Equine yard shavings composting

[steveR]

Thought this might be of interest to one or two.

I have a small contract to collect and tip horse yard litter and shavings, which I then spread here on the arable land, to all help the OM buildup on my sandy soils.

As many will know this stuff takes an age to break down to something useful. However, as an experiment, I have been blending it with 20% broiler muck and then piling in the field with (so far) one turning. 6-7 weeks and it is all turning black and breaking the litter into compost.

I will keep adding to, and turning the heap until a Spring application onto a nearby herbal ley ( I hope) as the way it's breaking down it'll be some nice stuff, and can go on top!

Worth sheeting to keep the heat in over winter??

 

[toquark]

Thought this might be of interest to one or two.

I have a small contract to collect and tip horse yard litter and shavings, which I then spread here on the arable land, to all help the OM buildup on my sandy soils.

As many will know this stuff takes an age to break down to something useful. However, as an experiment, I have been blending it with 20% broiler muck and then piling in the field with (so far) one turning. 6-7 weeks and it is all turning black and breaking the litter into compost.

I will keep adding to, and turning the heap until a Spring application onto a nearby herbal ley ( I hope) as the way it's breaking down it'll be some nice stuff, and can go on top!

Worth sheeting to keep the heat in over winter??

Following this thread with interest

 

[spin cycle]

poultry muck should be sheeted anyway......not you ever see a heap covered

 

[Hjwise]

Thought this might be of interest to one or two.

I have a small contract to collect and tip horse yard litter and shavings, which I then spread here on the arable land, to all help the OM buildup on my sandy soils.

As many will know this stuff takes an age to break down to something useful. However, as an experiment, I have been blending it with 20% broiler muck and then piling in the field with (so far) one turning. 6-7 weeks and it is all turning black and breaking the litter into compost.

I will keep adding to, and turning the heap until a Spring application onto a nearby herbal ley ( I hope) as the way it's breaking down it'll be some nice stuff, and can go on top!

Worth sheeting to keep the heat in over winter??

I clear up a couple of neighbours horse shavings and also find they take an age to break down. I wonder whether it is all the wormers that get poked in to the horses as there’s little sign of worms even after several months.
I’ll give your mix a go.

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

Following with interest.

 

[Bill dog]

what’s the % of dock seeds, nettle seeds, old rugs , buckets etc in the shavings ?
I used to empty my neighbour’s horsey shavings midden and mixed it with my cow muck.
What a pain in the tonsils it ended up being . The field I spread it on got roasted with docks. Just be aware that the crap grazing they eat will just carry the seeds onto your ground !

 

[Red Fred]

Mrs Fred uses shavings at the stables along with that expanding sawdust stuff and we fill a couple of sleeper bays over the winter. One side tends to be sitting while we are filling the other, but we have allotments just down the lane and the gardeners take all we can give them from the mature side, and they love it. My b-i-l has recently returned here and he is taking trailerloads too, but we mix his with some of the cleanings from the sheep shed and some last year's pig muck and he lets it sit. I think it is a case of mixing it and having a rotation to give it long enough to compost.

 

[Flatlander]

Wood shaving and horse crap are pretty dry and would need the ammonia to bread down Along with some moisture. Wife’s horse muck I pushed round the field hasnt rotted away in three years.

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

IIRC one of the Robs on here does this with poultry muck and has had very good results from it. Mixes and turns it a few times. Think it's horse muck rather than shavings though?

 

[Hjcarter]

Started sheeting horse muck this year and that has accelerated break down.

I've put the odd couple of gallon of compost tea on but its the sheeting that's seemed to make the most difference.

 

[Old apprentice]

Started sheeting horse muck this year and that has accelerated break down.

I've put the odd couple of gallon of compost tea on but its the sheeting that's seemed to make the most difference.

Heard several people talk of compost tea .what sort of concotion do you have to make these teas anybody have ideas?

 

[eagleye]

Need to be aware of potential risk of botulism from poultry (broiler) litter if put on grass - mention of herbal ley above.

 

[Old apprentice]

Need to be aware of potential risk of botulism from poultry (broiler) litter if put on grass - mention of herbal ley above.

Kills cows if gets into feed.

 

[Flat 10]

Absolutely not convinced by sheeting. I think the more water the better….
Unless you think it’s ready due to poultry litter addition and you are trying to retain nutrients.

 

[Flat 10]

Started sheeting horse muck this year and that has accelerated break down.

I've put the odd couple of gallon of compost tea on but its the sheeting that's seemed to make the most difference.

Do you wet it first?

 

[RhysT]

Try to encourage yards to go on a flax/chopped rape straw bedding instead of shavings. Rots down so much quicker and wouldn’t lock down nutrients unlike shavings does

 

[steveR]

Try to encourage yards to go on a flax/chopped rape straw bedding instead of shavings. Rots down so much quicker and wouldn’t lock down nutrients unlike shavings does

I did suggest an alternative, but you know horsey wimmin....

 

[steveR]

Wood shaving and horse crap are pretty dry and would need the ammonia to bread down Along with some moisture. Wife’s horse muck I pushed round the field hasnt rotted away in three years.

I had some 3 year old stuff last year from another lass, but was good stuff as she poo-picked

 

[steveR]

Absolutely not convinced by sheeting. I think the more water the better….
Unless you think it’s ready due to poultry litter addition and you are trying to retain nutrients.

Be a long time I suspect... Alternative is to keep it for ploughing in again.

 

[steveR]

Heard several people talk of compost tea .what sort of concotion do you have to make these teas anybody have ideas?

Comfrey tea..... Got a book on it from the CAT in Mid Wales, these days it would be an IBC filled with the leaves steeping, rather than a bucket migh be more fsrm scale

Just don't start growing the stuff.... Takes some killing as I found out years ago we had we had beet here