Allotments 4 All

this topic has probably been covered many times before but I don't know how to find it,Can fresh horse stable manure with straw be used in any way or does it have to be rotted down...I have 2 horses so an abundance of the stuff  ;D

I use chicken poo and straw straight from the chicken house and use it as mulch/weed supressor straight on the fruit beds works a treat . Just needs a little added fertiliser to count for the straw rotting.

I use fresh stuff as mulch too..but more of this time of the year when there is not plants about as it can be bit too strong stuff for most of the plants and cause scorching.
But its ideal with potatoes..put it on when planting potatoes, no need planting deep if you have loads of bedding to add and by the time they push through, the manure would have mellowed out nicely.
I haven't added any extra fertiliser with chickens bedding as it has plenty of nitrogen for rotting anyway and it usually comes from their outdoor pen (double used so its wet and well 'bedded').
With horse manure and still 'fresh' looking dry straw some nitrogen based feed would be good idea.
Blackcurrants and rhubarb are quite 'greedy' plants so you could apply thick mulch around those..place some cardboard on ground first and mulch on.. ;)

How does the cardboard help Goodlife?

Regards

Bluecar

How does the cardboard help Goodlife Oh..sorry..I should have explained bit further on that.
Well...if the manure is a bit 'strong'..the cardboard is like barrier between the soil and plant roots. By the time the manure and/or its juices are working its way through the cardboard..its hopefully weathered enough for not to cause any damage to the plant roots.
And not only that..carboard will act as another weed suppressing layer to stop light getting through for weeds to grow and manure is keeping it in its place...double whammy.
You can also use thick layer of news paper if you wish..it does work in same principal.
Make sure that the ground underneath is moist though... if placing thick mulch layer like that on dry ground..it will stay dry for long while. It will take time for rain to work through and reach plant roots.
You can use same mulching technique for fruit trees as well..eventually all the goodness will get to the roots and reap benefits.
If you do decide to use cardboad-manure mulches..do apply handfull of general fertilizer first (something like fish, blood and bone meal is ideal) and water it in if the ground is not very moist. The reason is same as Notts Phil mentioned..for straw/carboard to be able to rot down, the process will draw nitrogen from the ground and if there is not sufficient amount available it will leave plants depleted. Once the rotting process is completed..all the 'goodness' will be 'returned' and able to feed the plants. The extra fertilizer is just like 'insurance policy'..it is spare to be available if needed and if not, plants will use it up until the rotting manure is ready to release it  nutrients... ;)

Oh..another little thingy.. ::)
Try not to pile manure against any tree trunks or bushes itself..it is invitation for any future disease problems... ;)
It is hard to avoid some touching with 'bits and bobs'..that's ok..I'm talking literally a thick layer against the bark.

...and while I'm in a row of explaining things and brain still working.. ;D
If you have abundant amount of the stuff..you could make temporary 'beds' for growing squashes and pumpkings with the stuff.
Just pile it up into couple of barrowloads piles..about 1 metre between pile. Make a hollow in the middle (sort of good bucket size hole) of the pile and fill it up with soil/compost and give a handfull of blood, fish and bone meal..water it in and you've got good planter.
If you do it well in advance by end of May you can plant your squash/pumpkin plants in the middle and when the plants roots are out growing the space in the middle and venture into the manure pile..the manure should be mellowed out enough.
Squashes are greedy feeders so they would love that..you just have be prepared to do plenty of watering.
Once the plants have finished..you just need to rake level whats left of the piles and you've got nice surface for something else.

That's me done with the subject.. ;D 

Thanks Goodlife.

Very informative.
:) ;)

Regards

Bluecar

Quote from: bluecar on March 05, 2012, 11:29:00
Thanks Goodlife.

Very informative.
:) ;)

Regards

Bluecar

me too

We are doing what goodlife has suggested

We have taken an extra allotment that was two and is now taken as one big one,

Bottom half is all good,laid out dug over

Top half is a complete mess with fruit trees so we have cleaered it and using it for storage (its big!!) will spray in the next few weeks

We will then dig holes in the ground (the soil is not good in the top half) and fill with manure , and plant our squashes/pumpkins and courgettes !!


I assume it is ok to plant courgettes and pumpkins into manure as well?

THANK YOU GOODLIFE.VERY INFORMATIVE .WILL MAKE CLEANING THE STABLES EVEN MORE ENJOYABLE KNOWING I CAN USE IT AND NOT HAVE TO WAIT