Faha Sir

I am trying to rehab my backyard this year and had to have a large section of it excavated to fix some grading/drainage issue. However, that took out all the grass that was there before and the ground is currently fallow/bare. I am worried what will happen if I leave the ground as is through the winter - I am right in between Zone 4/Zone 5, so we'll typically have at least 3-4 months where there will be snow on the ground. With that being the case, I am wondering if there is anything I can plant there that will grow this year?

I also have some Kentucky Blue Grass seed that I could use but I think it's too late for seeding grass in my zone.

Walt Chase wrote:When I lived in N GA, I would cover my whole garden with fresh out of the next door neighbors barn horse manure. It was mixed with shavings.  I'd put that and my fall leaves from the yard on and till it all in.  By spring it was all composted on it's own and ready to plant in.  Beware that red clay will eat all the organic matter you can feed it and come back for more.

I thought tilling is generally looked down upon, as it destroys whatever bacterial/fungi life that's present in the soil?

elle sagenev wrote:It's SO DRY in my zone 5 area that it takes a very very long time. Years.

I am right in between Zone 4/Zone 5, so this is a little concerning to hear. When you say dry, is it the lack of moisture in the air that's the issue?

John Indaburgh wrote: Looking at the soil after a year of gardening it's my opinion that the soil still needs more organic matter other than manure. So compost or chopped leaves would help.

Would coffee grounds be a good addition along with the manure? I am trying to find compost here but most places only do large orders and it's fairly expensive. But I was able to call up our local Starbucks and they said they would hold their coffee grounds.

Ben Knofe wrote:I would say yes to all questions. I would not top it with soil but lightly mix it with the top soil, then cover it either with mulch or green manure and you should be good to go after winter.

Wouldn't the soil (if I were to top it) act as mulch or mulch like? The reason I was thinking of putting a couple inches of soil on top was to reduce the odors.

Mike Barkley wrote:You can plant directly into fresh horse manure. There is no need to decompose it first. If you're going to mix it or add soil on top I suggest doing it before winter.

Any particular reason to do it before winter?

Hello Friends!

I have a couple questions about improving my soil:

1) How long does fresh horse manure take to decompose if I just mix it in to the soil directly? Or cover it with a couple inches of soil on top?

I am in USDA Zone 4 and am working on improving my rock hard clay soil. Unfortunately, I can't do a compost pile to let the manure age but I am wondering if it would be OK to just dump a pile of manure and cover with a couple inches of soil and grass clipping, etc. It'll be Winter in a month or so, nothing will grow anyway and it'll be covered by snow for a couple of month. But would it decompose in those conditions? And will it decompose enough by Spring/early Summer for me to plant some vegetables?

2) If the above is do-able, could I then plant some cover crops on top of the compost/soil that I can then till into the soil next year?