Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Horse poo.

I made the 15 minute journey into the countryside for a truckload of poo this morning. I arrived about 8:15. Thirty minutes later, I was on the road back to the house. I was back home shortly after 9am.



It's good stuff, well rotted and aged since last fall. They use pine shavings in the barn for the horses, so there was plenty of brown to go with the greens when they tossed it into a pile.



Before I left, I had moved some soil from two of the beds to the third bed at the top of the picture. I pulled the cabbages. With the temperatures ranging above 80 for almost a week now, even the stone head cabbage was starting to bolt. I'll try again in the fall. The snow peas never had a chance.



I put six cubic feet of the manure in each 4' x 8' bed.



In the larger, 4' x 16' bed, I put twelve cubic feet. My wheelbarrow is 6 cubic feet. This stuff is very nice and fluffy. Before planting next week, I'll borrow a small tiller from Carla and use it to till the stuff into the soil. I also built 2 more teepees for pole beans. I think I have 6 varieties, so I'm not sure where the others will go just yet. Maybe on the fence to the backyard.



The remaining poo was spread in the area of the new fragrant garden. Yes, there is a joke in there, but this stuff smells great. It's got an earthy, woodsy smell. No hint of the original origin.



I pruned the peach tree a bit. I transplanted a few datura seedlings to the fragrant bed. I pinched a few butterfly bushes. I took pictures. Before it gets too hot, I plan to mow the yard. The view from the hammock will be decidedly better this afternoon than last week.



It's only 77 degrees.

3:39pm - The yard was mowed. The hammock was stretched. I planted out a few things in the shady spots. I sowed my sunflower seeds. I'm about to stretch the hammock again. Right now, it's not the humidity. It really is the heat.

4 comments:

Darla said...

I do hope the original scent does not wake up in the heat!! Your veggies are going to be so happy..

GardenGoddess said...

Black gold...it's the best stuff. I am lucky enough to have a daughter riding at a farm that composts it, so I am always riding around with some in the back of my pickup. Every hole for planting gets some dug in...its great for top dressing lawns too!

I am worried about my cabbage and peas...a little north of you, but forecast to be NINETY FIVE tomorrow....yikes!

F Cameron said...

Great stuff!

I used to raise Arabian horses. I had my special mix of "purebred poo" to use on the garden! :-)

Since you are in Albemarle where I grew up, you know where Morrow Mountain is and Valley Drive. When I was in high school, my 3 friends and I rode our horses, bareback, from Valley Drive to Albemarle Senior High School to have our photos taken for the yearbook! LOL Not so funny -- it was so late when we headed back that we were riding in the dark of night. Our mothers were worried sick when we got back. No cell phones back in 1972.

LeSan said...

That's the best stuff in the world! I have a dedicated area for my own perpetual pile. Feel free to take that any way you'd like. LOL
Your garden is looking great and so summery so early.