Enthusiastic gardeners will know that by adding manure to the garden soil will increase the fertility. Manure is also good for adding life into the soil as it is rich in zillions of microbes that are ferociously consuming and breaking down this waste product into humus.
There are however a couple of issues that gardeners need to be aware of when using manure on their vegetable garden.
When applying raw manure to plants; that is manure that is less than six months old, this will end up force feeding the plants. Vegetable plants will take up an excess of nitrogen when urea or raw manure are applied to the soil and these will form an oversupply of nitrates that will then turn into nitrites when they are consumed. Nitrites are a contributing factor to cancer as these become carcinogenic when consumed in excessive amounts.
So organic gardeners beware! Make sure you allow the manure to age first, otherwise compost it or put it through the worm farm before applying to the garden beds. I have found a short cut to save double handling to break down the manure that will then be safe to plant straight into. Spread the fresh manure onto an empty garden bed. Sprinkle some bokashi over the manure and water in well. Cover with mulch and allow to break down for two to three weeks. You can then you can plant directly into the mulch with some compost.
You should also use manure that is free from chemical wormers as this destroys the life in the manure and the soil where it is applied. You can find a source of organic horse manure and the recipe for making your own bokashi is on this site.
If you have any gardening questions or would like to enroll in an organic gardening course, please feel free to contact me through the website.