My other half was rather taken aback when I asked him for a pile of manure for my birthday. However, much to my delight, he has duly delivered - well, not personally, obviously! Anyway, the result is one huge pile of very well rotted farmyard (cow, apparantly) manure. I think when he asked the farmer for a trailer-full, he was imagining a car-size trailer, not tractor-sized, but I digress! What I really want to know is if it is possible to use too much manure on ground that's going to be used for potatoes. The said part of the allotment is very short on organic material at the moment. Last year I grew onions on it and they simply refused to grow-nothing to do with the wet weather that came later. I'm really tempted to pile the stuff in now, and then use more for earthing up as needed, but wondered whether there might be any reasons for not doing this.
Any advice welcome.
Too much manure?
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Have you got a space where you could pile some of it up for next year, covered up? I wouldn't put it on too thickly now, certainly not on the beds where you are going to sow carrots and parsnips and also not too much where the peas and other pulses are going because they might grow too much greenery at the expense of the "fruit".
Do you know I also got a huge trailer load of manure for my birthday once, about 25 years ago! It was tipped on our drive and we had to wheelbarrow it round to the back of the house, to the vegetable garden, quite a longish trip. And the next day I landed in hospital with a collapsed lung, "from overexertion"! Spent three weeks there, but was fully cured! So, be warned, Caz!
Do you know I also got a huge trailer load of manure for my birthday once, about 25 years ago! It was tipped on our drive and we had to wheelbarrow it round to the back of the house, to the vegetable garden, quite a longish trip. And the next day I landed in hospital with a collapsed lung, "from overexertion"! Spent three weeks there, but was fully cured! So, be warned, Caz!
Thanks for the warning, Monica. I'll bear that in mind. At the moment, I would have to rent a marquee to cover the pile, so as much as possible will have to be used this year. I started shifting it today - half of my strawberries got buried under it, I nearly lost the shed, and it's gone right across a path onto my lottie neighbour's plot. Still, don't suppose they'll complain!
As for not putting it where carrots etc are going to be grown, there's no danger of that - I've lost that bit of the lottie under the heap! Will have to stick courgettes there instead. But what about potatoes - is it possible to use too much?
As for not putting it where carrots etc are going to be grown, there's no danger of that - I've lost that bit of the lottie under the heap! Will have to stick courgettes there instead. But what about potatoes - is it possible to use too much?
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oldherbaceous
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Dear Caz, i would dig a lot of it in, and as Monika said if you can stack some somwhere, i would use it as a mulch through the Summer months as well.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
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PLUMPUDDING
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I would also save some covered up for topping up things later on if you have space to do this.
You just reminded me of the last trailer load I got. I had just started an aromatherapy business and the farmer delivered a mountain of manure right across the path a couple of hours before my first client was due. Not quite the aroma I had in mind, so I was running up and down the path wheelbarrowing it out of the way at double pace and just managed to hose down the path and have a shower before they arrived.
You just reminded me of the last trailer load I got. I had just started an aromatherapy business and the farmer delivered a mountain of manure right across the path a couple of hours before my first client was due. Not quite the aroma I had in mind, so I was running up and down the path wheelbarrowing it out of the way at double pace and just managed to hose down the path and have a shower before they arrived.
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Lady Gardener
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Hi Monica
Having had a horse for many years I always had a generous supply of manure & needed to get rid of it!
My potatoes had lavish helpings. I dug out a trench & put about a foot of manure in there put a spud on top. then dug out the next spit another foot of manure & continued down the plot like that. It was an area of about 18' by 18'. It got rid of the manure and also meant there was plenty of soil to heap up over the rows. I planted the earlies 2' apart & main crop 2'6. Always got excellent crops & the plot was well fertilised for the next crop.
Any manure you don't use you can make into a heap & grow courgettes marows & pumpkins on top.
Any you save for next year needs to go in strong plastic sacks or be well covered over.
You can always make yourself popular with the neighbours by giving them some or start an enterprise selling bags!
Best of luck
Having had a horse for many years I always had a generous supply of manure & needed to get rid of it!
My potatoes had lavish helpings. I dug out a trench & put about a foot of manure in there put a spud on top. then dug out the next spit another foot of manure & continued down the plot like that. It was an area of about 18' by 18'. It got rid of the manure and also meant there was plenty of soil to heap up over the rows. I planted the earlies 2' apart & main crop 2'6. Always got excellent crops & the plot was well fertilised for the next crop.
Any manure you don't use you can make into a heap & grow courgettes marows & pumpkins on top.
Any you save for next year needs to go in strong plastic sacks or be well covered over.
You can always make yourself popular with the neighbours by giving them some or start an enterprise selling bags!
Best of luck
LG
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Stephen
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Ahhhhh!
Tales of manure deliveries to the house. I particularly like the aromatherapy
The winter after I moved into my present house I reworked the garden very throughly. Obviously this was the moment to put as much manure throughout as I could manage (it is only 30ft by 10ft).
So I asked the farmer for a trailer load (a half-load was two-thirds of the price) and when it arrived it covered the driveway (such as it is) from side to side and to a height of 3ft. Just like the other tales!
A neighbour walked past soon after I had started barrowing the stuff to the rear of the house (no space at the front) and with a very cheerful smile asked "Hello Steve. Upset somebody?"
Tales of manure deliveries to the house. I particularly like the aromatherapy
The winter after I moved into my present house I reworked the garden very throughly. Obviously this was the moment to put as much manure throughout as I could manage (it is only 30ft by 10ft).
So I asked the farmer for a trailer load (a half-load was two-thirds of the price) and when it arrived it covered the driveway (such as it is) from side to side and to a height of 3ft. Just like the other tales!
A neighbour walked past soon after I had started barrowing the stuff to the rear of the house (no space at the front) and with a very cheerful smile asked "Hello Steve. Upset somebody?"
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.