Question
QUESTION: I have seen some Craig's List postings about free manure for picking it up.  I have every reason to believe these are legitimate postings.  Do you have any opinions on using this free manure to "build up" my soil for the lawn or any flower beds?  (Zip code 11560)

ANSWER: This is a GREAT idea!  Forget that old saying, You get what you pay for.  FREE Manure is FREE.

Potential problems:

1.  Fertilizer Burn.  This is potent stuff.  You will have to 'age' it before it's safe to use.  You'll find full instructions on 'How to Compost and Use Horse Manure' at the University of Illinois website:

http://www.age.uiuc.edu/clmt/manure_composting-farm-basics.pdf

2.  Weed Seeds.  Yes, manure is filled with them.  You will have to age it to use it without sowing a field of Weeds on your Garden plot.

The NRCS at the USDA posts a treatise on this subject, aimed mainly at farmers, but certainly of interest to us:

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/ECS/nutrient/animalmanure.html

Don't rush it -- AGE this as directed, or you'll be sorry.

Otherwise, capital idea.  Thanks for writing.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi, one question. What is the NPK breakdown for Manure after aging and does the aging alter the NPK at all?

Answer
Manure carries valuable, slow-release levels of N-P-K PLUS micronutrients, soil structure enhancements -- improved tilth, water holding capacity -- and other components of great soil.

How much, exactly, varies.

And not just between species.

Horses, rabbits, pigs, chickens, cows yield very different Manures.  But even the same horse will supply varying values of minerals and other qualities, depending on what that horse had for breakfast.

Highly-soluble nutrients in raw Manure -- especially Nitrogen, which transforms into Ammonia in the absence of Oxygen -- evaporate and leached out.  The Salts damage plant roots and wipe out all microbes nearby, same as any chemical fertilizer.  In contrast, composted Manure SLOWLY sends nutrients into the soil, enhancing the soil microbiological life.  I can give you the following aged manure stats:

Horse Manure: 7-3-6
Duck Manure: 6-14-5
Chicken Manure: 11-8-5
Rabbit Manure: 24-14-6
Cow Manure: 6-2-5

The book 'Teaming with Microbes' by garden writers Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis discuss composting and manures.  They maintain that the key to successful gardening is knowing the kind of Nitrogen you need for your vegetables.  

Will Manure give you that kind of Nitrogen?

There are two kinds of Nitrogen.  Most vegetables -- and most short-lived annual flowers and grasses -- perform best in soil that provides Nitrogen in Nitrate form.  Your prettiest Annual flowers, your greenest Grass will grow in soil that makes Nitrogen that your plants like: Nitrates.  NO3-.

Shrubs and Perennial flowers need different Nitrogen.  They need Ammonium.  NO2.  A Fungus-based Compost.  One with less bacteria-brewing Manure.

A point to consider:  Your tastiest, healthiest vegetables grow best in Nitrate based Compost.  But cautious authorities recommend against applying ANY Manure to a Vegetable Garden.  So consider not using Manure in Compost for soil where you will be growing edible crops.  Even 'treated' Manure comes with no guarantees.