Written and edited by Tammy 11th April 2023
I spent a most enjoyable day out wood cutting with some lovely friends over the weekend, and we were most entertained by a curious audience of steers coming right up almost close enough to reach out and touch them. While avoiding treading in their land mines I got to thinking about the process of them eating grass, then converting it into the most amazing fertiliser, depositing it back onto the ground to nourish the soil and plants to begin the cycle all over again.
We garden gurus constantly speak of adding organic matter to your gardens, but what exactly is 'organic matter'?
From a gardening perspective think of organic matter as being anything that comes from the earth that completes its lifecycle breaking down back into the earth. Composted green waste/ fruit and vegetable scraps, animal manure, straw, leaf litter, it's all organic matter.
Benefits of Cow Manure
But what's so good about cow manure?
Fresh cow manure is full of good bacteria and enzymes, and it's an amazing source of nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, magnesium and calcium; the very things plants need to grow and thrive. Worms love it as do the microbials.
And if that wasn't enough, cow manure, whether it's fresh or composted helps to improve the structure and water holding capacity of soil, particularly when added to sandy soils which tend to be non-wetting and lacking in nutrients and structure.
If keeping a cow in your backyard or collecting a trailer full from out in the paddock isn't an option for you, pre-packaged bags of composted/ aged cow manure is readily available from most Nurseries and Garden Centres.
There are pros and cons for both.
Fresh Manure
Fresh manure has a higher water content making the soluble nitrogen in it far more readily available, that being said, there's always a risk of burning vulnerable new young plants if you're not careful. There's also a risk of pathogens and weed seed being introduced to your garden too.
Bagged Manure
Bagged cow manure on the other hand undergoes a process of composting or aging. The heat generated in a composting pile of manure kills any pathogens and weed seed so there's no chance of introducing those to your garden. The downside perhaps is the fact that the dry composted product has a lot less readily available Nitrogen.
Both fresh and bagged cow manure will improve the texture and structure of your soil and aid its water retention abilities, so really it just comes down to what option is more convenient for you.
It can be a little daunting and confusing trying to decide which animal manure to use.
**Tip** manure from animals that are herbivores, they primarily eat grass and hay, will have a higher carbon to nitrogen ratio making it a 'cooler/ safer' manure to use in your garden. Chickens eat bugs, grubs and other food scraps. Their carbon to nitrogen ratio is a lot lower making it really hot in comparison to cow manure, so there would be a higher chance of burning your plants when applying it.
If you're wanting to improve your soil for a veggie patch, they are hungry little things and need a lot of nutrition and energy to get then up and going and producing for you; they would benefit more so from a higher nitrogen manure like chicken manure.
If things in your garden are already established, they are not crop producing or at a time of the year when they're using a lot of energy, then cow manure would perhaps be perfect.
I hope this makes sense.
As always, you're more than welcome to message me if you have any questions of want me to clarify anything.
If you're ever in the market for a new lawn mower, why not consider a cow!
Happy Gardening! ššŖ“šŗ
Comments