When I walked Beano this morning we followed, at a safe distance, a couple of horses, there are a lot of stables around here. This brought back memories for me of staying in Cliftonville near Margate with my grandmother, we stayed with her sister Ivy.
ivy had a beautiful garden full of roses, her house was on a road that the seaside donkeys walked along to get to the beach. Every morning we all stood in the front room, each of us clutching a small spade and a canvas bag, watching for the donkeys.
As soon as they'd walked past we'd all rush out with our spades and bags and start collecting the donkey droppings. We had to be quick as there was great competition between the neighbours who all wanted to collect this gardeners gold.
10 comments:
That's something I have never done! Or would never even think to do! :)
My Dad used to tease my Sister by saying he would send her out to do that every time a horse came down our street. It used to send her virtually hysterical. I don't know what he would have done if she had said "Yes, where's the bucket?"
We used to collect the horse manure whenever gypsies' horses or the rag and bone man came down our street in Kent when I was growing up. Hated doing it! Gran used to say "got some manure for the rhubarb today" and Grandad would say "I'd rather have custard, thanks" Audrey, Aotearoa/New Zealand
That's a riot. I'm sure the droppings helped with the produce from many vegetable plots!
Yes, when I was little, the people with gardens would collect the horse manure from behind the rag man's cart, for the rhubarb or the roses! If you had a jam jar he'd give you a ride along the street. 😅 They'd think you were mad if you suggested such a thing now!
I remember my mum saying that she and her siblings had to go out with their father (who was a keen gardener) to shovel up the droppings from the rag and bone man's horse. It seemed to be a common practice years ago.
My sister told me when she was little our Dad did the same, it was a race between him and the next door neighbour. Both keen gardeners apparently.🤣
On the allotment one had a bucket, and a bit of privacy, with no stinging nettles, behind the compost bins. Very useful liquid for activating weeds into compost.
My Nana used to dash out with a shovel to scoop up the rag and bone man's horses droppings ... if the neighbour hadn't beaten her to it.
I can't remember when I last saw a rag and bone man - but I can still remember his call "RagBone". Goodness knows if he was given Bones???
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