ah, i was about to post a related question.
we have access to a 4 ton heap of sheep manure/bedding that we’re told has been sitting there for 2 years. the top and bottom are nice and crumbly (top is covered in nettles) but the whole heap is sodden wet and with no heat being generated, and the middle 3 feet are unrotted, strawy and slimy. there are loads of worms in it though.
so would it be ok to spread it 6″s thick on top of our pasture (thick grasses, some buttercups, docks, thistles) without cardboard underneath if we don’t plant in it til spring? it would be great not to have to bother with the cardboard.
we have started moving it in rubble bags (no access to tractor!) which means that it is ending up in its new heap in wet, probably quite airless clods about 1/3 the size of a rubble bag. i find it hard to picture how much will be left after we make our 6″ deep beds, but if there is lots – should we turn/treat the heap in some way to help it rot down, or will we have turned it sufficiently in the moving process?
also i should cover the heap asap to keep out further rain?