Topic: Manure?

[staris]

it's not easy trying to find out for definite whether manure is contaminated or not i'm still not sure about the pile i've got, it seemed to badly affect my broad beans but they have now recovered and look normal, i had some courgettes planted in it and they were completely normal, i've now grown some more beans in some manure to test it and they are not looking good  :(
i've now got to decide what to do with a 8 ton pile of it, i was advised to spread it on the beds and keep digging it over but i'm not sure i like the idea of that and i can't dispose of it there is to much.

[Eristic]

OK. I give up. No one wants to listen yet you are only suffering from a mere trial. The real problems start next spring then you will all be amazed, and make excuse after excuse... But will you listen? Nah.

I'll be all right because I now fully understand the beast, its strengths and weaknesses.

A local Council refused to deploy it because it was contaminated so plonkers pay privately to have it delivered anyway. If I may quote Victor Meldrew:

"I do not believe it".

[lushy86]

Eristic if you are referring to my post about the council I do not know where they sourced their manure and I doubt if it is from the same place as those who are buying are getting it from.  I went to the stables and got a trailer load for free!

Staris there is a thread about aminopyralid I just read in pests and diseases, it seems the supplier of the chemical is going to offer testing kits and if positive will remove the manure for you - check it out

Lushy x

[grannyjanny]

We were lucky enough to get 4 year old FYM this year & had enough to do all the beds except roots of course. We won't be as lucky again so had a chat & will not bother. We can't generate enough home made compost. What are the alternatives, & what are others going to do?

[Old bird]

I have two plots - which when I hear how big some of yours are are probably only just one full plot!

I can generate more compost than I need by using stuff around me!  I am given donations of cut grass etc I collect compost from where I work, coffee from a coffee shop and the rest is chicken housing/shredded paper  and bedding stuff and long grass weeds etc - all mixed in!

I have 4 very large composters and generate enough compost for my plots.  I do have the advantage of occasional sea weed - but it is only occasional as it is not on the beach all the year.  I did have manure from the local stables which did not contain straw or hay - and I still have access to this - but from all the scare stories that I am hearing - I am not bothering with this.

I think you need to be a bit more inventive and look further from your immediate vicinity to fully take advantage of various compost materials that are available and are currently just being sent to landfill.

Old Bird



You can make more compost of your own if  you ask your neighbours/friends/family for all their leftovers

[manicscousers]

we make compost, gather leaves in autumn, chicken bedding etc and green manures as the beds become empty  ;D

[BarriedaleNick]

I have a seemingly reliable source of stable manure from a pile that is years old.  In fact the pile is so big you can see it on google maps!  I have used loads of it to date but will still take care in future.  I do compost everything I can at home and on the plot but I can't make enough to condition my London clay.

[grannyjanny]

I here what you are saying Old bird. We have a half plot, 18'x50' which is infested with horsetail & bindweed so weeding is difficult & time consuming. I do put the annual weeds in a separate container so they can be composted, I also collect the coffee grains from our local sandwich shop. The neighbours are veg growers so compost there own peeling etc. My friend has moved to Portugal & she used to drop all her bits off to me, another friend brings me bin bags of shredded paper from her office. We put feed & weed on the lawns at home so can't use the grass cuttings ATM, 2 more cuts to go. We have 2 3'x3' composters at the plot & a huge hexaganol one at home. The home one is nearly full & one of them at the plot is 1/3 full. We had to take the potato haulms to the tip as they had blight. I am changing my pet bedding so I can put it all in the composter. The local shop gives me fruit & veg they can't sell, so all in all I think I am doing my best, & I have 5 comfrey plants thanks to Tony, which will be cut down when they have flowered & composted.

[cornykev]

I have a small pile of manure in a corner, but I have decided against using it yet, I have my neighbour saving his garden waste for me and together with mine and bags of shredded paper I have 6 daleks on the go and a palleted heap where all the two year stuff goes in. Also I collect leaves which the council sweep up and put in bags which somehow find there way on to my plot, I have about twenty piled up behind my shed ;) The council now tip us compost which I am using and will proberly cover my plot with it in the winter.       ;D ;D ;D