How to prepare horn manure
How to prepare horn manure
Horn manure, known as preparation 500 in biodynamics, is obtained by filling a cow horn that has calved at least once with cow manure. The horn is filled with fresh manure in early autumn and buried until spring in a green area of a field or vegetable garden.
The contents are taken out of the horn and stored in a cool place in a container surrounded by peat.
Preparation 500 is sprayed on fields preferably at the beginning of the growing season of the crops, on fields that have not yet been worked or have recently been rotated. Throughout the year, it is used immediately before planting or potting, or during planting or planting.
Here is a procedure for preparing horn manure:
The preparation of the horn manure takes place in the autumn period as the manure produced by cattle feeding in the summer meadows, possibly biodynamic and composed of a combination of forage crops, is the most suitable and of the best quality.
As soon as it has been collected, fresh cow manure must be inserted into the horn of a cow that has calved at least once.
At this point, a fertile and well-exposed place will be chosen to bury the horn until late spring, when it can finally be dug up and emptied.
The horn manure, which must be buried at about 80 cm, is not afraid of frost during the winter months, on the contrary the low temperatures stimulate the production of humic substance, nevertheless in case of heavy rains it is advisable to cover the site with a biodegradable sheet.
Mature horn manure that has been buried for at least six months will have a significantly reduced volume, dark colour, fresh, moist and soft appearance, with a colloidal consistency and no manure odor.
The horn manure is stored in a box preferably made of copper placed inside another larger container of solid wood, insulated with dry blond peat. The containers must be placed in a dark, dry and ventilated place, making sure that the peat, whose thickness will be 10 cm per side, never comes into contact with the preparation.
It is important to note that preparing horn manure takes time and patience. If you can’t make your own, you can purchase corn manure from suppliers who specialize in organic farming products.