Manure-Mania

We returned to the dump on Sunday to get more manure for the garden. This time, we dug around for a better spot in the heap, and came across a spot where we could access the steaming hot composting manure in the middle. While perhaps this compost isn't completely finished, it seems that it's been hot enough for long enough to kill most nasties that would be living in it, and the dump seems to add sawdust and other carbonaceous matter to the heap from time to time to aid the process. We plan to dig it into the beds and let it sit for another month before we plant things.

Getting our manure from the dump means we have no way of knowing how long the compost has been aging, how hot it's been for how long, etc. On the other hand, it's not hard to tell the difference between raw and composted manure. I think the hot stuff is much more decomposed than the dry stuff we got close to the surface last time.