[Tilted Irish Kilt]

NorthstarMom :" We have a tree service company that gives us truck loads of wood chips,
we were hoping to find a source for manure but fertilizer is probably the way to go."

Chemical ertilizer is a 'controled' and 'known' commodity with predictable N/P/K nutients.
Remember that "Fresh Horse" and "Fresh chicken" manure are "HOT", and exceedingly high in Nitrogen, and require some ageing or composting.
Cow manure, wether aged or already composted, is a more balanced fertilizer , and is generally cheaper.
See if there are any farms around you. Generally , diary farms have an excess of manure that be had for little or no expense.
If you can transport it yourself, invest in a good tarp, and line a pick-up truck box (no cap) with the tarp.
After transporting manure , consider the tarp expendable or for further use in transporting manure as you will never get all the 'fragerance' out of it .
The older and drier the manure (horse/chicken/cow), it will be less fragerant, and more immediately usable in the garden.
Manure provides not only fertilizer (N/P/K) into the soil , but also will provide more fiber and ability to retain moisture in the soil, while providing micro-nutrients.

[PieterCasparzen]

I shoveled a pickup truck load or two of cow manure into our compost pile as a kid.

Little did I know just how excellent training it was for the rest of my life.

[piroque]

Manure=Ship high in transit

Helpful chart

Manure nutrient chart « on: February 01, 2010, 03:06:21 AM » ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Manure Type Dry Matter % Ammonium-N Total N P K ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Swine, no bedding 18 6 10 9 8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Swine, with bedding 18 5 6 7 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Beef, no bedding 52 7 21 14 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beef, with bedding 50 8 21 18 26 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dairy, no bedding 18 4 9 4 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dairy, with bedding 21 5 9 4 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sheep, no bedding 28 5 18 11 26 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sheep, with bedding 28 5 14 9 25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poultry, no litter 45 26 33 48 34 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poultry, with litter 75 36 56 45 34 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turkey, no litter 22 17 27 20 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turkey, with litter 29 13 20 16 13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Horse, with bedding 46 4 14 4 14 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poultry compost 45 1 17 39 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dairy, compost 45 <1 12 12 26 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mixed compost Dairy/Swine/Poultry 43 <1 11 11 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources: Livestock Waste Facilities Handbook 2nd edition 1985 « Last Edit: February 01, 2010, 03:08:07 AM by chuckga »

[piroque]

Meant to add the link :

http://thebayougardener.com/smf/index.php?topic=577.0

[NorthstarMom]

You are a wealth of information, thanks! We are sort of stumbling through the process of becoming more self sufficient. Having a large garden is our first step, I attempted canning tomatoes for the first time ever last year. We’ve used them all and no one got sick or died so I’m feeling a bit less intimidated about trying more types of food preservation. Thanks again, your advice is very helpful.