I am pro manure if it has been composted down a bit. Straight from the animal is too much for some plants.

Depends.

I have used it before moving to Arizona, and still do, but sparingly. Our soil is already high in salts. Manure is high in salts also. Too much salts is a bad thing.

I use a lot of compost. Trouble is...my compost pile is a haven for cockroaches. But that's another problem for another thread.

Good point about the salts; I hadn't considered that. My dirt is extra salty anyhow since this is an irrigated lot. Maybe manure tea in containers? Composting does draw critters, but I've always had a healthy bunch of lizards keeping them under control.

"...Straight from the animal is too much for some plants."

It depends on the animal actually. Llama and rabbit is okay to use fresh, it's mostly nitrogen.

"...my compost pile is a haven for cockroaches..."

If you can get it hot enough, they won't find it welcoming. I do that with dry leaves and Starbucks coffee grounds. I found out by happenstance that old, dried up bougainvillea flowers compost quickly and add nearly immediate heat to the barrel (in my case).

I found a barrel at a yard sale years ago. You might watch Craig's for one. It spins on a stand so I can easily get air to the contents. I find pill bugs if I let it get too wet but not cockroaches. In fact I've never seen a cockroach at this house - anywhere. Whew!

I guess I never think of llamas and rabbits as manure animals. I've never seen stores offering bags of it for sale. I have lots of bats that use my entryway as a toilet. Is that good for using?

ooooo, bat guano, very good stuff but probably also 'hot'.

There is a llama farm near me, it's around 15th Ave and Dunlap. He moves them to Flag in summer but there for a while I was dropping 5-gallon buckets at the gate, his workers rake every day and would fill the buckets and leave back at the gate for pickup. It was great - until I got dogs - who think anything stinky is the bee's knees!!

Someone on the VPA forum has LOTS of bunnies. He posted one time and several of us went by with empty bags (I save all the large plastic bags from potting soil) and stocked up. He lets me come back for more when I need it.

If anyone is interested in the llama yama (as we started calling it) I can hook you up with the bucket brigade routine in fall when the animals come back.

We have chickens, and we compost their "coop cleanings" which includes poop, straw and who-knows with our veggie scraps and yard trimmings, etc. It's all very low-tech; we use large black, plastic garbage cans, throw the stuff in bungee-cord the lids down so no critters get in and add some water from time to time to keep it "cooking".

I have to say, the plants just loooove it! We put it in the veggie garden at the start of spring and add topsoil over it and also use it around our citrus and fruit trees.

As several posters have pointed out, manure is "hot" so you never want to plant directly in it. Turn it into your beds before planting or sprinkle sparingly around topsoil on established trees and water in thoroughly.

Oh and here's a pic of some of the tomatoes that got the "special chicken compost treatment!

Very interesting discussion. I'm beginning to wonder if Mr. Singh's aversion to manure is cultural. The salt issue is real, for sure, but for containers and raised beds it shouldn't be an issue. My folks used both chicken and cow manure and my mom had a garden to die for. No irrigation, just whatever rain came down. Of course, this was in MS, so very different soil. No problem growing *anything*!

Keep in mind there is a cumulative affect. Salt can build up in soil over time when using animal waste.

Much of our soil contains minerals and salts. Our Arizona water is hard, which means it contains disolved minerals and salts. http://phoenix.gov/waterservices/wrc/yourwater/salinity/index.html
Adding manure, (even composted manure),which is a great source of nutrients, is also another source of salt. Which is why I rarely use it myself.

Every year I do the same thing about Jan.
I put steer manurae on everything, under the fruit trees, grapes, roses, in the raised garden beds, on the lawn. I now have earth worms every where. This is the cheap stuff from Walmart. It works great for me. Some of you have seen the onions, apricots, tomato plants and roses I grow, not bad for .98 cents per bag.

15 bucks a bag seems high to me.

I thought he said it's .98 per bag?

Every year when?

About Jan.