OKieG, some manures are too rich and will burn plants, but otherwise that's a great way to plant and your dad knew what he was doing. When I was raising rabbits, I let the manure dry, then ran it through the little chipper/shredder which made it almost a powder and did the same thing with that. I don't know of a better fertilizer than rabbit manure; won't burn plants and you don't have to worry about using too much. One year when my clay wouldn't till right, too many big hard clods, I planted 48 tomato plants (a dozen each of 4 varieties) just as you said and after harvesting an estimated 1,500 pounds and when we simply had no use for anymore, I mowed them down even though they were still producing great.