Manure is one of the best fertilizers, which can be used both for garden, and for garden or ornamental crops. In addition to a huge amount of nutrients, this top dressing includes various kinds of vitamins and minerals, fiber and other substances useful for plants. There are several varieties of this organic fertilizer. Further in the article we will deal with which manure is better - horse or cow - for the vegetable garden and orchard.
Where is used
Manure can be used not only to increase the nutritional properties of the soil, but also to improve its structure and "heating" greenhouses and greenhouses.
Clay soil when applying this universal fertilizer becomes much more loose and light. Sandy manure, on the contrary, slightly compacts and makes it more plastic.
What are the varieties
To fertilize the soil under garden, horticultural and ornamental crops, manure can be used:
horse;
bovine;
pork;
sheep;
rabbit.
Also, bird droppings are often used as organic top dressing.
Which manure is better - horse or cow - for beds
Of course, most often gardeners use cattle manure to fertilize garden crops. The popularity of this species is due primarily to its availability. You can order a cow dung machine from a farmer or buy it from the villagers at a very low cost. However, the popularity of such organics does not at all mean that it is the best. Of course, cow dung - top dressing is just great. Using it, you can quickly increase the yield of any crop. However, this variety is still inferior to some others in the amount of nutrients and useful microelements.
For example, it will be much more useful to use horse manure for feeding plants, not cows. Its advantages, in addition to its high nutrient content, include a short burn-out period, a very loose structure and lightness.
Being laid in a thick layer on the bottom of greenhouses, horse manure can also serve as an excellent biological “heater”. When burned out, it heats up to 70 degrees. Therefore, it can be used in greenhouses and greenhouses in early April. When overheating, cow dung heats up to only 50 degrees. Consequently, it can be used as a natural “battery” for seedlings only when the weather is already quite warm.
Other varieties
Almost as nutritious and beneficial for plants as horse is rabbit manure. However, it is used even less frequently. After all, getting too much litter from these small animals is quite problematic.
A little inferior in usefulness to plants for rabbit and horse sheep manure. This variety of organics can also be used for feeding garden crops, and for heating greenhouses and greenhouses.
Thus, it becomes clear which manure is better - horse or cow. Of course, the first option can be considered more preferable. According to the degree of usefulness for plants, cow dung is only in fifth place. It is inferior to him in quality only to pork. This variety contains very little potassium. In addition, pork excrement acidifies the soil. Therefore, they can only be used in a mixture with slaked lime.
Bird droppings
This type of organic is also used to fertilize the beds very often. It contains even more nutrients and microelements than horse manure. However, bird droppings have one significant drawback. When used in too large quantities, it can cause burns in plants. Therefore, in its pure form it is rarely used. Most often, nutrient infusions are made from bird droppings, which are subsequently bred with large amounts of water (usually in a 1:20 ratio).
Thus, the answer to the question of which manure is better - chicken, horse or cow is unequivocal. Of course, the second option can be considered better than all the others. Bird droppings contain more nutrients, but can only be used in solutions.
How to use horse manure
The question of which manure is better - horse, or cow, or chicken, is of course very important. But any summer resident needs to know about how to use this or that variety of organic mass correctly. So, for example, horse manure is most often brought into the soil in the fall, under digging. In this case, it is recommended to use 4-6 kg of organics per 1 m 2 . In spring and summer, liquid horse manure is usually used to feed plants. It is simply gently poured on the beds under the root of the plants. This effective fertilizer is prepared by insisting on dry manure in a small amount of water. The mixture is left to ferment for several days. After clarification, the slurry is diluted 1:10 with water and watered with plants.
In the greenhouses for heating seedlings lay fresh horse manure. Previously, it is mixed with straw in a ratio of 1: 1. Also, ordinary household garbage is sometimes added to horse manure.
