Is Horse Manure Good For Plants?

We’ve recently started a vegetable garden on our homestead, and it’s been going really well.

Everything’s been growing great.

We were wondering about different types of fertilizer, as we hadn’t used any yet and wanted to make sure we used something natural that wouldn’t harm the soil.

We looked at many different options before it occurred to me that we had fertilizer machines right there in our back yard: our horses! I wasn’t completely sure if horse manure was good for plants, so I decided to look into it.

Is horse manure good for plants?

Horse manure is an excellent fertilizer. It contains plenty of organic matter which can boost the growth of your plants. Horse manure has been one of the most popular widely available plant fertilizers, so you know you’ve got a great choice. It is important to know how to apply it, though.

So, horse manure is certainly a great fertilizer for plants and will encourage strong, healthy growth.

Knowing exactly how to use it is really important, though, so let’s get into this question in a bit more detail.

How long before you can use fresh horse manure?

This question is something of a matter of debate, but the essential advice is that horse manure is at its best as a fertilizer after it has been composted with straw or hay for some months.

If you use fresh manure, you stand a chance of scorching your plants.

Scorching means that dead areas along the veins and margins of leaves will begin to show.

This is caused mainly by unfavorable environmental conditions, and not caused by any kind of microbe.

Fresh manure, especially when placed at certain times of the year, will have all of its soluble nutrients washed into the ground below.

This can be a pollution hazard, and can lead to scorching.

For manure to properly compost, it should be left for 3-6 months.

As I said, with straw or hay is better than simply on its own.

So, you know its best to avoid using fresh manure.

What about the quantity? This is a really important point, too.

How much horse manure should I add to my garden?

An even spread is really important with using organic fertilizer.

To improve the soil quality, typically about 10-20 pounds per square meter of soil.

This is usually somewhere from half to a full 3-gallon bucket of manure.

Make sure you work it into the soil evenly, and don’t just let it sit on top.

Again, adding the right amount is really crucial.

Though you might think the soil would become saturated with helpful nutrients, there comes a point where the nitrates in the manure are too much and begin to cause harm.

Horse manure can be used year-round, and if you have your own horses, they should produce more than enough to have a good amount of fertilizer year-round.

Just make sure you aren’t overdoing it.

Is horse manure good for growing plants?

Horse manure is great for growing plants, and is a favored by many growers.

It’s really nutrient rich and composts very well, making it a great vehicle to release nutrients into the soil.

The organic matter in horse manure can give plants an especially good start early in their life cycle.

It still needs to be used carefully, as a result of the fact it’s so nutrient rich.

Too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing.

That said, horse manure is favored in part because it is higher in nutritional value than cow or steer manure.

It really makes one of the best, readily available fertilizers.

Can you put too much manure in your garden?

Just to reiterate, it is very easy to overuse horse manure fertilizer in your garden.

Again, especially if it’s fresh manure.

You can use too much of any kind of manure, but the fact that horse manure has one of the richest nutrient profiles of any readily available farm animal manure, using too much horse manure can be even more of a problem.

The ecosystem of soil is a lot more delicate than you might think, and overusing fertilizer can overload the soil with organic matter.

As I said, very carefully measure out exactly how much manure you’re using.

You need to know precisely how much space you have and how much manure needs to go in each spot.

If you keep that in mind, horse manure will help your plants grow to their best.

So, while horse manure is certainly a fantastic fertilizer for plants, it’s really important to use it properly.

Applying too much can lead to a number of issues, and it’s usually best to compost it first rather than applying it fresh.

Either way, when done properly, horse manure will really help your plants to achieve their full potential.

Whether you have your own horses or you’re just buying horse fertilizer, you’ll have some really happy plants.