Topic: Using manure in the greenhouse

[kt.]

I recently read that manure can be used on greenhouse plants but have never done so myself.  Would my plants benefit from manure in the bottom of pots prior to adding compost and are there any down sides to using manure on these three plant types.  I grow all my greenhouse stuff in pots.  Plants I am looking to use manure for are:

Cucumber
Tomato
Sweet peppers (red, green, yellow, orange)

[lavenderlux]

I think manure in the bottom of pots would be too strong and it would be better to mix a small amount in with your compost;  one year my father tried putting well rotted manure in the bottom of pots he used for cucumbers but once their roots reached the manure, they died off.

You could also make a 'manure tea' and use this for feeding greenhouse plants

[goodlife]

Yes I agree with lavenderlux..if you use it mix with small amount of compost first and break all clumps into smaller pieces or sieve it....and if you use large pots..I would water the manure layer thoroughly wet too before filling it further..it is almost invitation for the roots to come and get their moisture and feed... ;)
Downside...well..if used too much it might incourage lot of leafy growth in expense of the fruit..
Are these pots permanent growing containers or just 'half way house' until planted further?
Best potting/planting mixture I've ever done was sieved mature manure, garden compost, multipurpose compost, grit & 'pinch' of BFB meal. I made effort with mixing so it all was nice and even..and it was beautiful to even look at.. ::) ;D I grew best ever crop with that stuff..

[tonybloke]

dig out a trench about a foot deep of soil from the border in spring, add WELL ROTTED ( 2 or more yrs old, well composted) manure to trench @ about 6" thickness, refill trench with soil. will improve water-retention in the border, less likely to get split fruits. great crops every year!!

[green lily]

I dig it in  into polytunnel soil for toms. squash etc.  Iused some unsteralised once and got a lot of fungi... now I'm more particular what I use in the tunnel. ie westlands organic. Mix well with soil and it should be OK but I only use it in pots with a mix for roses... ;)

[chriscross1966]

You can use fresh field horse manure without rotting it, it lacks the oomph that stable/cow/pig has when rotted but you don't need to stack it and most places will be more than happy to let you have it for free if you load it yourself....I've used tons both on the garden and in the tunnel last year (and in the GH this) ....best veg I've ever grown..... you can grow a lot of the more robust plants (potatos, tomatoes, cukes etc) in straight field manure..... mind out for herbicide residues , though less likely on horsef fields that aren't next to arable crops.... all you have to do is look at the fields though, if they've got plentyof broadleaf weeds then you're OK.... you do have to deal with weed seedlings though....

[davyw1]

I having been growing my tomatoes and cucumbers in pots for years till this year and i have always put the manuire in the pot first then chopped it as fine as possable, then put in the same amount of grow bag and chopped again and mixed it all together,putting more grow bag in and mix again till the pot is three quarters full, then plant my tomato in the pot and water arround the the inside wall of the pot. As the tomato grows remove a bottom leaf stem and top up untill the pot is full then anothe plant pot the make a ring culture. What a lot of clart on thats why took the slabs out and now growing in the ground and a few in pots in my main hot house.
At the end of the day if it is the only option then its worth the end result as a tomato plant root can go to the depth of five foot so that could be a lot of root in a tub.
The main reason i did it was because the roots of a tomato plant need to breath so if the root goes into unmixed manure which is to moist they will clog and not be able to breath.