative. It's possible to use fresh horse manure as an organic weedkiller on grass since fresh manure has very high levels of nitrogen and ammonia. According to organic gardener Marion Owens, raw manure can burn plant roots and interfere with seed germination. If you're using it as compost, manure should be aged for at least six months. Raw manure still contains bacteria from the animal's digestive tract so use gloves when handling it.

Pegs
Twine
Shovel

Instructions

- 1
  Mark out the area around the grass that you want to kill with pegs and twine. If there are any plants nearby that you don't want to kill, make sure you give them a wide berth. The nitrogen from the manure will gradually seep into the soil and cover a slightly wider area than its original bounds so don't place the manure too close to anything else.
- 2
  Spread the manure over the area of grass you want to kill in a thick layer, at least 6 to 8 inches and as evenly as possible.
- 3
  Leave the manure for two to three weeks then scrape away a corner. If the grass is dead underneath, remove the manure and place it in a heap to compost for use as a soil nutrient.

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