Muck spreading on fields which are grazed

P

poiuytrewq

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2008
Messages
21,436
Location
Cotswolds
Visit site
I was horrified but my o/h thinks I'm having one of my "city girl" moments!
I rent a small bit of land off a lady who lives locally. At her home she also has a small DIY livery yard. They muck out onto a trailer them its transferred to a big field next too mine- my muck is also moved there. It had never occurred to me what happened next too it!
She offered me temporary use of some more grazing recently but mentioned that I'd have too keep them in as the other owners on her yard will the day that they spread the muck heap over the fields?!?!
The fields everyone poo picks etc all year round then has other people's horse poo spread on them :0
Is this right?
 
i agree a city girl moment, ideally fields should be rested for at least a couple of weeks and i also only do itif all horses are on the same worming programme
 
It does not sound a good idea to me either,I thought muck heaps need to stand for at least a year or two before they can be spread on horse fields.What's the point of poo picking otherwise?
 
How old is the muck they are spreading, old (over 12 months) is great horse field fertiliser, it's not too rich but good for the grass to get something.
As muck heaps age they get hot and the heat kills weed seeds, worm eggs etc that you wouldn't want on the field.

If it's the muck you poo picked from the field last week being spread back over - that isn't ideal, especially as it includes other peoples horses which may have unknown worming history!
 
if box muck is spread on grass this time of year, it will stay there all year.
we spread muck on grass before xmas and its still sitting there and hasn't gone into the ground yet.
 
That's where my muck goes onto the fields it sits about two years then we spread it it will be done soon the field then rested to October time by which time it's all magically disappeared.
 
kiteman0 said:
if box muck is spread on grass this time of year, it will stay there all year.
we spread muck on grass before xmas and its still sitting there and hasn't gone into the ground yet.
Click to expand...

That's because the bettles and bugs that do the work are asleep in winter.
 
Goldenstar said:
That's because the bettles and bugs that do the work are asleep in winter.
Click to expand...

Yes we spread our muckheap on the fields one year and it was all washed in within a couple of weeks. The worst issue were the stones that had been scooped up with the muckheap - they got spread too and didn't wash in!!
 
If its a muck heap that has been properly composted for at least a year, that's probably ok, although ideally they would be off for a week or two.

If its fresh muck, then that is not good practice at all, as you are just spreading whatever worms etc there are in it all over the field :-(((
 
I'm willing to wager that like most yards, there is one muck heap and then somebody comes and takes it away periodically. Ours has just been spread onto the maize (pheasant cover), so no worries about contamination, but the muck on top of course was quite fresh. If this is the same for you, then I agree, it's not the best idea. When I had my own place I had numerous, smaller, muck heaps. In the Spring I would take the oldest and put it on my allotment or bulk out compost for container veg, in the summer I took the next one and use it in the garden, in the Autumn the next one went on the allotment and so on. I guess it's just impractical to have many heaps on most yards, though.
 
We have two muck heaps - one from last yr and a new one for this year's. Come next spring we'll spread the old one and start over in the place it stood. The year after we'll spread this year's muck. Simples :)

Wouldn't spread a muck heap that's not well rotted - that's a sure fire way to ensure worms are passed around.
 
Spreading fresh muck isn't ideal for the grass or plants you're relying on feeding with it, it takes up a lot of nitrogen (which is used for plant growth) from the soil whilst it is rotting down. Also if really fresh, especially if there is a lot of urine from soiled bedding in the muck the ammonia can burn roots and foliage thereby killing or severely stunting growth. The same is true for whatever animal produced the muck.

It should be left to rot for at least a year, then no problems with nitrogen or parasites.
 
A year old muck heap is good, two years even better then it is black gold! Even then I would say leave for about 3 weeks preferably more, hence why it works well for rotating fields.

The field next to me was harrowed before the last person left, at first I thought that is not very helpful to the new tenants having a year's worth of no poo picking spread about, but as it happens the new people are not using it for a few months yet and the field looks great. It still hasn't completely sunk in though and that is no bedding etc, for over a month.

I'd much rather this than chemical fertilisers but I do see your concerns about worms.
 
Well, there is muck and there is muck, how it's used and how it's treated depends on what it is. If it's treated correctly then it doesn't pose any sort of contamination risk.
 
I think there are some wormers that make horse poo lethal to growing crops. Can't swear to it, but I seem to remember something about contaminated horse manure being bad for veg gardens and allotments. That seems to make sense as if it contains chemicals to kill worms, that can't be good for soil organisms.

I agree with those who spread well rotted (12 months in the heap?) manure before Christmas. Eating grass contaminated with manure of any age is definitely a no-no for horses. Why else do they avoid their own poo?

I'll be spreading my muck heap shortly, but it will then be ploughed in and the field re-seeded. Any poo not picked up over winter has been vigourously harrowed, several times, until it is completely broken up and then the field rested.
 
Dry Rot said:
I think there are some wormers that make horse poo lethal to growing crops. Can't swear to it, but I seem to remember something about contaminated horse manure being bad for veg gardens and allotments. That seems to make sense as if it contains chemicals to kill worms, that can't be good for soil organisms.

I agree with those who spread well rotted (12 months in the heap?) manure before Christmas. Eating grass contaminated with manure of any age is definitely a no-no for horses. Why else do they avoid their own poo?

I'll be spreading my muck heap shortly, but it will then be ploughed in and the field re-seeded. Any poo not picked up over winter has been vigourously harrowed, several times, until it is completely broken up and then the field rested.
Click to expand...

Now we do worm counts and are not worming regularily the amount of bettles and bugs in the droppings in the field in summer is amazing you leave a paddock a few weeks and almost all the droppings disappear .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top