The use of cow dung
This fertilizer is best applied to the soil both in autumn (for digging) and in spring - before planting. Like horse manure, liquid fertilizers are often also made from cow manure , which are used to stimulate the development of crops in the summer. Top dressing with a fermented composition is usually carried out during the flowering of plants. Mullein can also become a very useful stimulant in the formation of fruit ovaries. Prepare a nutrient solution in a volume ratio of 1: 4. He must insist for about 10 days. For watering, it is bred in a proportion of 1:10. Fertilize the plants with the resulting solution very carefully, trying not to get on the leaves. About 1 liter of mullein should be poured on 1 m 2 of beds.
Application of manure for different crops
Sometimes summer residents are interested in which manure is better - horse or cow - for cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. In principle, there are no rules on the benefits of using this or that type of organic fertilizer for this particular crop. Actually, for feeding you can use what is at hand.
The only exception to the general rule is strawberries. The fact is that this plant is very demanding regarding nitrogen. Therefore, the answer to the question of which manure is better (horse or cow) for strawberries is simple. Neither one nor the other. Strawberries are best fertilized with bird droppings. It contains the most nitrogen.
Since horse manure produces a huge amount of heat during burnout, it is often laid in greenhouses under early crops. Therefore, this particular variety is an excellent answer to the question of which manure is better, horse or cow, for tomatoes. After all, tomato seedlings are planted in greenhouses quite early. In May, for the cucumbers, cow dung, which produces little heat, is quite suitable.
Potato fertilizer
Most summer residents use manure not only for feeding vegetable crops. A very good result also comes from its use under potatoes. It is best to fertilize the plots, of course, scattering manure across the field for digging in the autumn. However, you can also save and put a little fertilizer in each hole when planting tubers in the spring.
Of course, summer residents are also interested in what kind of manure is better - horse or cow - for potatoes. In this case, it is also preferable to use the first option. But cow manure can significantly increase productivity.
Bookmark for storage
So, we have found out which manure is better - horse or cow. Next, let's see how to properly store such organic matter. After all, before using it as a fertilizer, you need to withstand it for some time to overheat. And if this is done incorrectly, organics will lose most of its beneficial properties.
Fresh manure is not used for feeding crops, primarily because during the process of burnout, it can strongly burn the stems or roots of plants. Moreover, such a mass always contains a large number of weed seeds and harmful microorganisms. Already rotted manure in this regard is completely safe. After all, the mass can be heated, depending on the variety, up to 60-70 degrees. Due to such a high temperature, harmful microbes die, and weed seeds lose their germination.
To know, for example, about which manure is better — horse or cow — is, of course, useful for potatoes. But for a summer resident it is equally important to have an idea about what type of this fertilizer is appropriate to use depending on the storage method. The manure should burn out on a litter 30 cm thick. The effectiveness of this fertilizer also depends on what material it will be made of. So, the mass is considered the highest quality, rotted on peat or a leaf foliage. Manure burnt out on straw is also quite nutritious. The least useful substances are contained in the mass stored on sawdust. However, such manure is a good baking powder. Therefore, it is advisable to use it on heavy clay soils.
Cold way
Manure can be stored at the site using two technologies: without access to air and hot. In the first case, the mass is laid in stacks up to 1 m high with a seal of each layer. Top manure is covered with peat. Next, new stacks are stacked close by. Without air access, manure overheats, practically without warming up. As a result, absolutely all useful substances are stored in it. Complete overheating of the mass with this technology in the winter period of time occurs in 6-7 months.
Hot way
Of course, using a cold technique in summer cottages is quite difficult and troublesome. Therefore, in most cases, gardeners prefer to store manure in a hot way. In this case, the mass is simply stacked on the litter, not compacting. From above, the pile is covered with straw or peat (only in order to protect it from the effects of adverse weather conditions). Re-masses with this storage method also for about six months. If the heap is planted in the spring, in the fall manure can already be used to improve soil properties in the beds and plots.
Well, we hope that we have developed enough and accurately answered the main question of the article: "Which manure is better - horse or cow?" The first option is considered the highest quality. But since cow manure is cheaper and more affordable than any other variety of organics, it is quite possible to get by with just one to get good harvests in the country.