What Vegetables Can Be Planted in Horse Manure?

Horse manure makes an excellent organic fertilizer, as it is high in valuable nutrients. Horse manure should be well rotted for a year or more before being added to the growing area. Fresh manure is too strong, even in small quantities, and can burn and damage plants. Fresh horse manure can also cause deformities in vegetable plants and can cause or encourage disease. Horse manure should be dug into the soil at least six weeks before planting. This allows the nutrients in the horse manure to disperse evenly into the soil.

Beans, Peas and Sweet Corn

Beans, peas and sweet corn will all benefit from being planted in earth prepared with horse manure. When planting out bean, pea and sweet corn seedlings, you can add another thin layer of manure to the bottom of your planting trench. As the roots of the seedlings develop and mature they will anchor into the manure, gaining valuable additional nutrients. These plants should not be given a top dressing of horse manure at any point as it will cause damage. To give additional fertilizer, it is possible to use the manure to make your own liquid feed. Fill a container with water, then take a porous sack (like a hessian potato sack) and fill with manure. Stand the sack in the container of water and leave for two weeks. The nutrients from the manure leach into the water, giving you a liquid fertilizer. The liquid feed must be diluted to roughly one part feed to 10 parts water. This feed can be used once every two weeks.

Squashes, Zucchini and Gourds

Squashes, zucchini and gourds are all "heavy feeders," meaning that they require large amounts of nutrients to achieve average and high yields. When planting your young plants into the ground (once they have three true leaves) add a spadeful of manure into the bottom of the hole. As with beans, peas and sweet corn, manure-infused water can be used as a diluted organic liquid feed every two weeks. Because squashes, zucchini and gourds are such heavy feeders, a top dressing of well rotted horse manure may be added every six to eight weeks. The manure should be placed around the base of the plants, but should not touch any part of the plant as this may cause burning. Winter squashes generally produce larger fruits and therefore require more nutrients than varieties that produce smaller fruits. Top dressings of horse manure for these types of plants may be added every four to six weeks

Onions and Shallots

Onion sets, onion plants, salad onions and shallots all benefit from being planted in ground prepared with aged horse manure. When ready to harvest, the bulbs will be bigger and the stems thicker. Do not add any top dressings, as damage may occur, and giving onions and shallots too much fertilizer of any type may cause the plants to bolt (seed prematurely). Diluted liquid manure feed may be used once every four to six weeks.