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Horse manure and nothing else

I've recently been chatting with an old timey OG grower. We've traded some genetics and talked shop, etc. When I quizzed him about his process (soils, nutes, amendments, etc.) he blew me away. He says that he uses nothing more than overwintered horse manure - that's it. He plants clones directly into 100% manure (no perlite/compost/ewc/anything) and gives them nothing but water right up until harvest. I thought he was pulling my leg until he gave me some teenage clones in 2 liter bottles and lo and behold he was serious.

Has anyone ever tried this? His plants looked great, and life would be a whole lot simpler if the only thing I ever needed to do was pour some R/o water into them. In addition, he uses way smaller pots than I would think would be possible. He says that because the manure is so much denser than potting soil (it is at least 2-3x as heavy) there are more nutes per cubic foot so he needs less to accomplish the yield.
 

Rob547

East Coast Grower
Veteran
the first thing that came to mind to me was The Botany of Desire. The author wanted to grow a few plants for 'research'/curiosity, just threw a few seeds in some horse manure, and as you said, came back months later to find 8' plants growing out behind his barn. lol
 
N

Nondual

IMO unless horse manure is composted not a great option. They only have one stomach and weed seeds can pass through. I've seen property that was amended with horse manure and you get these 'super' weeds which are simply obnoxious. I've never seen weed issues with cow manure. I told a friend he was gonna mess up his property bringing in a lot of horse manure and didn't listen and it's been taken over by weeds.
 

big_daddy

Member
I can understand how this would work from a science standpoint. Most horse manure piles have been worked over by worms real good so a lot of the "manure" would in fact be worm castings.

If the horses were fed alfalfa and other grasses, the manure would contain elements and compounds from the feed stock. These would still be available in the aged horse shit. There would be significant biological activity so that other than being a bit under aerated perhaps, it could work quite well.

b_d
 

RandyCalifornia

Well endowed member
Veteran
aged horse would be a good enough medium, but how did his herb taste? was it full bodied? flavor good? what strain?
 

xmobotx

ecks moe baw teeks
ICMag Donor
Veteran
my worm bin started off as aged horse manure / have left squash and peas grow in it {voulnteers} and they veg'd well but produced very little in the way of flower/fruit

as mentioned feedstocks of the horse(s) could factor in quite a bit / also wouldn't necessarily go the RO route since minerals in the guy's well water could be a factor in his success

have grown out plants {veggies} w/ great success in small worm bins top'd off w/ soil mix {per sig thread} small worm bins were aged horse manure and worms but prob 50/50 w/ the soil mix

the manure worm combo was a bit hot @ 1st even after having worms in the aged HM for prob a month {aged @ least 1 seaason per the worm's oreference}
 
My father-in-law has two horses, so last week I brought home some 3-4 year old manure. I've been using it as an amendment to Roots Organic soil since then, but now I'm going to run a test. I've got some clones that are just throwing roots, so I will transplant some into straight aged manure and the rest into my normal soil mix. From there on out I will only water the manure plants, and use General Organics on the soil mix. I'll keep ya posted on what happens.
 

Kangativa

Member
Veteran
IMO unless horse manure is composted not a great option. They only have one stomach and weed seeds can pass through. I've seen property that was amended with horse manure and you get these 'super' weeds which are simply obnoxious. I've never seen weed issues with cow manure. I told a friend he was gonna mess up his property bringing in a lot of horse manure and didn't listen and it's been taken over by weeds.

I have been around horses most of my life and it is very rare that a horse will eat weeds, in fact they are very fussy eaters and that is why it is good to run cows after horses so all things get eaten.

My belief is that where ever he got the horse manure from had penty of weed seed flying around and was tranfered that way.

I use horse manure all the time and yes it does have to be broken down, but for a very good healthy plant it is also good to add other nutrients to it as it doesnt carry all the goodies.
 
Mostnonymouse - thanks for the links to Manitoid's threads. I have a lot of reading ahead.

Randy - I haven't been able to sample his meds, so I can't tell you how they tasted.

As mentioned, I've been using composted horse poo for the last week as an amendment when transplanting my girls, and I've noticed how crazy dense this stuff is. I've been breaking it up with a little hammer prior to mixing it into the soil (1 part manure, 1 part recycled soil, 3 parts new soil), and even at that rate I can tell which pots have the poo in them because of the extra weight. Based on this, I can't figure out how using this stuff straight w/o perlite could allow for good root development. I can't see how any air could get down there, and after watering this stuff it stays wet forever. Then again, I'm not a botanist. Can someone explain how our plant's roots manage to penetrate this stuff? If I was growing real trees (i.e. maples/oaks/elms) I would totally understand how their massive root system could bust through - they tear up concrete after all - but how does our little annual plant do it?
 

