To manure or not to manure

[glallotments]

Hi Ricard,
Looking at the photos I don't think this is herbicide poisoning.

It's never 100% trying to judge from photos but the texture doesn't look leathery enough and the veins aren't really pronounced.

Farmers do sometimes spot weed so there could be weeds growing in a field that has been treated in parts but from what you say I think you are safe. Maybe more down to the cold and wet conditions.

[Monika]

Ricard with an h, that first photo of a French bean (?) looks very much like our beans at the moment. In our case, it's definitely the cool weather we have had since they were planted in mid-June. If it warms up, which I hope, they will recover - they do every year.

[Ricard with an H]

I'm so pleased my beans will be ok and that my cow-poo supply is probably ok.

My short time on this forum and the resulting few experiences i've gained in that short time suggests it was a good move even though i've been close to hysterical about this manure scare, the compost issue, my dog stealing and eating my carrots daily and Peter getting all huffy with me because I wasn't able to edit my photos whilst he found it easy even from a mobile.

I don't have anyone to help with just about anything other than emergencies and even then the last time I had to call an ambulance it got stuck behind a herd of escaped sheep a mile up the lane but I wasn't having a heart-attack.

I belong to three forums including this, each one of a different nature, I joined these forum to keep me in touch, to learn, to share my experience and skill. In one of those forums i'm regarded as very experienced and have never had a problem editing my photos onto their website software.

I think it's time for me to keep my head down until I have something to offer, sort-of, when I can breath-out rather than breathing in all the time. (It's an old Welsh proverb)

A nice view over my valley this morning on this horrible day.
Got it sorted now Peter, thanks for the help.

[peter]

so does the "H" stand for Hermit?

Nice view.

Better sheep than the traffic in North London, get out over the M25 into my native Hertfordshire and the traffic parts before the siren & blue lights, inside the 25 they are an interesting but irrelevant display to the majority. The emergency vehicles even switch the siren off & wait for traffic lights to go green.

[farmer jon]

getting back to the thread, I would always opt for manuring. I am lucky enough to have access to a reliable source of cow manure & dig in over 10 ton every year. I trench it using the traditional method & the soil is so much more friable & full of worms indicating a good humus content. the following crops are far superior to neighbouring plots who do not use manure. I would never use horse manure that had a high content of wood shavings, only straw. I have seen raspberries mulched in winter with wood shavings/manure & the following year the leaves looked a sickly yellow due to nitro deficiency. this was corrected with nitro chalk & they eventually returned to healthy green.

[Ricard with an H]

You're the first person who has directly advocated the use of cow-poo Jon, hopefully my only early failures were to do with it being to strong. Since I had this concern over the risk of contamination I realised other things were responsible for the failures or at least they were more-probable reasons for failure.

The farmer hasn't got back to me yet to confirm but I bump into him during the course of his working week, I again had a look at the fields used for grazing and silage, far to many docks for land that has been sprayed to target docks.

My soil needs help so I'll start digging the stuff in as soon as my beds are clear though I still have 20 comfrey plants that ought to be sitting on it.

Maybe it's time to buy some 6X.

[Nature's Babe]

Nice view, a bit like round here, we are getting some sun between the cloud now, so I am hoping the jet stream is shifting.

[ashb]

woke up at 6.00am sun shining through the windows urm
got up at 7.30am wash coffee took dog for its usual walk
got peeded on you guessed it the heavens opened up not
a happy chappy but one happy dog and its done nothing since
but rain then shine oh happy day.
ash

[ashb]

forgot to mention getting delivery of
horse poo on saturday
ash