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Georgia

I know this has probally been done before but Id just like some fresh answers If anyone can help. Theres a horse stable near my house and Im friends with the owners. In the woods they have piles of old aged horse manuer but it has pine shavings mixed in. Its preety decomposed already and its crawling with thousands of worms. He said hell get me a couple dump truck loads for free. I tested the ph level and its exactly 7.0. Its free and I dont have much money. Would the pine shavings hurt my patch and I wont till it until the spring time.

12/10/2007 10:49:07 AM

Georgia

O yeah thanks for any replys.

12/10/2007 10:54:07 AM

President - GPC

SOunds like good stuff with all the worms, should be pretty well broken down. Id go for it....

12/10/2007 11:12:34 AM

Georgia

Thanks Wiz it looks preety broken down and is crawling with worms. He told me as a Christmas present he would deliver 6 yards for free. Ya know your into pumpkins when you get happy about getting poop. I couldnt believe all the worms in the pile. I figure just on the worm count alone it would be good. Like I said its ph levels right at 7 percent. I just dont know much about the ppine shavings and what effect they would have. Their color is a dark brown and almost black. I just cant afford to buy any manuer so I figured this might be a nice find. Thanks for the reply.

12/10/2007 12:00:51 PM

Johnston, R.I.

I like the word free also, especially when it comes to manure. I have been composting horse manure for a couple years and it works fine for me.

12/10/2007 12:39:26 PM

Georgia

Yeah Free is also nice. It seems that pine shavings are normally what horse stables use for some reason. It looks great I just dont want to mess anything up.

12/10/2007 1:02:39 PM

Berlin,mi.(zuhlke2@hotmail.com)

It works fine Jason. Not to worry. It will suck up the nitro when it is fresh but works good when it is broke down.

12/10/2007 1:06:13 PM

Georgia

Thanks for all the answers hes gonna drop it off probally this weekend. I got one load last weekend just to dump in my veggie garden. No bobcat or skidsteer I loaded a whole load with just a shovel. It was a lot of work but I dont mind work.

12/10/2007 1:52:56 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

GO JASON GO!!!!!!! See ya in sept!!! Bring a biggun!!! LOL Peace, Wayne
PS...Merry Christmas!!!

12/10/2007 2:09:22 PM

Georgia

Merry Christmas to you to Wayne. Hopefully ill bring a big one over. I have my goals set high and sometimes it pushes me. Ill be sitting on my deck drinking a few beers and I gotta remind myself that someone else is working harder and it really motivates me to get in gear. I never though in my life I would get excited over poop.

12/10/2007 2:44:25 PM

maine USA

Great Christmas gift Jason! I hope that your friend's gift helps you grow a PB in '08 KathyT

12/10/2007 10:30:18 PM

Somerset,Ky

Looks like Doug & Lee have there hands full!!
Hope you grow a monster !! You have seeds on
the way.

John Van Hook

12/10/2007 10:43:59 PM

Mt Vernon Ky

jason i got your hats made e mail me your address again

12/10/2007 11:14:03 PM

Georgia

Thanks John and Vic. E-mails on your way Vic and John I cant wait for the seeds. Thanks Guys I appreciate it.

12/11/2007 8:38:53 AM

southwest MO

Jason if they are little compost worms I would pile it up and let them finish... Get ALL you can and just pile it. The little compost worms seem to really go for a matrix with shavings...

12/11/2007 9:53:47 AM

southwest MO

I got alot of the same stuff you are talking about... When the tractor loader scoops it up it looks like a bucket of pure worms. It really is amazing. I added it directly to my garden in late fall. When I disced in spring I MURDERED the little fellers... Ill will never do it again.

12/11/2007 10:03:41 AM

Pocatello (cliffwarren@yahoo.com)

Yes, this is not a "ho-hum, yeah, I guess I'll take it...", this is "Sweet deal!!! Ticket to 4-digits and more!!!"

What you're really getting is worm castings. Can't argue with that. The worms are naturally going to die back when their food supply runs out. But you have a climate where you can make new piles of organic matter, and once that stuff starts to rot, introduce a bucket of worms into it and let them be happy.

12/11/2007 10:24:41 AM

Georgia

Thanks again...I also hate to murder the little bugers. I started to make worm bins to add back into the soil after I till in the spring. I have about 8 bins crawling with worms which I feed with coffe grounds..egg shells..leaves etc. My nephews like it cause anytime they go fishing Ive got the bait. The same place Im getting the manuer from they also have piles and piles of old maple leaves the guy said im welcome to them also. Thanks for all the replys I feel more confident about using the stuff now.

12/11/2007 10:39:11 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Jason, dude...buy a lottery ticket too...you got luck on your side. Sounds like a gold mine. A old buddy of mine with racehorses showed me where the old owner of his farm piled his manure back into the forest behind the barn and it looks just like the stuff you are finding....nice find!!

Glenn

12/11/2007 11:01:41 AM

Georgia

Yeah Glenn Its weird how the little things can make a pumpkin growers day. When I found the place he calls the stump dump and seen alll the manuer piles and leaves I was like a little boy looking at his first Playboy....BOOOOIIIINNNG!!!

12/11/2007 11:10:53 AM

Pocatello (cliffwarren@yahoo.com)

I wouldn't worry TOOOO much about murdering worms. They live, they reproduce, they die. All much quicker than we do. No, you don't want to kill them unnecessarily, but if you introduce a few of them into a food source, soon they'll reproduce and you'll have hundreds and thousands of them. Look at it as, if you feed them you're giving them life in the first place.

12/11/2007 12:51:10 PM

southwest MO

I'm still scarred from seeing the thousands and thousands of their little ground up bodies... Bad karma.

12/11/2007 5:12:57 PM