Bullfrog44

Active member
Veteran
I would guess it doesn't. I would add more perlite, pumice, lava rock, rice hulls or something to your mix to help with air flow. I doubt the main quality that makes horse poop worth using is its denseness. I know for a fact all plants do not like compaction of soil in the root zone. Not sure why your buddy thinks otherwise.
 

VerdantGreen

Genetics Facilitator
Boutique Breeder
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
that was the question i wanted to ask - did you smoke any of his buds? some of these old hippies tend to grow weed that is way too N rich and it doesnt smoke so well.....

im sure they would grow in straight horse manure but that diesnt mean its a good thing to grow them in - possibly too rich, too water retentive. great at about 20% but not so good at 100% imo.

VG
 

jaykush

dirty black hands
ICMag Donor
Veteran
if i use horse manure its gotta be well aged, to the point where mushrooms and worms occupy the pile. even still use it sparingly. as it will make for leafy buds of imo inferior smoke. big ass plants sure, but quality goes downhill.

the reason his plants grew in the solid manure is because of biology, things like worms, fungi, bacteria keep the soil aerated and well drained. the manure holding water for so long just means less watering is needed. plants that get too much water are prone to problems like weak stems and such. he also didnt till the pile breaking up the structure of the manure. which would have made it turn into a soggy mess when watering( like in your pots)
 
What about horse manure leads to leafy, low-quality buds, Jay? I used Manitoid's lasagna method this year in a 55-gallon drum but layered cow manure instead of horse (better IMO, and more readily available in my situation) with compost, leaves, and rotten hay.

Anyway, to the OP: I re-read your post and it looks as though you're interested in a cheap (or free) water-only organic mix that will result in a high-quality product. While I don't think you'll find many people who recommend growing in pure horse manure, it could definitely be a great addition to your soil. The key word is DIVERSITY, and it's value should never be discounted!!

Mix a little of that composted horse manure with some cow manure, some composted chicken manure, some rabbit manure, worm castings and whatever compost you can get your hands on (cheap/free on craigslist if you don't have your own). Basically just make the most diverse mix you can of whatever is available to you and you can't go wrong. If you can get some free rotten alfalfa, that's great too, and if you're by the coast, add some kelp to the mix. To your mix of manures and composts, add one part peat and one part NAPA calcined diatomaceous earth (feel free to play with these ratios as much as necessary to produce a well draining, properly aerated mix), and you should have yourself a pretty cheap, sweet organic water-only mix. Add some rice hulls too, if you can afford them. Top dress here and there when your plants are looking hungry, otherwise just water and wait!
 

jaykush

dirty black hands
ICMag Donor
Veteran
horse manure promote green growth because of what it contains, lots of ammonia which becomes N. a little in the mix early on is ok, but too much will reduce yield and quality imo. not saying that it wont be decent smoke. but i want smoke that is far superior than the minerals and such that horse manure alone can grow.

your right about the diversity part, but dont forget plant materials and mineral materials. all key components in a healthy living soil. organic matter alone can only get you so far.
 
S

SeaMaiden

I have been around horses most of my life and it is very rare that a horse will eat weeds, in fact they are very fussy eaters and that is why it is good to run cows after horses so all things get eaten.

My belief is that where ever he got the horse manure from had penty of weed seed flying around and was tranfered that way.

I use horse manure all the time and yes it does have to be broken down, but for a very good healthy plant it is also good to add other nutrients to it as it doesnt carry all the goodies.

IME it depends on the weed.

If they were fed a diet high in alfalfa, that short digestive tract means you're also receiving benefit there.
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I just moved from a farm last year where we ran up to 30 head of horses. There should be no problem breaking apart aged grass/legume fed horse manure. The stuff we used virtually crumbled in your hand. Most of it also contained straw bits which contribute to its air holding capacity. We used it composted mixed with topsoil or just aged and topdressed and also fed it to worms for the real primo stuff. If it is not aged you will get the ammonia (N) overload that Jay is talking about but we never experienced any problems outside of weedseed when using it. Perhaps my horses were more wild because they loved dried thistles and fresh hound's tongue.

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