Topic: Liquid manure... should I make it..

[gavinjconway]

Me with another question..

I have managed to be given another 1000 LT IBC plastic tank. I have recently fitted one to my shed and greenhouse guttering system to be used as a large water-butt.. Now my quandary is whether to get this ons and make liquid feed with horse poo..  I could use onion bags and hang them in the tank for a while then drain the water directly into  the lines of veg.

Is this sort of feeding worth while and will it have to be diluted.. (depends on strength I realise) but as I can get loads of horse poo It would work well as an extra feed program.. am I going nuts or would it be good.

I also have a normal water-butt which I was going to make comfrey and nettle tea feed as well..

[claybasket]

Gavin,I'vegot sheeps Iam not sure but think it's better ,it stinks but I delute  it till it looks like piddle  ;D is there any sheep were you are?

[gavinjconway]

Gavin,I'vegot sheeps Iam not sure but think it's better ,it stinks but I delute  it till it looks like piddle  ;D is there any sheep were you are?

Not that I know of... The horse poo is easy for me as my sons GF has horses and I get it delivered all the time when they visit.. I have been Googling and it seems good.. just dilute a bit and use.

[Unwashed]

I wonder if liquid feeds really do feed?  They stick to high heaven so you'd guess they had to be doing some good else why offend your plot buddies with the foetid guff, but has anyone really done a scientific study of the benefits?  Grow comfrey by all means as a compost activator and mulch, but I'm not convinced by liquid feeds.

[gazza1960]

Interesting Gav,I tend to leave my pure poo in its bags and leave it 2 months or so and pore/spread it like a kinda surface mulch and blend it in the top layers.

Im with you on the Comfrey,stinks to high heaven but always useful feed.

My top feed is seaweed,I either use it neat as a mulch around potato and brassicas as the salt content keeps the slugs from climbing thru it to the young plants,although its best additive(IMO) is to put a large bunch of it in a bucket and after 4 weeks I sieve it thru the mrs tights and use it as a folia spray on young plants.
Im not gonna suggest its better than any other plant food but the harvest from the plants  keeps me using it
repeatedly, and seaweed is a recognised composting material...well on my plot it is.

One advantage of me going sea angling,as I bring home 6 bags each trip..... ;)

Gazza

[Nigel B]

I wonder if liquid feeds really do feed?  They stick to high heaven so you'd guess they had to be doing some good else why offend your plot buddies with the foetid guff, but has anyone really done a scientific study of the benefits?  Grow comfrey by all means as a compost activator and mulch, but I'm not convinced by liquid feeds.

I regularly make compost tea when the weather is warmer Unwashed. I'd swear it works, and that it does so by feeding the micro herd in the soil.

[Duke Ellington]

If I had two IBCs I would use them both for collecting water and use barrels for liquid manure. Seems like a waste of an IBC to me. I would love to give a home to a spare IBC ;) ;D

Duke

[bionear2]

I would not use a IBC for anything but water. It would be almost impossible to avoid stuff from the manure settling onto the bottom.
Eventually you could face a blocked tap with 1000 litres of water lurking behind it.....

[gavinjconway]

I'm thinking it will be tooooooo big... will just use a wheelie bin for the Liq manure and the water-butt for the comfrey as they have different NPK properties..

[sunloving]

I'd make an easy to clean chicken coop!
How lovely to have a regular supply of manure.
Sounds like your plot is the bees knees, is there any soil for growing stuff on after all this fabulous kit?
x Sunloving

[sheddie]

I would not use a IBC for anything but water. It would be almost impossible to avoid stuff from the manure settling onto the bottom.
Eventually you could face a blocked tap with 1000 litres of water lurking behind it.....

I'm with Bionear on this one, without doubt the tap would get blocked up. I've been using a large tub filled with water to drip water my toms in the greenhouse - that was only filled with water, but the tap still managed to get blocked up in only one season.

I do beleive in the liquid feeds though, I've used Comfrey and nettle tea in the past and I'm sure they both had a positive effect.

 ;D
sheddie

[pumkinlover]

As Sheddie  :D

[Mr Smith]

In the past I have used sheep muck in an hessian sack in a water butt, really good stuff, :)

[Ellen K]

I wonder if liquid feeds really do feed?  They stick to high heaven so you'd guess they had to be doing some good else why offend your plot buddies with the foetid guff, but has anyone really done a scientific study of the benefits?  Grow comfrey by all means as a compost activator and mulch, but I'm not convinced by liquid feeds.

I am with UW on this.  The might be some value in fermenting weeds to recover part of what they have sucked out of the ground but manure is best used as a soil improver and comfrey in the compost bin.  As for bugs in the soil, you could be encouraging the bad ones as much as the good guys.

Gardeners World featured compost tee last year but there really needs to be a comparative study to see if it really works.

[gavinjconway]

Thanks for all the replies... I'll think again as it may be too big...  re the blocking - I have a longish removable perforated pipe in the outlet so no probs of blocking..

[gavinjconway]

I'd make an easy to clean chicken coop!
How lovely to have a regular supply of manure.
Sounds like your plot is the bees knees, is there any soil for growing stuff on after all this fabulous kit?
x Sunloving

Take a look at my plot pics... click on my signature link to the site..