Manure Primer
- karinlum
- Sep 26
- 4 min read
An Easy Guide to Using Animal Manure in Your Garden
Gardeners have turned to animal manure for millennia to feed soils and boost plant health. This guide breaks down how manure works, which plants to avoid it on, matching plants with the right manure, timing your application, and common manure types with typical NPK values.
Why Use Animal Manure?
Animal manure is more than just “poop”—it’s a living, breathing soil amendment that:
Supplies key nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) slowly over time
Adds organic matter to improve soil structure, water retention, and aeration
Feeds beneficial soil microbes that cycle nutrients and suppress diseases
Recycles farm or backyard waste into a sustainable fertilizer source
By incorporating manure into your garden, you build healthier, more resilient soil.
Which Plants Don’t Like Manure?
Not every plant thrives on a heavy dose of manure. Over-application or “hot” fresh manures can burn roots, promote leggy growth, or cause deformities. Even well-aged manure may not be optimal for some crops.
Root Vegetables
Carrots, beets, parsnips, radishes, potatoes
Prefer leaner soils; too much nitrogen leads to forked or stunted roots
Fruiting Vegetables
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers
Excessive nitrogen encourages foliage at the expense of flowers and fruit
Acid-Loving Plants
Blueberries
Sensitive to alkaline manures (e.g., poultry manure can raise pH)
Matching Plants with Manure Types
Different manures vary in nutrient profile, moisture, and pH impact. Here’s how to pair them with garden favourites:
Leafy greens & heavy feeders (lettuce, corn, brassicas): composted chicken manure
Root crops (carrots, beets): well-rotted sheep or goat manure
Fruit trees & shrubs: aged horse or cow manure
Flower beds: rabbit or sheep manure
Lawns: cow manure or composted poultry manure for steady nitrogen release
When to Apply Manure
Timing ensures nutrients are available when plants need them and minimizes losses:
Fall (after harvest): Incorporate well-rotted or composted manure to break down over winter, improving spring soil fertility
Early Spring (pre-planting): Spread aged manure 2–4 weeks before planting to feed emerging roots
Side-Dressing (mid-season): Gently work composted manure around heavy feeders like tomatoes for a nutrient boost
Avoid fresh manure in summer on new seedlings—high ammonia levels can cause fertilizer burn
Organic standards also recommend raw manure be applied at least 120 days before harvesting leafy crops and 90 days before harvesting fruiting crops to reduce pathogen risk.
Types of Animal Manure & Typical NPK Profiles
Manure Type (Form) | Nitrogen (N) | Phosphorus (P or P₂O₅) | Potassium (K or K₂O) |
Fresh Cow Manure | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
Dried Cow Manure | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.4% |
Fresh Sheep Manure | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.9% |
Dried Sheep Manure | 4.0% | 1.4% | 3.5% |
Fresh Chicken Manure | 1.1% | 0.8% | 0.5% |
Fresh Horse Manure | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
Fresh Rabbit Manure | 2.4% | 1.4% | 0.6% |
Fresh Goat Manure | 1.5% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
These values are averages—actual nutrient content varies with animal diet, bedding materials, and manure handling practices.
Tips for Safe & Effective Manure Use
Always age or compost “hot” manures (chicken, fresh cow, horse) for several months before use. Hot manure is not permitted in our gardens.
Wear gloves and avoid inhaling dust when handling manure.
Test your soil pH before heavy applications—some manures can raise pH over time.
Incorporate manure into soil rather than piling on the surface to reduce runoff and odours.
Store unused manure in a covered, dry area to prevent nutrient leaching.
Beyond manure, you might explore:
Green Manures & Cover Crops: Growing legumes or grains to plow back into soil for nitrogen and organic matter.
Lasagne Gardening: No-till method that creates a layer of nutrient-rich soil from composted garden waste.
Vermicompost: Harnessing worms to produce a nutrient-dense castings for potted plants and seed starting.
Compost Teas: Brewing aerated teas from compost or manure for foliar feeding and soil microbial inoculation.
Crop Rotation & Diversity: Planning plant families to balance nutrient demands and reduce disease pressures.
Soil Testing Kits: Regularly monitoring NPK, pH, and micronutrients to fine-tune amendments and maximize growth.
Nutrient Functions by Plant Part
Understanding where each nutrient acts in the plant helps you target deficiencies and optimize growth.
Major Macronutrients (N, P, K)
Nitrogen (N)
Leaf and Stem Growth: essential for chlorophyll formation and amino acids, driving lush leaf development and shoot elongation.
Phosphorus (P)
Root Development: fuels energy transfer (ATP), promoting strong, extensive root systems.
Flower & Seed Formation: supports bud initiation, pollen viability, and seed development.
Potassium (K)
Fruit Quality & Size: enhances sugar translocation, color, and shelf life of fruits.
Water Regulation & Stomatal Control: regulates osmotic balance, improves drought tolerance, and manages stomatal opening/closing.
Stem Strength & Disease Resistance: reinforces cell walls to reduce lodging and boost resilience against pathogens.
Secondary Macronutrients
Calcium (Ca)
Cell Wall Integrity: stabilizes pectin in walls, critical at growing root and shoot tips.
Meristematic Growth: required for cell division in apical tissues and root hairs.
Magnesium (Mg)
Chlorophyll Core: central atom in chlorophyll molecules, vital for photosynthesis in leaves.
Sulfur (S)
Protein & Enzyme Synthesis: component of amino acids (cysteine, methionine), crucial in seeds and new tissues.
Root Development & Nodulation: stimulates root growth and nodule formation in legumes.
Micronutrients
Although needed in trace amounts, these elements play outsized roles in specific plant parts:
Iron (Fe): chlorophyll synthesis in leaves; prevents yellowing between veins.
Manganese (Mn): activates photosynthetic and respiratory enzymes in leaf cells.
Zinc (Zn): regulates auxin (growth hormone) production at shoot tips.
Boron (B): critical for cell wall formation and pollen tube growth in flowers.
Copper (Cu): involved in lignin formation, strengthening stems and vascular tissue.
Molybdenum (Mo): required for nitrogen fixation and reduction in legume root nodules.
Chlorine (Cl): aids osmosis and photosynthetic reactions in leaf vacuoles.
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