Manure

Question

I am new to vegetable gardening and have a wife who keeps horses and, therefore, has copious amounts of straw-based horse manure. This rots down in a heap for a while and is then moved to another heap where it is just left and ends up covered in weeds and grasses. So my question is how long does the initial pile need to rot before I can use it in the newly created veggie plot?

Answer 1

There is no set ideal time for how long to compost horse manure, but typically it takes 2-3 months if done properly. You are better off looking at the compost itself to see if it is ready. The horse manure compost will look like soil and will have lost its "manure" smell when ready.