When composting the manure, is the compost bin supposed to be covered?
Depending on the type of compost bin you have, some are covered while others are not. These articles will also help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/manures/chicken-manure-fertilizer.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/compost-for-organic-gardens.htm
I added steer manure that I bought at Lowes. Worked into to my raised beds and waited 5 weeks before planting my veggies, but now they look to be burning from the lower leaves up. The onions seem ok but everything else is dying. What can I add to the soil to change this? I live in the Olympia, Washington and we have had a cool spring, so not sure if that is some of the problem. Any advice would help. I am hoping to be able to save some of my vegetables. Thank you from HELP.
It sounds like you have nitrogen burn. This can happen from adding cattle manure to your beds. You could try leaching the soil with lots & lots of water. Try adding peat moss as well. I never use cattle (steer) manure to anything. I use horse manure or llama manure as it isn't so high in nitrogen & won't burn your plants. If you need to purchase manure I know I"ve only seen the steer (fortunately for me my parents & inlaws supply me with horse & llama) only apply it in the fall, work it well into the bed and let it rest for the winter months & it will be safer when spring rolls around.
Good Luck
Earthlady
Where can I find rabbit manure within my area on sale or for free?
Do a search within your area for local rabbit farmers or browse want adds for rabbit manure. You can also check with your local garden centers as many times they sell packaged rabbit manure. Farmers markets may also be a good place to find the manure.
In the meantime, here is an article that you may find helpful: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/manures/rabbit-manure-compost.htm
Check with your local County Extension office or look up 4H Clubs in your area. Usually some of the kids in 4H have rabbits as their project. They will usually let you have all you want for your gardens or rose beds. Also you could do a search for the American Rabbit Breeders Association and see if any are in your area. Another place would be if you have a local livestock feed store, they usually have folks that buy rabbit pellets to feed their rabbits. You could call them and see if they have any to spare for your needs.
Do goat manure pellets help with getting rid of pesty bugs like fleas, chiggers, mosquitoes, etc. ?
While the smell of goat dung may repel insects, I cannot say how effective it is for repelling fleas, chiggers, or mosquitoes.
A friend of ours helped us out by putting dried manure on our vegetable garden after there were already plants in it. I am wondering if the vegetables are safe to eat (I was wondering if E. coli is a concern. ). We worked the manure into the ground as much as we could around the plants. It has been over four weeks since it has been put on. There are various plants: lettuce, basil, parsley, garlic peas, kale, and more in this garden. Thank you very much for your reply.
If it was composted (let to site for a bit), it should be fine. The composting process kills bacteria. For the most part, it is highly unlikely that the manure would have the dangerous sort of e. coli. Vegetarian animals, like cows, are far less likely to have it.
The issues you hear in the news come about because of issues like human waste (non vegetarian) making its way into fields or a very rare bit of bad e. coli from a cow making its way into the massive manure vats or machinery used by big business farms. A small bit can then be spread across huge amounts of food, causing widespread problems.
In the home garden, this is unlikely to happen. Good composting and small scale will make it highly unlikely that it will ever cause you any problem.
Short answer is, that you should be fine.
We have put cow manure in a drum of water to dilute it so that we can use it as a fertilizer. We were wondering what other ingredients we could put in it.
Really, any organic fertlizer can be added, like fish emulsion or kelp. It really depends on what additional nutrients you want to add to your soil.
I tilled goat manure into my garden at the beginning of the season prior to planting. I have observed that the leaves of the plants are vigorous and rapidly growing, but I do not see very many flowers on my tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, or bean plants. My gardening book says that little flowers could be from too high nitrogen. Is there something that I can add to get more flowers?
Add bone meal. This will add phosphorus, which the plants need to produce flowers. These articles will help too:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/bone-meal-fertilizer.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/phosphorus-plant-growth.htm