Black Kow manure drying out too fast

[Kallie]

Black Kow manure is suppose to be top quality at the local hardware stores yet it is not. It looked great and moist in the bag but when I have top dressed my garden containers Ive noticed the manure is no different than the potting mix I had. All it does it dry out, I assumed it would be rich and black and stay moist.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Chuck]

Black Kow is top quality. Of course it will dry out. If it didn't it would be a sticky smelly mess. It is COMPOSTED manure not fresh cowpatties. It is supposed to dry out. If you want that dark look all the time use a colored mulch. Black Kow is used for its nutritional value not its looks.

 

[marlingardener]

I always scratch Black Kow into the soil, but I don't use it in containers, just the vegetable garden. Give it a try as a gentle fertilizer, and put something on top of the container soil that is intended as a mulch.
Black Kow is what I use when I run out of the brown/Angus/whiteface manure from the next field over!

 

[InvasiveCreeper]

Black Kow manure is suppose to be top quality ...

It's not even OMRI listed. I wouldn't trust using it.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

I think it's supposed to do that? I have lots of relatives that go with the gardening thing, and one of them use that to tend to her plants. They look... like dried cake, but she said it's normal and that's their purpose, because it's not "fresh manure", it's a processed one. I think if you look at your plants as evidence, you will see what your manure is actually doing. They grow bigger than normal, so that means your fertilizer is working and worth it, am I right?

 

[DirtMechanic]

Miracle Kow. Put it out in the fall and enjoy the results in the spring.

 

[TomatoTango]

Use some straw over the manure. It’s cheap and it’ll hold moisture while letting the manure breakdown.

 

[jonereb]

I've used Black Kow to amend my soil, not as a mulch.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I've used Black Kow to amend my soil, not as a mulch.

Our UK cousins on the site can describe the history of placing manure about the palace grounds. Interestingly historical poo stories. The grass is fantastic though, which is of course the point.