Turning horse poo into pumpkins – and eggs, and cash: ‘It’s amazing what you can grow on a muck heap!’
Meet the owner who has grown hundreds of pumpkins in her muck heaps over the years – some with pre-carved faces
Imagine if you could take your horses’ poo and turn it into pumpkins – with pre-carved faces – eggs and cash (indirectly) and better grazing.
That’s what Laura Ashmore from East Sussex has been doing for years.
Her vet Reuben Whittaker and practice manager Sarah Whittaker from RW Equine were so amazed by this year’s pumpkin crop, which they spotted on a recent visit, they shared pictures of it. H&H spoke to Laura to find out more.
“They literally all grew on the muck heap, and that’s a small number as I didn’t get round to planting as many as usual!” she said. “Over the years, I’ve grown hundreds. And I carve the faces in them when they’re growing, as well.”
Laura said she has been using her muck heap to grow pumpkins and squash for about four years.
“Someone suggested it and I thought ‘That’s a good idea’, as they’re really heavy feeders, and that’s just pure food, isn’t it?” she said.
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Laura said she uses fresh muck; she loads the heap until she can’t access it any more in the winter. She sows the seeds in February, in a greenhouse, then plants them out on the heap in May.
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“Or you can put them in as seeds, in late May or June, just literally put seeds in the muck heap and they’ll go,” she said. “You have to water them and stop the slugs getting them, then let them do their thing. It’s amazing.”
Laura sells her pumpkins, and other produce, on a stall outside her property. And of course autumn is key pumpkin-selling time.
“They mature at the right time, which is convenient,” she said, going on to explain the Halloween carving.
“If you cut a pumpkin when it’s still growing, it will heal itself, it’s quite a fascinating thing,” she said. “So previous years, I’ve carved faces and ‘Happy Halloween’. This year, my daughter wanted a vampire cat, and there’s a Minecraft one for her best friend.”
Laura added that the pumpkins also produce “the most fabulous compost”, and she spreads the muck on her fields to benefit her grazing, in a great example of sustainability.
“Not only am I turning the poo into food, any food left goes to the chickens, so I turn it into eggs too,” she said. “It’s a nice little cycle.
“And it’s just fun. I’ve always loved pumpkins, I just think they’re so cool. These massive, great big leaves appear, then you start looking under them, and it’s so exciting to see all the little fruits start growing.
“Most of what I grow is edible but I also grow the funky-looking gourds, as people like them and they’re fun.”
Laura has grown the pumpkins – she says sweetcorn, peas and beans also thrive planted the same way – in heaps of pure poo, and mixed with bedding, and both are effective.
“It’s amazing what you can grow on a muck heap!” she said. “I’ve never done anything special with my muck heaps, and they’ve been in different places as we’ve moved around.
“People look at me when I plant the pumpkins out in May and say ‘Do you really think they’re going to need that much space?’ And I say ‘Oh yes’. Then they take over the world!”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.