Rocks in Steer Compost?

NeuroticPurpleOrchid on 5/12/2011, 11:41 pm

Hi Everyone!

New to the forum, 2nd year of SFG.
Been lurking a LONG time.

I am fixing up Mel's Mix for this year's new boxes and I noticed a lot of pebbles and small rocks in my Whitney Farms Steer manure compost. Do cows eat rocks? What the heck?

Furbalsmom on 5/13/2011, 1:14 am

Purple Orchid
How wonderful to have you join us. What region or state are you in?
Glad you quite lurking and decided to post. Truly enjoy having a SFG with some experience join our group.

As to Whitney Farms Steer Manure having rocks, I have not seen that. I have been pleased with the several varieites of the Whitney Farms composted products that I have used. If you have not used it yet, contact the merchant about returning it, or sift the composted manure thru a 1/4 inch hardware cloth screen. I really hate rocks in my garden.

Please let us know how your garden is doing and if you would share pictures, we would like that a lot.

NeuroticPurpleOrchid on 5/13/2011, 9:13 am

Hmmm. Well I haven't had any other problems with their products either that's why I was so curious.

I am in Eastern Washington state, near Spokane.

Thanks for the tidbit of sifting it. Smile

Garden isn't too far along this year, I will see about posting pics when it's at least all planted. Smile

Thanks for the welcome. Smile

**WardinWake** on 5/14/2011, 4:24 am

NeuroticPurpleOrchid wrote:Hi Everyone!

New to the forum, 2nd year of SFG.
Been lurking a LONG time.

I am fixing up Mel's Mix for this year's new boxes and I noticed a lot of pebbles and small rocks in my Whitney Farms Steer manure compost. Do cows eat rocks? What the heck?

!

Howdy Orchid:

A most hardy welcome to the SFG Forum. Usually places that make and bag compost use front end loaders to scoop the compost into their bagging hoppers. I expect that the loader scooped a little to close to the ground and got some of the underlying soil/rocks in that scoop and you got some of it in your bag of compost. Either that or the same thing could have happened when the truck was loaded at the farm.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

Old Hippie on 5/14/2011, 7:06 am

So happy to have you join us Purple Orchid!

It is nice that you decided to stop lurking and introduce yourself to us. Any SF gardener is always welcome but it is great to have a few more with some experience at it. I am sure you will have some tips and suggestions we could all benefit from, so don't be a stranger here.

I think Ward is probably right about how the rocks got in your compost. At least it sounds a bit more plausible than cows eating rocks. LOL! My screen has 1/2 inch hardware cloth on it and I find that catches most everything for me. DH made it to fit on top of the wheelbarrow for me and it works like a charm.

Best of luck.

Gwynn

Lavender Debs on 5/14/2011, 7:46 am

NeuroticPurpleOrchid wrote:snip...."Do cows eat rocks? ....

They will eat just about anything. They stand on rocks when they... um, …you are a farmer now, you know what lands on the rocks they are standing on. The rest is as Ward says, though I hear that Monsanto is working on a bio-engineered bovine that discharges pre-bagged, market ready soil enhancement.

Debs from western Washington......welcome from the shadows of lurker land!

Rocks in Steer Compost?

Rocks in Steer Compost?

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