Soil prep alternatives!

[Westi]

Contacted my friend for the phone number for the dairy farm I get my cow muck from as I couldn't find it. She looked & checked & tried to ring them but no luck, but was told by a friend living in the area that he is not keeping the dairy cows now, just doing crops. I have tried to ring him but no answer, so looks like I will be without this lovely muck.

I would really appreciate your input on what I can replace the muck with to improve & feed the soil. We do get horse manure dropped off at the plot but it's too fresh & the area it is dropped off at is full of bindweed & with everyone turning it is pretty much contaminated immediately on drop off. I'm not keen on using it as have enough bindweed. I was thinking along the lines of poultry substitutes like 6X flakes but would have to buy in stages as cost prohibitive but told it should not be over applied. I can access hay used for horse bedding but in small volumes & don't know where I could get a proper delivery but expect it is available, but no nutrients & when I have used some it seems to break down really quickly. I also had an idea to ask on the site FB page for folk who keep hens on smaller plots might be keen on getting rid of some

Any ideas?

[Colin2016]

If you want to spend money Mushroom compost?

Free option make your own compost using the horse manure.

Add in grass cuttings nettles weeds to get it hot to kill off the bind weed, let it cool down so the worms can do their business and you will have some great compost for feeding your plants.

[Geoff]

I pay £50 a year for a large trailer load of manure that the local Young Farmers distribute as a charity Muck Haul. It is not completely rotted, I think it is from clearing buildings where stock have been for the Winter. I dig some in, use some to mulch soft fruit and put some in a compost bin to finish rotting for later use. I also make a lot of compost from kitchen waste, shredded paper, grass cuttings and garden rubbish activated with horse droppings (not bedding) that somebody leaves by their gate for collection.

[oldherbaceous]

Have you ever grown green manure, Westi?

[Westi]

Cheers for the responses everyone!

Colin thanks for the idea of mushroom compost, that's an option I haven't considered so will do some searching.

OH I would like to try green manure but my neighbour had the vapours when I mentioned it as he said it did not break down when dug in, but his crops were brilliant & soil nice. Mind I would not be doing the whole plot like him as I grow winter crops so have I have something growing almost all year. I would just the do the assigned beds for the greedy guys the following year. He also said he could only buy mixed seed but he used to buy single seed varieties which were better. Do you know which would be the best variety of single seed to avoid his problems?

[oldherbaceous]

Most seed companies do single mixes, Westi…it’s just a matter of working out what type works best in your cropping rotation….some of the Nitrogen fixing Green manures, work well! Some of the grass Green manures do a really good job but, take a bit of digging in.

[tigerburnie]

I no longer dig, apart from lifting tatties and that is done with my hands not a a spade, the garden fork is now just for digging lugworm or rag worms for bait. Just spread either compost or manure on the surface and the weather/worms do the rest.

[Colin2016]

How about this Charles Dowding suggests

"....White mustard (Synapis alba) is the only green manure I occasionally sow in September up until mid-October. It is killed by moderate frost of -5°C/23°F so there is no mulching or digging-in needed."

[oldherbaceous]

I think the only problem with white mustard is, if you have clubroot, it’s not a good idea to grow it….

[Geoff]

I should have said the Young Farmers Muck Haul also offer a bagged alternative. I think other groups around the country do similar, might be worth trying to make contact.

[Westi]

They have a Young Farmers in Hampshire, but nothing here in my area, probs in Wiltshire or way north Dorset. Funnily this evening I got an e-mail from Kings selling a variety of single seeds, but not really comprehensive in detail but did mention white mustard's in relation to club root. I also made the mistake of asking a couple of the guys on my lane which was not at all helpful - bless them!

I have lots of my own compost with one thats been covered about 18 months & a half full one I use so might look at emptying these completely & use this. I have to go down on Sunday afternoon to feed/water the neighbours chickens so had planned to extend this visit to a couple of hours to weed the 1/2 full one as the bindweed has encroached from the neighbours wee gap where he put a storage area but too close to my boundary for either of us to access it, although I had sprayed it, left it too late.

I remembered something John Boy advised which was black cover over the beds until early spring then you remove it & wait until lots of weeds show but then give it a sauna with a clear plastic cover which will cook them & the seeds; (that advice was given years ago so knowing the changes in weather since then they will probably drown anyway)! I will have to be very fastidious & sieve this bed as the bind weed is way deep & don't want it everywhere but it is a chore I don't mind doing as find it quite relaxing.

[oldherbaceous]

Can you line your compost bin with black plastic, to stop the bindweed from getting in, Westi?

[Westi]

It is a pallet bin just on the soil so the bind weed just creeps underneath. What I will do now you mention it is when I empty it I will line the back & also put some black plastic down on the bottom which won't stop it but I won't take the plastic right to the front & thinking I will cut one of the long laminate sheets I have to bury in as a barrier but I will be able to dig the open edge so can check it's not getting further.

I had a chat with my neighbour who is happy for me to continue spraying the gap which I don't mind as I have to spray my fence edges anyway as can't weed them as the chicken wire is turned out & buried, well folded several times & buried way deep is more accurate so no chance to get the bad boys out. Thanks for the advice OH, that will certainly hinder it at least! Actually looking forward to chasing it tomorrow, brassica weeding can wait!