Digging in manure

[Barry]

On a new plot, which I have been clearing since mid-July, I have access to lots of reasonably well-rotted horse manure. If you were me, would you dig it in in the autumn or wait until early spring? My main concern is this: if I dig it in now, will all the goodness get washed through to the sub-soil over the winter?

The new plot is on heavy clay, so needs organic matter quickly.

However, the site is a brand new one, previously a meadow covered in every imagineable weed, so I am currently skimming the surface to get rid of existing weed tops, whilst trying to encourage any weed seeds on the surface to grow, so I can deal with them before they too can set seed.

If I disturb the soil too much, I may be sowing (sic) seeds that will then happily grow in the spring. I want them to grow now, just before frosts start appearing, so they will be naturally killed off.

Whatever I do, I will take some sort of hit. But, given all the above, should I manure now, or later?

PS. How on earth do you amend email details on this forum? When I get a notification to say one of you has responded, it goes to an email I no longer use.

[Monika]

I would dig it in now. If you leave it until spring, you may find that by the time you want to plant or sow, there will still be sizeable chunks of manure which can cause a problem. As you have heavy soil, I don't think the 'goodness' would leach out over winter.

Sorry, can't help on the email question!

[alan refail]

Hi Barry

To change your e-mail, go to "User Control Panel (Click left-hand top of page).
Click " Edit account settings", and click "E-mail address".
And away you go!

[robo]

If you are not planting anything till spring I would spade it on top of the soil and cover with black bisque but I tend to take the easy way out

[Geoff]

If you have time, energy and lots of good manure I would do take both Monika's and Robo's advice. Dig it deep breaking up the bottom spit and incorporating manure then do as Robo says (and I think Johnboy in the past), mulch it and sheet it over. The only reservation is perhaps frost might break it up more, maybe somebody on heavy clay will answer.

[Cider Boys]

Hello Barry

If you have heavy clay it will be already be rich in nutrients especially if it was previously a grazed meadow and any nutrients will be less likely to be washed away as in a sandy soil. I would add the manure now by either spreading it or if you have the energy digging it in. The main benefit in manuring heavy clay in autumn is that it will help in breaking up the clay and lightening it making the clay more friable and improving its drainage. I wouldn't worry about loosing nutrients since if the manure had been left to rot uncovered it would have lost nutrients in anycase.

Barney

[Barry]

Thanks for all the advice. On balance, I think I shall dig it in now as I make each of my raised beds. By the way, this time around, I am just going to put in retaining walls for the beds and not build them up. Last time around, I filled each raised bed to the brim with soil - and then couldn't put any manure on them, because there wasn't room! It is amazing how quickly soil height grows and now I understand why archaeologists have to go down a metre or more to find Roman remains!!

[Ricard with an H]

Reading this has reminded me to collect sea weed for digging in, I've been digging cow-poo in for the three year I've been gardening and some of the clumps help together with straw still haven't broken down.

I'm not getting any more cow poo any longer, it used to be tipped into the corner of an adjacent field to rot down. I only had to ask and they would give me a couple of JCB buckets over the bank.

Now the farmer keeps it at some new barns then in early spring they have these trailer-spreaders that pass me by and it all gets spread over the fields. But never during autumn.

[Cider Boys]

I would suspect that the farmer never spreads the manure in autumn is because a) he can store it under cover to rot down, b) the land can be too wet in autumn to spread, c) winter rains can cause run off pollution from manure spread on the land.

Unfortunately the environmental health / councils get many complaints regarding the odours after manure spreading from people who live near fields and do not understand agricultural practices. Although in my experience there are no laws to say you must, it is regarded by some authorities to be good practice to plough in within 72 hours of spreading, this in my experience is not always practical due to weather conditions that may arise in the autumn but if conditions are good manuring after autumn harvest and ploughing in is good practice.

Barney

[peter]

Some of our local agribusinesses take a "product" from Thames water. Sewage works sludge residue mixed with paper recycling waste. Massive piles of fawn coloured papier mache which oozes a foul brown thin liquid.

The smell from these heaps is vile beyond description and on occasion has blanketed the surrounds, even extending to cover the whole town.

Pig muck is less offensive.

Barney, as a student holiday farm hand I learnt an important lesson when muck spreading on a Fordson Major with a canvas cab.

Always drive into the wind.

[Stonecoloured]

Just reminded me to add manure into the planters - TY!

[Pa Snip]

I am still trying to locate a local manure supplier. Have obviously found the ones on the net who supply in large tote bags but the volume seems to vary a lot from supplier to supplier, all a similar price but bags vary between 750lt > 1000lt.

I want about 6 cu yards this year, which makes bags expensive.

The principle of "Where there's muck there's brass" doesn't seem to apply in this part of Berkshire, there's plenty of muck and stables but no one wants to shift it, and I no longer can.