hi
one that could do them all? something multipurpose.
i have a couple horses so im assuming if piled up and left that this would make good compost?
what about kitchen waste etc?
also how long does it take and is there a way to quicken the process?
thanks eveyone
You can't grow seedlings in manure, well rotted or not - it's simply too full of nutrients. Building a pile of horse manure and letting it rot down will give you really good 'well rotted farmyard manure', not compost. This can be added to a base of garden compost for bigger plants, or dug in to your veg patch to feed the plants throughout the season. If your horses are bedded on straw, the manure will rot down quickly, but if they are bedded on wood shavings, decomposition is more of a problem - the rotting wood actually uses nitrogen to break down, so can't be used for a lot longer or it will rob your soil of nutrients rather than add them.
'Multipurpose compost' as bought in the garden centre is for use in both growing seedlings and larger plants, but its nutrients run out after six weeks, so it's not a long term growing medium, or something you add to a large area of ground to raise the fertility.
Compost made in a heap, of weeds, old plants, a bit of cut grass and maybe some guinea pig cleanings, will give you what is known as garden compost. This can be dug into the earth as with FYM, but is slightly less nutrient rich. It can also be used as a mulch around plants for a general nutrient boost, or a little mixed with sterilised loam and some peat or coir to make a medium for growing strong seedlings and young plants.
In practice, many people make a mixed 'compost heap' and use it for everything, but it is more effective if you use the right product for the right occasion. I can never make enough garden compost, so I like to use what I do have for a specific purpose.
I have in the past made my own seedling and young plant compost from a mix of sieved molehill soil, sand, peat, sieved garden compost, a little ash and some seaweed meal. I would add to this a small amount of FYM for growing plants longer term, or if I used artificial products I could add a pelleted fertiliser. For growing on brassicas I would add a little more ash, for legumes, tomatoes and so on, I would add a small amount of FYM. If using this mix I would also give frequent liquid feeds.
I don't grow anything much in containers, but keeping up sufficient nutrient levels in these is always a problem.
For growing in the ground, you would add garden compost and maybe chopped comfrey leaves for flowers, for fruit and veggies you would dig in FYM, except for carrots and that kind of root, which just goes in an area you manured the previous year.
There isn't really a 'one for all' quick fix - you need to modify and adapt a basic mix by adding what each plant type needs.