Hunting Manure to Fertilize Your Garden

Hunting manure to fertilizer your garden can either be really easy or it can be a little more difficult. But before you strike out to hunt down any manure, it would be a good idea to actually know what you are looking for, wouldn't it? There are many types of mature out there in that big old world. There is the pure manure, you know, the manure that is just manure and nothing else. There is also the not so pure manure, which is the manure that has the animal's bedding that supplied the manure. While either type of manure will do a garden good, the best type is the one with the bedding mixed into it because it will contain more of the necessary nutrients and soil amendments that, when added to the garden spot, will be beneficial. Unfortunately, the manure that has bedding in it is not the manure that is sold in bags at stores most of the time. This type of manure will have to come directly from the source. So this is where the hunting of the elusive manure for your garden will actually begin.

A good place to start looking for "home-grown" manure is the local feed store. The customers that feed stores have are usually the same ones who will have the manure you are looking for. Feed store customers are usually those folks who raise cattle, horses, dogs, hogs, sheep, chickens, goats and other animals. All of these animals produce manure and quite often the people who raise these animals will have pens that the animals are kept in, thus leading to manure that has to go somewhere. Usually the animal owners will gladly part with this manure, but you may have to be willing and ready to collect it yourself. That means bring a shovel and dig in.

Other places that can often help with the manure hunt are veterinarian clinics that specialize in large animals, police departments that have mounted officers, colleges and universities that have veterinary programs or agriculture programs and even pet stores may be able to help. But if you get your manure from a pet store, try not to get shavings or bedding from animals that eat meat, that manure is not really good for a garden. Zoos and wildlife parks are also good places to hunt manure because they are like everyone else that cares for animals, their manure has to go somewhere too.

Hunting manure may not be as much fun as gathering the garden, but gardeners know that manure is an important part of a successful garden. Fortunately in most cases, getting manure does not cost a lot, usually just a little sweat equity and maybe a long, hot shower when the manure has been put into its place.