Topic: Manure question . . . .

[Rosie Veg]

Hi,

Im new to the forum as of this evening :)

I have 101 questions, but i'll try to break you all in gently!!!!

Firstly, as most of my brand new veggie plot (just finished by my OH today) is empty, it is full of brought in top soil, when is the best time to manure it and what should i be doing to get lots of goodness into the soil for a (fingers crossed) good cropping season?

Also, I do have my own pigs - never saved their "offerings" but is this any good to go on the veggie plot?


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Rosie Veg :D

[grawrc]

Hi Rosie and welcome to A4A.

You might find this link will answer some of your "manure" questions.
http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/A2339624

You don't say how big your plot is, why you've imported topsoil or what you want to grow? All of these things will affect when and how much you need to use manure. `some veg don't like freshly manured soil but others do. You'll also need to think about crop rotation - changing where you grow particular veg families each year, although, if your plot is relatively small you might not bother.

So give us a bit more info please! You could also use the forum wiki and the search function. You may well find some answers there. You'll find the links in the series of buttons just under the "allotments for all" banner at the top of the page.

[antipodes]

Welcome rosie veg!
Personally I manure in winter, spread it and leave it to rot down then dig it in in spring as I plant. Just don't manure a root veg bed, as they don't always behave well in freshly manured bed!
I use cow or horse manure, pig manure I don't know about, I expect it is very rich as they are omnivores, you may need to rot it somewhere before applying (but farmers do it so I don't see why not!

You can also at this time of year rot down leaves for leaf mould, and dig in your home made compost in the spring for extra goodness. Maybe on the Isle of Wight you can get seaweed? That is full of nutrients too. rinse - spread to dry then dig in!
But others will probably come along and contradict me on all this! good luck with the digging.

[Unwashed]

Hello Rosie Veg, welcome to Allotments4All. :)

[Jayb]

Hi Rosie Veg, welcome to the forum  :)

I found pig manure does best when it has had a chance to mature mixed up with lots of staw or similar bulk. Also might be worth adding some to your compost bin/heap if you have one, although it can be a bit stinky! I grew some lovely potatoes, corn and brasicas on a plot turned over and manured by pigs the previous season. A big bonus was no wire worm, reduced slugs/snails and few other creepy crawlies in the soil :)

[small]

I used to add the manure from our pigs to the compost heap and rot it down that way, I think it might be a bit much on its own.
And welcome to the madhouse, too.

[Rosie Veg]

Hi Everyone

Big thank you to all your welcomes and advice

I have just finished cleaning out the pigs and have a nice smelly pile of their "offerings" now added to my compost bins :D

In reply to some of your questions

I have always had a small area in my garden that i grew veggies in, but decided with economic climate and that i wanted to be organic that i would use some more of my garden to grow a supply for my family, so we dug up the flower beds and some grass a built some slightly raised bed, we now have 4 very big beds all fenced off from the dogs and pigs!!!!!

Just put my first crop in - Garlic and a some lettuces under the cloches
Cant wait for the new year to get some more stuff in :)