Using fresh cow manure in my soil mix

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CowManPat

Member
Hello everyone, this is my first post/thread so a big hello to everyone here.


I have a quick question about using fresh cow shit in my soil mix.. Sadly I added fresh shit to my mix before googling and finding out this is not a good idea.

So here's my mix:

50L of BioBizz light soil
30L of Perlite

and

25L~ or so of fresh cow shit

Now for a bit of background on the shit, I picked it up from the cow pen fresh, as in some of it was still warm (I used gloves) and then mixed it in directly with my soil/perlite. The cows have been in the pen for a few months so I'm hoping there aren't any weed seeds in there since there isn't any in their feed, but I don't know.

So how badly have I fucked up? I was planning on planting my seeds directly in the soil tomorrow, but now I'm having second thoughts having read some threads saying it needs to be composted for a period of time (months/years?) or it will be too "hot" for them.

I was thinking maybe getting another bag of soil tomorrow morning and creating a 'well' inside my pots with just the new soil so the seedling wont reach the cow manure parts until it gets bigger?

Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
C

CowManPat

Member
Ahh that really sucks :(

What if I add another 50L of soil to the mix? So the fresh cow manure is like 10-15% of the total mix? Would that work?
 
C

CC Dobbs

Well-Known Member
You should start your seeds in some un-amended potting soil and let the poo soil sit for a while and decompose. It seems to me the ratio you chosen is very rich and may not decompose aerobically unless you amend it with some woody potting soil or stir it often. It will be very nice to grow in after it has aged a bit.
 
C

CowManPat

Member
Thanks for the reply, really appreciated.

The problem is I've got autoflowers and I read it's a bad idea to transplant them as the shock will stunt their growth, otherwise I could start them in some new soil in smaller pots and then put them in big pots with the decomposed mix.

It also sucks that I can't find any Perlite in my local gardening shops, the 30L I had I ordered online and it took over a week to arrive.
 
C

CowManPat

Member
Ok, I got a plan but I need to be told whether it's a good idea or completely retarded.

What if I wet my soil/perlite/manure mix then lay it out in my 1m x 1m grow tent with my 400W HPS on 24/7.. Then every day or two toss it around a bit, then once it's dry wet it again. If I did this for 2 weeks would my soil be alright to use?
 
SPLFreak808

SPLFreak808

Well-Known Member
CowManPat said:
Ok, I got a plan but I need to be told whether it's a good idea or completely retarded.

What if I wet my soil/perlite/manure mix then lay it out in my 1m x 1m grow tent with my 400W HPS on 24/7.. Then every day or two toss it around a bit, then once it's dry wet it again. If I did this for 2 weeks would my soil be alright to use?
Click to expand...
Just cook the damn thing for a month and use it for a transplant. The cow shit was warm lol at 1/3 it needs to be cooked 3-4 weeks
 
C

CowManPat

Member
Man, I'm so pissed off right now. Spent the last month buying everything and setting shit up, then I ruined my soil because I assumed fresh shit would work fine. I really wanted to germinate my seeds tonight and put them in pots tomorrow, but it looks like that's not happening now. :(

I don't know what to do, I really don't want to transplant them since autos don't like it but I know if I plant them in my mix they're going to suffer.
 
C

CowManPat

Member
Is there any way to speed compost? Like maybe wet it and put it in plastic bags in my grow room with the light on for a few days?

What about if I rinse off my mix with warm water over and over? Would that do anything?
 
Last edited:
darkzero

darkzero

Well-Known Member
Let it sit for a month in meantime use unamended soil to start seeds in like pro mix ultimate organic from menards, or roots organic, or coconut Coir
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Fresh cow manure will still be hot in 30 days. Start over or don't start,no refunds on stupid. Should be ok by summer.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Any cheap mix is better than burning things totally up. Always error on the light side with our favorite plant. Light on mix, start light on nutes, light on watering and all the light you can get to the buds.
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
CowManPat said:
Ok, I got a plan but I need to be told whether it's a good idea or completely retarded.

What if I wet my soil/perlite/manure mix then lay it out in my 1m x 1m grow tent with my 400W HPS on 24/7.. Then every day or two toss it around a bit, then once it's dry wet it again. If I did this for 2 weeks would my soil be alright to use?
Click to expand...
No, two weeks isn't long enough man.
Grandpa GreenJeans said:
Add Lactobacillus (EM1)
Click to expand...
you beat me to it.
Still though, not sure two weeks would be sufficient.
Also, a 2/1 ratio of soil to manure is INSANE...
even if you aged it, it'd burn the bejesus out of your plants.
Old hippy once told me, in regards to manures..
"plops are bad, pebbles are good"
plops are cow, horse, zoo animals etc.
pebbles are llama, rabbit, alpaca, deer, etc.
The difference is the pebbles are from animals that have a particular digestive attribute that essentially "composts" it for us already.
Whats that attribute, you ask?
I don't know.
extra stomach or a magic digestive fairy.. I'm not a farmer..
--advice for the OP---
get that biobizz, germ in one gallon pots, then in about 30 45 days, trans to the mix
BUT cut that with at least another 50l of soil..
a 2/1 ratio of soil to manure is waaaaaaay too hot.. composted or not
 
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