We recently learnt that our manure supplier is no longer supplying as he intends to use it all on his farm instead of buying fertilizers due to soaring costs. We do not have another supplier for our allotments. We can get some horse manure but thyere problems of increased weeds and it tends to be more than 60% straw than manure.
I have heard of people not using manure but an alternative - powder substitute diluted into water or spread on the ground but do not know what it is. What could I use if I can't get manure?
6X is always a good one to use.
Sinbad
you gonna spread beer on your plot?
;D No, but if you did a search on Google go down the lsit a bit further and you'll find it.
Sinbad
Have you tried green manures? Particularly useful on heavy clay soils. Organic Gardening catalogue has a good range of green manure seeds.
Quote from: Sinbad7 on December 28, 2008, 22:30:09
6X is always a good one to use.
Just googled it. Sounds decent.
http://www.6-x.co.uk/products.htm
Is it good on spuds as well as other veg - an all rounder or do you need other stuff too? Are there any veg that it needs to avoid?
I've been waiting for my manure to rot down so in the mean time I've been using a big bucket of chicken manure pellets that I bought from my local Instore. It seemed to work a treat around the beans, what it'll be like around other crops I don't know as I'm starting from scratch again this year. Might be worth a go if you can get some?
trouble is, it doesn't bulk the soil up the same, we use a combination of green manure, rotted down leaves, old compost and occasional manure, we can get it in bags if the ground is too wet to have it delivered, we also use bfb, chicken pellets and seaweed meal, just before planting and mulch with straw or grass clippings...we're on clay :-\
We're busy collecting copious amounts of seaweed, having your allotments next to the sea helps though :D :D
I use Rye grass as a green manure where my spuds were, the rest of the plot I use compost mixed with chicken pellets which I buy in 6 kilos buckets from the pet shop in Bargoed. During the winter I collect leaves to add to the compost heap, and during the summer I cut down ferns from the mountain this I use around my strawberries and when chopped up as a mulch around the veg on the plot. By the way I have two rows of Comfrey.
If you've manured and added compost over the years then 6x for a couple of seasons would be ideal to use. It has been around for years so tried and tested. and does produce good crops. I'd go so far as to guarantee it.
Sinbad
To anyone intending to use 6X, you might save yourself some money. It's actually called 6x in retail form and Groworganic in commercial form, the only difference being the massive price hike when in retail packaging.
I once had a plot holder from another site visit our shop and insist he wanted 6X rather than Groworganic as it was better, till I pointed out the phone number for both products was the same.
Green manure and home made compost.
forgot our own compost, and the comfrey, and the nettles ::) ;D
Interesting thread. I use pelleted chicken manure, what little compost I produce, green manure (Phacelia and mustard so far) and spent hops, plus some fish,blood & bone when planting.
compost, leafmould, comfrey, and loads of seaweed. ;)
I just use dead leaves and gress cuttings which are dumped on the site by a local garden contractor. It's always worth trying as they have to pay to dump the stuff.
you've got chooks, haven't you, kt...we use all the shed cleanings for pits for squash, trenches for beans and put the rest in the compost, best manure you can get, so I've been told ;D
Been using Rooster, 6 X for quite a few years now and never had bad results with it. Three bags is supposed to be the equivalent to a load of manure. When i have used it on my spuds i have covered them with a few inches of soil then put the Rooster on top of that along with Growmore and had just as good results as using manure.
If you are going to use it just make sure you read the instructions on the bag.
I can endorse 6x too. Haven't used it lately but got several bags about 10 years ago and found that a little went a long way. Good results.
i use comfrey dug into each layer as i go,mustard seed as a green manure and the stinking nettle soup
Do you think that communal composting might be a good idea for your site? I believe larger compost heaps get hotter and break down faster, so you might all benefit.
If it's hotter perhaps it will also break down any grass seeds/bindweed roots etc, which some allotmenteers might leave in.
Could help you all if you have to do without manure?
I'm not using manure this year either, but mainly because of the herbicide issues of last year. (Google Aminopyralid for info')
So...this year I am mostly using...home made compost, (I compost everything I can lay my hands on that will rot ;) ,last year's leafmould, spent hops from the local micro brewery, and Municipal Compost which is a great soil improver. Where an extra boost of feed is needed, I use pelleted chicken poo, plus seaweed meal, calcified seaweed, and comfrey. (I have a 2yr old bed of Bocking14 comfrey plants). I have layered one cut of leaves with last year's leafmould as an experiment for potting compost. I also use the wilted leaves as a direct feed/mulch, and also in comfrey liquid-has to be smelled to be believed ::) but it's good stuff!!
Thankyou for the replies so far. I do use homemade compost but I do not have much of it even though I compost everything that I can. Any leaf greens or veg waste is usually fed to the hens, guinea pigs and rabbits. After which there is not much left to compost. The quantity of compost produced is not enough to supply my plot all year.
At the moment, as well as home made compost, the 6X is front runner as an alternative substitute. ;)
So far have been using lottie compost and green manure; also comfrey leaves and pongy comfrey water and a bit of fish blood & bone here and there. This combination seems to give ok results.
However have been wondering if my soil could do with a bit more oomph so will check out the 6x idea - thanks for this!
Beware - 6x stinks! :-\ :-\ :-\ :-\ :-\