Topic: manure

[AndyTranter]

 :wave:being a relative newbie, is it now to late to put manure on my new allotment or is it to late?.

[Digeroo]

As far as I am concerned it is never too late for manure.

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, They advise you to add manure to heavy clay soil in autumn. I have sandy soil so tend to add mine in the spring. As digeroo says you can add it any time and it's never to late. Some crops do not like fresh manure, i.e. carrots, as this causes forking. A good book that will help you on your way, and I use mine even now, is Dr Hessayon's vegetable expert, well worth the investment. Every thing else will benefit and if you are on new ground you may not know when the last manure was added. If using animal manure make sure it is well rotted especially horse manure as I mad the mistake of putting it on direct and even now after 5 years am still battling grass seeds from it. It is said that it needs 6 months to rot down. Horses don't digest grass seed as well as cattle. Also get your compost heaps going and I add fresh horse manure to my helps to rot them and help build up heat in the bin. Good luck and enjoy the success's as well as the failures that we all suffer even after 20 years of veggie gardening. I really enjoy my plot and feel the pressure of life lifting as I open the gate. Happy Gardening

[daveyboi]

I agree never too late until you get near seed sowing time. How ever there are some crops which if you are planning to grow are better without manure dependant on the quality of your soil.

Basically roots and brassicas are better in soil without fresh manure.

It is best used on areas where you are going to grow peas and beans etc.

It is all part of the crop rotation where you place manure each year but this is always open to debate.

[Tee Gee]

Do you plan on digging it in  or just spreading it on top to dig in later?

Placing is definitely no problem but bearing in mind the rain we have had of late a lot may be depend upon how wet/sticky your soil is!

If the soil is sticking heavily to your boots and spade then I would leave digging it for now as this may compact the soil which ideally is best avoided.

This is particularly so in heavy clay soil but not so much so in sandy soils.

Then again if your soil is quite heavy but you can dig it then leave the surface of the soil rough (in clods) and hope that we get some frost before planting out time.

You can find more of my thoughts on soil treatment here:

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Alpha%20Index/S.htm

[AndyTranter]

thanks for your replies all very welcome, my soil is fairly light, and it is not a new allotment it has been used now for many years, i have old potatoes on the top of the ground which i need to rake off, i would like to manure half of it for now and see how it goes i will no doubt be asking for help again before long, thanks again Andy.