composting
 

i have horses and so have alot of horse manure. i have been composting a pile of manure and bedding straw all summer. i also have a worm bed which i put kitchen waste, manure, leaves and such in for the worms to eat. i plan on tilling these in to my soil for my winter garden and then also for next years tom's. does this sound like a good idea? should i get the soil tested? i live in southern ca. thanks

It sounds like a wonderful idea!:D Composting it for several months befoe putting it on the garden is good practice. The horse manure and worm castings will provide good organic matter to your soil. If you think you might be deficient in something--first time gardening in that spot? Ever had the soil tested there? Tell us about your garden plot--if you think something might be out of whack then a soil test is good to have. It's good to have anyway, just for reference. How many horses? How thickly will you be able to spread it on your garden before tilling?

just spread my compost pile out yesterday and was about 6" deep all over area to be gardened. i turned over about 4'x6' of space where i will plant some winter plants. i am thinking spinach, lettuce, cabbage and maybe some beets.