we fenced in a rectangle on three and a half sides with cheap metal trellis
( like the stuff you put in concrete foundations) and metal posts around 5
feet high, opening facing away from the house, put some annual climbers against
it to grow & flower and planted a little hedge around it that will
eventually reach the top of the fence
didn't bother to concrete the ground or anything, we have fairly sandy soil
that is stable enough
the trellis keeps the manure in so you can pile it up quite high, and once
a year or so we have our neighbours with veg patches come over & serve
themselves to empty the pile ( we just shovel it into a dumping trailer) - in
exchange we get free veg too! We have 5 horses
a tightly stacked pile that is kept moist will compost very quickly, no
need for turning etc
ideally find a spot where the wind won't blow the smell towards your house
though (next to stables?)
looks great - better actually than most of the garden sigh...
best thing we ever did was to invest in rubber matting for the stables - no
need for bedding and a HUGE reduction in manure
Pauline
ps a friend of mine spreads her manure from her 1 horse over a larger area
at the back of the paddock and when it's dry she burns it in an
incinerator
We have 7 acres, of which we
would like to fence off about 1 acre in the woods and 1 acre on the
lawn. For now anyway, there will only be one horse, and that one will
be there only 3 seasons AT MOST.
Our house is a modern and "dressy"
style, our driveway is paved, and in various other ways we are NOT set up
like a mini farm. I cannot figure out what we're going to do with the
manure! There isn't anywhere I can think of where a manure pile would
be hidden from view and yet accessible by any sort of vehicle that would be
able to haul manure away. I know it'll probably only be one horse (at
least for now) but we all know IT ADDS UP!!
I can't even think of a good
place for a dumpster... not that I really want to pay for one! And yes,
I did think of composting, but we haven't got any sort of heavy equipment to
use for turning it over and I just can't see us in there with
shovels.
Thoughts, comments, ideas? Anyone in a similar situation
who has come up with a creative solution?
