Manure with chips...

[sjg12]

We have a stable near us that has loads of manure going for free but it is mixed with wood chippings.

now half of my allotment has really good workable soil the other half is very heavy and clay type. I have some manure with straw that I want to use on the good bit at the back end but was thinking about the wood chipping stuff for the clay part as I don't have enough of the straw.

What are the problems with using manure with wood chips, will it deplete the soil or help break it up.

:) :) :)

[sjg12]

[Robert_Brenchley]

It'll deplete the soil of nitrogen while its decaying, but in the long run it'll improve it.

[tim]

Never noticed a problem.

[sjg12]

Tim does that mean you use the manure with wood chips and don't have any problems ??? ??? ??? :)

[tim]

Yes!

And we feed back the greenhouse floor covering of chips after they've had a year in a heap.

Why chips on the floor?? Because the dug-out floor is yellow clay. & any water turns it into a slurry.
Yes, this year we have white sheeting over that - just to try for light.

[Doris_Pinks]

I too use the manure with wood chip, can't say I have noticed anything detrimental happening! I too am gardening on clay, I lay it on thick in the Autumn/winter and it does wonders by spring time! ;D

[sjg12]

Tim & Doris thanks for the excellent info I will grab a trailer load asp,

Doris you just put it on top with digging in at the end of the season, do you turn it over in spring. I always thought you had to dig it in to get it worked into the soil.

Looks like i have a lot to learn :)

[Doris_Pinks]

I never really bother to dig mine in, I find the worms over the winter help to mix it all up! (I do cover my beds in the winter though) And when it comes around to putting stuff in, you automatically dig it in by planting ie: spuds.
I am basically a lazy gardener! ;D  ;D

[aquilegia]

Ooh - that's interesting. I'm on clay. Must get some of the poo with shavings. (The horse I ride is bedded on shavings!)

[Robert_Brenchley]

It could be that the nitrogen in the pee cancels out the nitrogen-robbing effect of the shavings. It'll then be released gradually once the manure has fully rotted.

[aquilegia]

DP (or anyone) - when you put it on in the autumn, is it fresh, part rotted or fully rotted?

The stuff I got the other day is mixed straw and shavings and part fresh, part semi-rotted! It's currently in an empty compost bin waiting its time!

[Doris_Pinks]

Aqui, I am lucky to get mine fully rotted, you will be surprised though, especially if it is in a bin keeping hot, how quickly it will rot down fully.

[philcooper]

It could be that the nitrogen in the pee cancels out the nitrogen-robbing effect of the shavings. It'll then be released gradually once the manure has fully rotted.

Robert,

To compost organic material there needs to be a balance of nitrogen and carbon. A single bit of material rarely has the right balance so it will grab the missing element from whereever it can get it (or it will not compost).

Wood is very largely carbon and therefore needs quite a lot of nitrogen to compost, if dug into the ground it will take the nitrogen from the soil - this is nitrogen robbing. Whether in the ground or a compost heap, the nitrogen does not go away, it is incorporated into the compost and hence is available when composting is complete. So there is no concept of "nitrogen robbing" in a compost heap - it's just that some materials take longer to break down than others - a lump of wood will take longer than a thin branch, which will take longer than shredded hedge trimmings or wood shavings and all oth them will take longer than straw or hay.

The urine, as you say is one, very good, source of nitrogen but so are many others. See http://www.hdra.org.uk/organicgardening/compost_3.htm

Phil