How to Lay Animal Manure for Your Home Garden Needs

Manure offers nutritional benefits to your lawn and garden plants, including ornamental and edible plants. Laying manure in your garden or lawn area lets you take advantage of these benefits for the health of your plants. It also serves as a wonderful way to recycle the waste produced by your own horses, goats, cattle and even rabbits. Animal manure varies in the amount of nutrients it possesses, but the vital compounds include nitrogen and phosphorous.

• Shovel
• Rake

Step 1

Break apart the topsoil by digging up to 1 foot deep with your shovel. Chop at it with the shovel if hard clumps are present.

Step 2

Cover the area with a 4- to 6-inch layer of fresh manure. Sometimes manure is hard and clumpy, so use the shovel to break apart the pieces. This blends it in with the topsoil.

Step 3

Rake the area with a stiff garden rake to further aerate the area. This also blends the soil and manure.

Step 4

Layer your freshly lain manure with sod chunks, garden soil or your choice of garden implements.