[HoosierShadow]

Our muck pile is hideous. It's right behind the barn and sticks out like a sore thumb.
Planning to finally replace our wheelbarrow today, and start spreading the non composted stuff in the woods, then put as much as of the composted stuff in the flower beds, along the fence line.

Wondering.. we have some low spots, would the really old/composted stuff underneath that is probably a year or so old be good to use in those to fill them in? Like around the gate where water tends to stand after a decent rain, and around the side of the barn?


Also... what do you do with your muck pile especially if you don't have much land? I know we can't go and spread it every single day. I'd like to start a pile further back for those kind of days, but thinking we may surround it with pallets so it doesn't look so hideous lol

 

[kccjer]

Use the oldest stuff to fill in your holes...it should hopefully be basically dirt by now. Just be aware that it may not pack in very well and you may still have some icky run-off from it. Careful how much you put around the flower beds because even year-old stuff can be pretty "hot" and burn plants. My husband built a box that we dump all our compost in to include the manure pile (when he gets it there....otherwise the chickens spread it out for us around the barn). If you can build a box with pallets and then water it regularly, it will break down faster....more water, faster breakdown

 

[milk and honey]

I put a tarp over my pile and ad green stuff for compost..

 

[ciwheeles]

Some we leave to compost for the garden and the rest we give time to break down. Then we put it in our manure spreader and spread it all over the farm.

 

[Trickyroo]

Good thread , I was wondering myself about what everyone else does.
Since we have had little to no rain in a long time , its been growing rather then shrinking :roll eyes:

Good ideas here !

 

[milkmaid]

WOW, you are a MILLIONAIRE! LOL. We can never scrape together enough manure for all the uses we put it to. We grow fruit trees and bushes, and a vegetable garden, so that stuff is black gold to us.
If I were you, I would spread it back on the pasture - just part of the pasture at a time, so the goats would still have plenty of clean grass to eat. Returning the nutrients to the soil will reduce your goats' supplementary feed and mineral needs. How much they're reduced depends on the area and on how mineral-sufficient the pasture already is. Besides, fresh weeds that grow from rich pasture are oh-so-much healthier than dried hay from mineral-depleted fields. One of the circles of life, ya know! I speak from personal experience. The more I work with the circles of nature, the more I believe in them.
If you still don't want to do that, I'm sure you can find a gardener nearby who will DROOL at the offer of free (or cheap) manure!

 

[TDG-Farms]

We sell it 10 bucks a tractor bucket full. Contact nurseries to see if they want it. Just recently lost my access to a tractor so am going to see if I cant work a deal out with one of em. They let me use their tractor to muck, and they can have the fruits of my labor to sell.

 

[kccjer]

I actually turn the sprinkler on the compost pile to help it decompose faster when we aren't getting rain. Seems kinda funny, but that's what will break it down faster

 

[Trickyroo]

Oh that's a good idea too ! I remember ( long time ago , lol ) people used to come out of their homes when I would ride by on my horse and she ( dropped a present ) , lol.

 

[Trickyroo]

I actually turn the sprinkler on the compost pile to help it decompose faster when we aren't getting rain. Seems kinda funny, but that's what will break it down faster

Hey , whatever works ! It is kinda funny though , lol.
Your at the food mart and you say " oh darn , I forgot to turn the sprinkler on in the manure pit"

 

[HoosierShadow]

Thanks! Ok in the flower bed everything has died off for the year or we've let the goats devour it because it will die off eventually lol

We'll spread a lot of it back in the woods, might put down grass seed as we've been trying to clear out some of the old, dead trees to allow enough sunlight in for grass.
Either way it's gotta be good for the stuff that grows

We should be able to use some of it around the gate and next to the barn, I'm sure underneath must be composted enough.
I might try to get my husband to crush up some bricks or something to put over it by the gate to help pack it in. I am soooo tired of jumping over puddles right there, bleh.

 

[Frosty]

I have two mulch piles one with pallets built around it and closer to the barn and one out of site in the woods. This is a interesting thread and I didn't know about water making it compost faster. Thanks for the tip..

 

[kccjer]

Thanks! Ok in the flower bed everything has died off for the year or we've let the goats devour it because it will die off eventually lol

Put it on fairly heavy and then mulch over with straw and water it in good...I mean good (I turned the sprinkler on for 3 days straight after doing this). I did it last year too and my soil this year was to die for!!

 

[Hollowdweller]

We have tons of beds and gardens we use the manure on.

Every now and then our friends come and clean out our stalls for the manure also.

Really one of the most important things to make goatkeeping rewarding is to be able to use all the products including manure.

 

[Jessica84]

If you have someone that grows hay around you see if they will let you spread it out there.....if you still have some left. I basically pile mine up threw the winter then when my dad cuts the hay I take it out and spread all over and keep doing it till he's ready to plant again.

 

[lottsagoats]

I farm a whopping 1 acre. I have several goats and horses here.

What I do:

pile the manure etc in a pile. My hay guy, who is also a contractor, comes and gets it once a year to mix it with loam for lawns.

I also spread it in my various gardens.

I learned not to use it to fill in low spots as it quickly turns to slimy, loose mud, much faster when it rains or snow melts than regular sod or loam.

Before my hay guy would cart it away, I built it up into small hills and plant squash and pumpkin seeds in it. They grow wonderfully and seem to make the manure compost quicker than if it was just left on its own!

 

[audrey]

Agreed ^^ It will not be good for filling in by the gate, it will get slimy and stinky and be really gross mud for sure.

 

[Cactus_Acres]

I'm about to turn some of the manure in to my garden rows before the ground freezes too much, and let it spend the next five to six months sitting before it is time to plant again. We need the fertilizer. We are also starting fruit trees, so that will be good for them.

 

[GoatieGranny]

We have our garden divided into two sections. One section we plant and the other section we lay down cardboard, muck from the barn, leaves, grass, etc. and let it sit for a year. The soil turns out rich, loamy and weed free. No rototilling necessary. We also have a regular compost pile that we put it in.

 

[milkmaid]

Goatiegranny, I've been getting into no-till gardening redently. I like your system!