How to Age Horse Manure as Compost

Horse manure is a favorite soil amendment used by farmers, gardeners and landscapers to enrich the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and to improve soil structure and increase water retention. Horse manure can be applied raw or composted, but there are many benefits of aging and composting horse manure. The smell of fresh manure is reduced greatly upon composting, and the process gets hot enough to kill weed seeds and any pathogens that might live in the manure. Aging horse manure is an easy process that will give you great results.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• horse manure (including used horse bedding)
• compost bins or compost area
• pitchfork

1. Find a source of horse manure. Anyone who has owned a horse will know how much manure a horse can produce. Farmers and horse enthusiasts will have a steady source of manure mixed with used bedding when they muck out the horse stalls. You will likely be able to secure a source of free manure.

2. Decide on a location for the horse-manure-aging process. Once the manure is aged, there will be very little smell, but fresh horse manure will produce an odor that your neighbors may not approve of. Locate your pile far from houses, including your own.

3. Assemble your composting bins. Although horse manure can be composted in open piles, it will compost faster and be easier to turn and work with when contained. You can use plastic barrels or construct a wire bin with chicken wire and steel posts driven into the ground.

4. Add the fresh horse manure and bedding to the compost bins. The bedding is likely to be straw, which will compost right along with the manure and will increase the rate of composting, as it will allow more air into the center of the pile. Fill a bin completely with the manure and bedding, as you want the compost to complete at the same time. Any new material can be added to a new bin.

5. Turn the compost regularly. Composting will be most active in the center of the pile, and mixing up the material will get fresh material into the center of the pile and will allow the composting process to finish more quickly.

6. Use the composted horse manure at any stage of the process. Unlike chicken manure, horse manure does not contain a high enough nitrogen content to burn plant leaves and roots raw. You can spread it on your vegetable and flower beds at any stage of the process. Allowing the horse manure to fully compost into soil will give your beds a smoother and more finished appearance, but partially composted horse manure works just as well.

Tips & Warnings

• Horse manure can be used raw on your garden beds, but composting kills weed seeds and any pathogens that may be present.
• Don't spread raw horse manure on garden beds near your or your neighbor's house, as the smell may be unpleasant. Composting reduces the smell.