For those who give away their muck heap to gardeners

N

now_loves_mares

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 November 2007
Messages
2,553
Location
Edinburgh, Scotland
Visit site
I bed on cardboard so the muck heap is great for gardens. Last winters is well rotted so I want to give it away if possible. I figured this saves me paying for the farmer to remove it, and saves people paying B&Q a fortune for the privilege
wink.gif


Anyway I put an ad on freecycle and have a couple of people due to turn up at the weekend, but I made a sign to hang on the fence and have put a few bags out, to see if they go. All well and good, but I'm not sure the effort of filling the bags is worth the cash saving!

For those that give it away, do you have people fill the bags themselves, do you fill bags and leave them out; or do you muck out straight in to bags and give away the fresh stuff......?

It's very stressful
confused.gif
wink.gif
 
ask all those that want the manure that any donations are always wlcome to buy the horses treats, or any old pples, carrotts and the like.
I used to have boxes of the stuff left in place of the bags of manure and very occasionally i would get a bottle of wine for my efforts.
 
If I bag it I sell it for £1 a bag, if they do it themselves it's free!
We only have poo, no bedding cos they live out and we use the oldest, rotted stuff. Gardeners won't thank you for fresh as it burns the roots off things!
 
I have a 100 foot by 25 foot allotment and ask my customers if I can get down and dirty in their muck heaps, they are more than happy to let me back my Jeep into it and shovel it straight into a builder's bag in the back!
Saves them a fortune on removal fees and my allotment is nicely growing fruit and veg !
I figure if they are good enough to let me have the stuff, the least I can do is shovel it!
If you have any allotments near you go and put the word around, at our allotment the local farmer charges them a fortune to bring a trailer load round.
Oz
smile.gif
 
Miss Bird, I like the sound of wine
smile.gif


Dizzykizzy - I do a bit of gardening myself, so know enough (just about, I'm a bit rubbish
blush.gif
) to not give them fresh as a rule. However some people are happy to take fresh I believe cos they add it to an existing compost heap to speed up the rotting down. I have seen people on here say they muck out straight in to to bags and leave them for collection.

Unicornleather - that's kind of what I'd figured. Allotment is a good idea, I think that's the kind of quantities I need. It's not really cost effective for me to bag it up, then give it for free, so I think I need to make friends with more gardeners
smile.gif
 
I have several people who come to help themselves to my muck heap - they usually bring a trailer (or wheelbarrow if close neighbours) and just shovel the muck into that.
 
I find if I bag it (using old plastic feedbags) and put it outside the gate with "Free Manure" sign it would go within the hour! If people have to come and dig it themselves they dont seem so keen....... I did put an advert in freecycle and parish mag but again people cant really be bothered to do the dirty part.

I do have a little trailer that takes about a weeks worth of poo and the local allotments are really keen for me to keep off loading it to them into a special little area they designated for me. Its a good arrangement but a bit of a pain to keep doing every week so invariably I end up paying farmer to come and get it about once every 6 months.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Miss Bird, I like the sound of wine
smile.gif


Dizzykizzy - I do a bit of gardening myself, so know enough (just about, I'm a bit rubbish
blush.gif
) to not give them fresh as a rule. However some people are happy to take fresh I believe cos they add it to an existing compost heap to speed up the rotting down. I have seen people on here say they muck out straight in to to bags and leave them for collection.

Oooops sorry if I offended you, just answering what you said in your first post LOL!
wink.gif
 
I advertised my heap on freecycle and since then a chap with a big garden and biggish trailer comes and takes it away every two weeks. He seems happy and I'm delighted as the local farmers aren't interested.
 
I give it away and poo pick straight into bags when I have them otherwise it's a "help youself" job from the muck heap. Mine is pure poo too as they are out 24/7 (I don't have stables). I currently have two regular customers who come and collect and the lady who poo picks for me takes bags to the other allotment holders near her.
 
i bag up manure for a couple of friends of mine and put it outside gate for them to collect. for free. i wouldn't do it foc for strangers tho. i think it's a good idea to ask for something for the horse!
 
Thanks all.

Dizzykizzy - no, no offence!! I had wondered about the fresh stuff before I posted, as some people do seem to give it away fresh, presumably the collectors know what they are getting and let it rot down first though.
smile.gif


I have investigated allotments and apparently there are hardly any in our council area! However there is one near me luckily, so I will have to pop up with some leaflets or something! A couple of people have been over the weekend and made a start, but it'll take more than that to get rid of it before winter mucking out starts
frown.gif


I am glad the consensus is not to give it away bagged for free, as that was beginning to look like a mug's game. I shovel enough of the stuff as it is!!
tongue.gif
 
That's a good idea, how big is the trailer, do you tow it with a tractor, how many horses' muck are you putting in it? I have thought about a farm trailer but don't have a tractor and would have to pay a farmer to take it away and empty it. Currently a few local gardeners come and help themselves to the odd bag, but the muck heap isn't accessible to cars once the mud starts and we aren't as disciplined as we should be about keeping it in three distinct piles (rotted, rotting and the one being filled).
 
I poo pick the field every day, straight into old feed sacks which I leave outside the gate for people to lift - I just put a note outside the field and I ask them to return the bags, if possible.

I have no space for a muck heap, so it is up to whoever lifts its to store it to rot down - it is free, after all!
A
 
if selling it or giving away do make sure that the grassland the horses were on has not been treated with a herbicide containing aminopyralids - currently off the market but older heaps may still have residues, as it may kill all the gardeners crops....! it doesnt disappear but persists through the manuring process.

The main products with it in were Forefront, Pharaoh or Banish but there are some others.

Unfortunately commercial pressures are pressing for the aminopyralids to get back on the shelves :-(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top