Topic: Getting hold of aminopyralid free menure

[George the Pigman]

I have held off buying menure from distributors  for many years as in the past many of our allotmenteers have had problems with aminopyralid contamination ruining their crops. In the old days I used to get a truckload of it delivered to my plot
Anyone been able to use guaranteed aminopyralid free menure . If so how do you get hold if it

[JanG]

If you can get it free it’s worth sampling a small batch by sowing some sensitive veg like beans and you’ll fairly quickly see whether it’s contaminated or not.

If you’re buying it, it’s obviously a less appealing way forward. If there are small-scale distributors, can you contact them, discuss your very reasonable fears and ask for a sample to experiment with?

[Tee Gee]

As I understood it a few years ago when the problem first reared its head was that people (farmers) can still use this broad leaf weedkiller, but if they are passing/selling the animal manure or silage on, they must inform the recipient that they have used this particular weedkiller!.

Then it is up to the receiver if they buy/use it or not.

The reason I mentioned silage was that riding stables may be unknowingly be buying treated silage to feed/bed their horses and passing on the manure (unsuspectingly) to the public as a way of getting rid of what to them is a waste product.

Meaning; stable manure may well be affected!

https://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/A/Aminopyralid/Aminopyralid.htm

[Tiny Clanger]

Hi Tee Gee,
No stables that I know feeds silage to horses. Its wel known that lawn clippings and simikar shoukd NEVER be fed to horses, as semi fermented it is a major cause if colic that can twist a horses gut causing great pain and possible death. Of more concern would be if the pasture land had been sprayed with a weedkiller such as depitox or allied substance. The clippings should not be turned into compost and manure from grazing horses could well contain it so this is a cause for concern. There are many other weedkillers that are similar to depitox.

If you see the grazing with a good few weeds in it, you can be fairly sure a sprayed weedkiller has not been applied.

[Tiny Clanger]

Hi again TeeGee, did you mean Haylage, not silage?  X

[Tee Gee]

Hi again TeeGee, did you mean Haylage, not silage?  X

Possibly! I am no expert when it comes to horses, and what I was meaning is the bales of dried grass like  stuff that my 'horse muck' source gives her horses.

Is that 'Haylage'?

I live and learn!

[Tiny Clanger]

That's "Haylage" mate. Had horses for 70 years. Not so hot on horticulture  though. Know a bit about pasture lands too.  Many plotholders like ciw manure for fertiliser as it has less weeds. We always used horse - it was there in the muck heap. It has more weeds, but the gardener bloke reckoned horse was "hotter" and gave early planted stuff a quicker start. No idea if that's true. I just remember it was my job to wheel barrowliads of it from the back of the stables to the veg plot    x

[Tee Gee]

The reason I have got myself some horse muck is due to something I noticed about it when I had it on my allotments.
If stored long enough say in a Dalek or barrel type container it renders/rots down to the consistency of a chocolate sponge cake and equally crumbly!

Now that I am saving my spent compost and recycling it by adding a bit of peat to it to add fibre/humus, and the fact that peat is to be taken off the market, I was looking for a substitute!

This is where the rotted horse muck comes to mind, I will add this in lieu of peat.

Over the last couple of days I have prepared around 500 litres of recycled compost and used a peat based multi-purpose compost for the fibre/humus content, and if I say so myself the end product has turned out to be the best quality potting compost I have had in years.

The compost I have made has no fertilser in it, but the other ingredients are mixed to the John Innes formula.
I will add the fertilser to this 'base mix' to create either John Innes 1,2 or 3 as needs dictate.

My next project might be; particularly if we are going to be affected by water shortages, is water saving.
I did think of digging a big hole in my back garden and lining it but the problem up here in the Pennines is the soil in places is only around a foot deep, then you are onto the infamous Yorkshire Grit stone!

So perhaps more barrels to supplement the two I have might be the answer, but getting the water to the barrels might pose a problem.

Speaking of saving water, the subject of this slideshow is what brought me to this area 56 years ago.

I hope you enjoy it

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xe3cruqgmcb43lp/Scammonden%20Dam%20%26%20M62%20%23.mp4?dl=0

[pumkinlover]

Thanks Tee-gee, it was a lovely film. Were you involved in the construction?

With my husband previously working for Severn Trent we tend to think more than most about the environmental impact of producing clean water so save vast quantities of rain water.

[Tee Gee]

Yes I was the Production Surveyor for the dam section of the project ( which is part of the M62 motorway the highest stretch of motorway in England.)

It was quite common for us to have our heads in the clouds as at that height the tops of the Pennines were often covered in cloud!

I was involved with driving the inlet/ outlet tunnels and the two vertical valve and overflow shafts.

And yes I am very conscious of what is involved with our water both the fresh water side and the sewage side having worked on new construction of a couple of dams and a couple of treatment works during  my career in the Building and Civil Engineering industry.

I am afraid ‘water’ is rather taken for granted because to most people they just think of of water as
turning on the tap or pulling the chain!

Glad you liked my slideshow I put it together during the pandemic lockdowns just for something to do!

[Metanurb]

So perhaps more barrels to supplement the two I have might be the answer, but getting the water to the barrels might pose a problem.

Our barrels are about 20 feet away from the downpipe, I've run a hose from the downpipe collector, under a path and along the side of a greenhouse then up into the first barrel (I believe the technical term is inverted siphon?)

May work for you depending on distance/height difference?

[Digeroo]

We get supplied with manure.  But I am still very wary of it.  I test each new batch with beans.  But there are other ways of telling.  Worms do not like the contaminated stuff and it does not heat up so a warm pile is a good sign.
I still only put manure on the surface, so any sign of curling leaves it can be raked off.  And keep it well away from direct contact with the plant roots.  The effects are much worse with hard water.