Farmyard Manure from Warfield Turf

Our Farmyard manure is our budget compost. It boosts fertility and improves soil condition… and that makes your flowers, fruit and vegetables grow in plenty.

Farmyard manure is a highly nutritious organic soil amendment. It can be applied to flower beds, rose beds, and before planting potatoes, and nitrogen hungry greens – pumpkins, cucumber, cabbage, marrow etc.

It is used as organic mulch in ‘no dig’ gardening. But it can equally well be mixed into the top few inches of soil.

Our farmyard manure may include: horse manure, cow manure, and pig manure. Horse manure has a reputation for containing weed seeds. Pig manure rots down quickly. Cow manure is rather good because digestion is more complete. The manure is usually mixed with straw bedding, urine and other organic residues.

All our manure has been left for a minimum of 6 months to rot down. It’s best to protect it from rain under a tarpaulin or plastic sheet leaving room for ventilation. Composting increases the ph from acidic to more normal and stabilises the nutrient content.

The dung is usually mixed with straw or wood shavings. Their high carbon content helps stabilise the nitrogen in the dung and make humus. Composting produces a hot heap that kills weed seeds. Keep the heap under a cover sheet to reduce leaching of nutrient liquid. When ready for use it has a pleasant earthy smell.
Manure is a great soil conditioner too. It builds up black moisture retentive humus and improves soil structure. All soils benefit.

Farmyard manure is best applied in late winter or spring.