I can't Get Cow, Horse, or chicken Poop...

When I lived in Montana it was easy to get Horse, Cow and Chicken poop to fertilize gardens with. Now that I am in Queens, New York City...I am at a bit of a loss. Is there a good commercial fertilizer I can use on my flowers that won't damage my soil. I read that some fertilizers can hurt my soil...or is that an Urban Myth? I know my plants are way too young to feed...but I thought later in the season I may need some. I don't think this soil is all that rich, but I may be wrong.

I appreciate any information you can give me!

After trying several types of "cow manure" that were mostly sand, I tried Black Kow and it's much better than the others. It comes in a bright yellow bag with black print on it and I get it at Lowe's. I'm sure other places sell it. It is composted and I've mixed it in with the soil from planting holes for my veggies and it's never burned them.

I can get Cow Poop at Lowe's???? I never knew that!!! I will have to go to Lowe's! I didn't think of bagged stuff! I used to get truck loads of the stuff. How bad is it for weeds????

Black Kow - the misspelling is intentional. Lowe's in TX carries Black Kow, I imagine it's absolutely fabulous for weeds, as in they'll LOVE it. I'd pull those weeds first.

LOL! If you meant 'does it contain weed seed?' - no, I don't believe it does.

PS: Editted to add this caveat - I'm not sure if Lowe's or Home Depot carries it here in TX - maybe both. Perhaps someone else knows for certain. Do you have one of these big box stores near you in NYC?

This message was edited May 12, 2009 6:16 PM

We have Lowe's and Home Depot. HD is closer to my home,,,that is where I bought my flowers! Wait until I tell my brother to drive me to HD for some Black Kow!!!! He will freak!!!

Kool!

ROFL CarolynH, I do have some non-gardening friends who think I'm a bit nuts for saving veggie scraps in a bowl for my compost, buying composted cow manure, etc. BUT, they all LOVE to come over for a cookout and help us eat the veggies I grow with all the "icky stuff" :-}

Just a thought from the peanut gallery, as far as I know NYPD still uses mounted officers and you can take carriage rides around central park. Those horses go somewhere and they are stabled. Maybe if you contact these sources you could get some of thier leavings when you need it. If you ask real nice they might even deliver?

You are evil, gcorrier....truly evil. Love it!

What? Why pay for a bag of something someone else would like to get rid of as quickly as they can! NYC has a zoo does it not? He He He, they've got a wide range of sources, sizes etc. ;-)

Yeah, those sizes would be great--monkey droppings small gardens, elephant dung for large, LOL!

I do not think you can use carnivore poop in a garden, otherwise everyone would use their dog and cat poop and throw away the horse stuff....

Fresh Horse poop would be bad on my flowers!!!!!! I have nowhere to age it.

This message was edited May 13, 2009 5:01 PM

CarolynH, I would almost bet if you contact the NYPD and let them know what you are doing they will let you have some. Most stables keep an aged pile here for spreading and planting hay fields. I would bet NYPD has one large well aged compost area near thier stables. Our local zoo has a large compost area also for keeping thier flower beds up. Let them know you are just trying to do your part to beutify the city and they'll probably let you have all you can carry off. What have you got to loose? A few minutes on the phone or a trip to the zoo. Not a bad trade for some free, definitely organic fertilizer.