Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →

How to Compost Horse Manure in a Composting Tumbler

If you own horses, you are aware of the volume of waste they produce each day. If not managed properly, this waste can affect the health of the horses and the environment of your property. Horse manure can be a beneficial ingredient in making compost. Use a composting tumbler to process horse manure, then apply this quality compost to your flower and vegetable gardens.

Place the brown compost ingredients in the composting tumbler. Add approximately 6 inches of dry leaves or sawdust to the compost bin. Saturate this layer with water.

  • If you own horses, you are aware of the volume of waste they produce each day.
  • Use a composting tumbler to process horse manure, then apply this quality compost to your flower and vegetable gardens.

Add the green compost ingredients--garden waste and lawn clippings--with 2 inches of horse manure. Mix this layer in with the brown layer and saturate the layer with water.

Continue adding a brown ingredient layer and a green ingredient layer until the composting tumbler is full. Mix each layer as you add it and saturate each layer with water.

Close the compost bin and tumble it several times to finish mixing the ingredients. Leave the compost undisturbed for three days.

Open the compost tumbler after three days and insert the temperature gauge into the center of the compost. If the temperature is between 140 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit, turn the compost bin once. Turning the compost bin cools the compost, and then it reheats again. Close the compost bin and wait three more days.

  • Add the green compost ingredients--garden waste and lawn clippings--with 2 inches of horse manure.
  • Open the compost tumbler after three days and insert the temperature gauge into the center of the compost.

Repeat Step 5 two more times to finish heating the compost. After the third and final turning, allow the compost to sit and cure undisturbed for two months.

Check the compost after two months to see if it is ready to use. If the compost is dark-colored, smells earthy and is crumbly, it is ready for you to use.

Tip

The heating period kills harmful pathogens and the curing period is the time when the compost breaks down and forms for use.

Warning

Do not allow the compost temperature to go above 160 degrees during the heating process because valuable bacteria die. If the temperature rises above 150 degrees, turn the compost bin several times to cool it down.

Related Articles

How to Heat a Greenhouse With Compost
How to Heat a Greenhouse With Compost
How to Compost Bat Guano
How to Compost Bat Guano
How to Grow Crimini Mushrooms
How to Grow Crimini Mushrooms
How to Compost Sawdust
How to Compost Sawdust
How to Make Oak Leaf Compost
How to Make Oak Leaf Compost
How to Compost Walnut Leaves
How to Compost Walnut Leaves
How to Compost Apples
How to Compost Apples
How to Compost Pond Algae
How to Compost Pond Algae
Garden Guides
×