Fertilizer for new plants.

[Anyfoot]

When I plant new plants and trees in my outdoor enclosure, is it safe to put a pile of horse manure under the plants/trees to give them a boost. All plants I will be using are old plants from other areas of the garden, or plants I've had for going on 12 months(no pesticide's used) or maybe I can find some organically grown new plants aswell.

Is there any other safe options to give them the original nutrition they need to develope quickly.

Thanks.

 

[MeAndMyTort]

I'm honestly not sure about the horse manure, but for my plants I use eggshells and banana peels that have gone through the blender. Yucky, but yummy for plants!

 

[Anyfoot]

I'm honestly not sure about the horse manure, but for my plants I use eggshells and banana peels that have gone through the blender. Yucky, but yummy for plants!

Looks like I just made a mistake, this weekend I emptied both our organic compost bins into the garden. Damn, wasn't thinking AGAIN. Thanks.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

The only issue I could see is that it will smell appetizing to some tortoises. I don't know if there are concerns of medications in house manure being toxic to tortoises as their are with dog and cat scat.

 

[MeAndMyTort]

Looks like I just made a mistake, this weekend I emptied both our organic compost bins into the garden. Damn, wasn't thinking AGAIN. Thanks.

Lol, me too.

 

[dmmj]

are we talking about horse manure straight from the horse' mouth..... Er the other end or processed manure from the store?

 

[Anyfoot]

are we talking about horse manure straight from the horse' mouth..... Er the other end or processed manure from the store?

Lmao. It's from a local farm where I can get it. 20p a big bag. Just got to fill your own bags. . So straight from the horse's ***

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

The only issue I could see is that it will smell appetizing to some tortoises. I don't know if there are concerns of medications in house manure being toxic to tortoises as their are with dog and cat scat.

That "house manure" should obviously be "horse manure"...

 

[JoesMum]

Horse manure should be rotted down before use. Few plants could tolerate it fresh. It smells much less once rotted

Coming from a stable they may have had it rotting down before sale.

 

[Anyfoot]

Horse manure should be rotted down before use. Few plants could tolerate it fresh. It smells much less once rotted

Coming from a stable they may have had it rotting down before sale.

This maybe too much detail, but basically there is a huge pile, if I dig right down its very dark coloured and old. Me and my dad used to use it for growing veggies. We were literally up to our kneck in it. Boy did it improve veg crops.

 

[Pearly]

What can be more organic than well composted manure???!!! I wish I had a big pile of horse s**** like that for my garden. I'd say Craig, go for it

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

If this is your horse, you know what medications it has been exposed to, then I don't see it being an issue. I don't know if Ivermectin or similar Chelonian-counter indicated meds are used on horses but it should be easy to find out.

 

[Anyfoot]

If this is your horse, you know what medications it has been exposed to, then I don't see it being an issue. I don't know if Ivermectin or similar Chelonian-counter indicated meds are used on horses but it should be easy to find out.

It's not my horse. You need to be rich to own a horse over here. Lol.

 

[Rue]

I use ivermectin for all my horses. It's the go to. I alternate with other wormers such as a benzimazole (ie. Panacur), but ivermectin is the one I use most.

I don't use my horses' manure in my garden. Tried...the weeds were awful...never again. And this was beautiful manure...well rotted (over 4 years), smelled like fresh sweet soil. I was very sad.

Now...maybe in a tortoise garden, the weeds are a good idea...I'll have to consider that!

I am not sure how long it takes ivermectin to breakdown completely. Longer than 6-8 weeks if I recall...but I will assume if you put well-rotted horse manure UNDER your plantings, there's nothing to worry about. Ivermectin is toxic to turtles when administered directly at a certain dosage - the odds of your tortoise getting any in its system from well rotted manure used under a planting would be about 0%, much less anywhere near a toxic amount.

Ivermectin is the most widely used anthelmintic...so chances are that it will have been used on the animals that produced almost any manure you purchase -- unless you know for certain the owners of the animals it came from never used it.

 

[MeAndMyTort]

I also have heard that used coffee grounds are supposed to be okay for fertilizer. Not quite sure if I would want my tortoise eating that though.

 

[Anyfoot]

I use ivermectin for all my horses. It's the go to. I alternate with other wormers such as a benzimazole (ie. Panacur), but ivermectin is the one I use most.

I don't use my horses' manure in my garden. Tried...the weeds were awful...never again. And this was beautiful manure...well rotted (over 4 years), smelled like fresh sweet soil. I was very sad.

Now...maybe in a tortoise garden, the weeds are a good idea...I'll have to consider that!

I am not sure how long it takes ivermectin to breakdown completely. Longer than 6-8 weeks if I recall...but I will assume if you put well-rotted horse manure UNDER your plantings, there's nothing to worry about. Ivermectin is toxic to turtles when administered directly at a certain dosage - the odds of your tortoise getting any in its system from well rotted manure used under a planting would be about 0%, much less anywhere near a toxic amount.

Ivermectin is the most widely used anthelmintic...so chances are that it will have been used on the animals that produced almost any manure you purchase -- unless you know for certain the owners of the animals it came from never used it.

This may sound like a dumb question, but as my mum always said to me as s child, "if you don't ask you'll never know" . What do you mean "the weeds were awful"?
I have a picture in my head of you eating dandilions and sow thistle with roast chicken and mash, of course with gravy.

 

[Rue]

That sounds tasty! After talking to one of my cohorts (who teaches Urban Farming) - I am going to experiment with Purslane this summer. Apparently it's tasty in salads and steamed. For the last 20 years I've been pulling it by hand and tossing it upside down on the driveway or lawn to have the sun kill the root. Otherwise I swear it replants itself. Cooking and eating it is likely less work...

Horses, in part due to being monogastrics, don't digest seeds very well, and lot pass through their digestive system in good shape! So when I incorporated the manure into the gardens...the weed seeds found themselves in ideal growing conditions and happily expressed their exuberance. One would think the composting period would kill the seeds - but noooo....

Sheep manure is similar for being weed friendly.

Cow manure on the other hand, is less problematic, in part because they're ruminants and process their food much more efficiently.