Allotments 4 All

Hi everyone

I finished filling my manure box a couple of weeks ago.

Voume-wise it's about 72 cu ft. I've filled it with 54 sacks of manure at about 25lb/sack, so well over half a ton in weight.

The 'cultivatable area' of my plot works out at 666 sq ft [aaarrrgghh! The Number of The Beast!], so if I were to uniformly spread manure (in October time, when it's rotted), it would cover the plot to a depth of about 1.3 inches. [Sorry, those who think in metric will have to do their own conversions.]

Is that going to be enough? How much is enough? I'm also intending to add soil improver as well, since this is the first year of a new site.

How old is the manure. If its fresh then I wouldn't put it on the ground anyway. If its good old black gold then it will be ok and it will improve the soil for you. We put about three spades in a three foot trench. For squash we just put a bucket full down the hole before planting. We only use well rotted manure. We got another load a couple of months ago and we layer it with straw and our own green compo and leave it for at least a year.
I think everyone will have their own thoughts on how much to put in the ground so keep yer eyes peeled.

By the time I spread the manure it will have been out of the horse for 6 months. I'll probably dig it in before end-October, it'll be rainier and damper by then, heavy clay soil, difficult to dig, sticks to your boots.

IF I need more, I think I can get it pre-rotted, although there's no vehicular site access, it would mean a pile on the road outside, me doing lots of trips with the wheelbarrow. C'est la vie. ;)

Just been reading Eliot Colemnas book and he suggests a 1 inch layer XX Jeannine

I can have all the fresh off the field horse manure I can carry away for free.... and I have a 3.5 ton van and an 8x4 trailer.... I'm expecting that by the end of the summer and through the autumn digging I'll be looking at a six inch layer across most of my garden and most of my plot. It seems to get incorporated very fast, especially at home (first decent feed those worms have had in years I guess).  Going to try and grab some more at the weekend to go where the leeks will be planted  and then I can start on both building a heap to rot down a bit, using it to boost the compost heaps and mulching over various still bare bits (around the benas for instance..... I don't think there's "too much" when it comes to manure.... I put ten 60 litre bags down this morning whilst [planting out 9 courgette plants and a pair of Bangladeshi Amaranths....

chrisc

God you're all very well-organised manure-wise! You've got so much Easywriter, it must have taken ages.

I think in terms of what amount you should have - well, you don't have to have any at all, so anything you add is a plus. I can't get access to much, so I use it in a small area around some priority plants like squash.

I had 3 bin liners of it this year, and of course that all went quite quickly. I've got a small amount of home-made compost and some chicken manure pellets for leafy plants. But that's the lot - potatoes just get clay!

Of course I probably don't get the same yield as others who use lots of manure.

I have been pondering whether there's a way I can get more manure on site. Trouble is there's no wheelbarrow access to my plot (path too narrow).

It sounds like you'll really see the benefit of your wwork next year, Easywriter.

Is it definitely free from aminopyralid?

Pigeonseed do you know anyone with rabbits, guinea pigs or chickens. I have the latter two & they create some good additions to the composters. I use hemcore bedding which rots down quickly. Ask around you might get lucky ;)

Most of the people I know keep their rabbits and guinea pigs on newspaper.

Thanks to 'pigeonseed' and everyone else for recent replies, I hadn't notice these straight away. Bit of a polemic going on on the site at the moment with a couple of people 'objecting' (for some reason) to my manure box, but I'm going to stand my ground.

Thanks again everyone. I think I'll stick with my half-ton, see how it goes.

Objecting to manure.... why???  :o

As for where it goes I'd work out your rotation plan first. I can get as much manure as I like, but I go for a 4 year rotation (brassicas, leguims, alliums and solance)

1 - Solance (potatoes etc) manure the whole area in autumn and leave

2 - Leguims (beans etc) just manure trenches

3 - Brassicas (cabbage etc) manure the whole area in autumn and leave

4 - alliums (carrots/onions/leeks etc) no manure - spread compost bins here

Each 1/4 follows in sequence, so the ground that was manured for brassicas the following year gets carrots and onions etc. With this only half my plot gets manured each year. Other items like sweetcorn, lettuce etc can be fitted in where their is space. Raspberries, pumkins  and 'others' all get a good mulching with muck!  ;D

Gotta admit when I do manure I tend to pile it on in the autumn.... this helps to keep the weeds down come spring.

Thanks 'Carls168', good advice. I'm going to do a 4-year rotation too. I'd read somewhere that carrots/onions/leeks [didn't know they were called alliums but I do now] just need compost, not manure, so that's what I'll be doing, in October sometime.

'Manure ojection' is more to the box I think, rather than the manure as such, blocks the view from his bungalow or something, or so he claims.

carrotts are not so keen on maure, they grow funny forked legs XX Jeannine

wow - how big is this manure box?!!  ;D (I know you said 72 cubic feet, but my maths is not good enough to work that out!)

When you think most of us are fed up with uncultivated plots - it's a shame to complain when someone's using their plot for its purpose. You should be really proud of your hard work and planning, Easywriter.

Quotedo you know anyone with rabbits, guinea pigs or chickens. I have the latter two & they create some good additions to the composters. I use hemcore bedding which rots down quickly. Ask around you might get lucky

I do know a couple of people with the pets you've described. Sadly they also have their own veg plots...  But when I see them next time I might mention it.

At the allotments, someone's taken down their electric fence and it makes the path passable with a narrow barrow (Hang on that sounds like a tongue-twister). So I bought a sort of trolley/wheel barrow today for £10 at an ex-Wyevale. You pull it behind you, it goes better on bumpy ground.

Tomorrow I'm going to find out if someone can deliver manure from the stables I normally get it, and get down there with my trolley, before the fence goes back up!



You've inspired me, Easywriter!

Wow pigeonseed, I don't think I've ever inspired anyone before, YOU'VE inspired ME now!  :D. The box is about 3.3x3.3x6.6 feet, = 71.874, call it 72 cu ft. Now I've figured out how to post photos to Allotments 4 All I'll take a photo of it, so you can see this fine example of carpentry! ;)

By the way, I've netted up my cabbages against you, but you've already been pecking chunks out of my neighbour's cabbages!

Good size, why would they grumble, We made our boxes out of pallets in the uk, we had six of them in a row at the far end of the lottie 25 foot wide  when all were put together and about 6 feet deep, all out lottie neighbours were envious. three were full on manure and three were used for composting, I might still have a picture, I will go and look[attachment=1][attachment=2][attachment=3][attachment=4][attachment=5][attachment=6]

I think it will be seen from one angle,,well not be with bath but I put that on so can find one great for carrotts.

XX Jeannine

Yes you can see the boxes at the far end,the other pictures where jus the lottie generally, we had two actually net to each othre, the empty one was my squah one it wqs planted out a week later, Click on pictures to blow them up

XX Jeannine

It seems unreasonable to complain about a box that size, but some people are just awkward.

QuoteBy the way, I've netted up my cabbages against you, but you've already been pecking chunks out of my neighbour's cabbages!

:-[ sorry I just can't resist them. Nothing fills the beak quite like someone else's cabbages.  :-[

General view, note fine workmanship

Top-class joinery

All fits together perfectly

Electrical, push-button, roll-back cover for use in heavy, prolonged rain [not often seen in East Anglia!]

Straining under the weight . . .