What should I NOT manure?

[Chantal]

I've read lots about what should be manured but as Seedling and I now have access to lots of the stuff, well rotted, is there anything that specifically HATES manure? I know that carrots can fork etc, but if it's well rotted is that still an issue?

[Johnboy]

Hi Chantal,
My Carrot Experiment that I began in Autumn 2004 was to grow carrots using FYM. I spread 2005 carrot bed with a goodly layer of FYM and allowed to get thoroughly wet and then covered the HD black Polythene and This was to allow the worms to do their bit. In March 2005 I removed the Polythene and raked off anything that was left on the surface and gave the surface a light tickle with a fork and fetched up a tilth and then I Fetched out my sowing lines and filled them with spent MP compost and then watered and sowed my Pelleted Carrot seed on the surface and covered with another application of spent MP compost and very lightly watered again.
Covered the whole crop area with Anti white fly netting. I also placed slug pellets at about 4" intervals down the sides of each row of carrots.
The result was incredible I had a wonderful crop of Carrots that were free of CRF and slug attack and not a split or forked carrot was to be seen. Just to make sure that last year was not a flook I have repeated it this year and so far the results have been fantastic.
I feel that I have proved to myself that FYM dug in in chunks are the cause of the forking problem and
when the nutrient is taken in by the worms there is no problem. BTW stones will also cause forking.
Hope this is of assistance to you.
JB.

[richard p]

one of the problems with using manure occures if fresh unrotted stuff is put arround growing plants, if it is in contact with soft green stems it will burn them probably due to the caustic effects of urine. well rotted stuff does not have this problem.
applying as a mulch and letting the worms do the work is seen by many as the ideal method. if you must dig it in ensure the manure is well broken up and well distributed through the depth of the soil. you dont want to end up with large lumps or layers of manure . the "traditional" method of digging a trench , putting in a layer of manure and covering with a layer of topsoil is not the best practise.

[Chantal]

So, if I cover the dug areas with a good layer of well rotted FYM and then leave it over the winter I should be able to plant anything in it next year?

What about covering it with straw as well to suppress the weeds? Last year I mulched with straw and made life so much easier in the spring, but should I do this on top of manure?

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Chantal, the only problem you can get with covering the ground with FYM, is the ground takes a little longer to dry and warm up in the spring.
As for the straw, i can't see any reason why you couldn't cover the FYM with it.
I was just wondering what you do with the straw in the spring at the moment, do you rake it off and compost it or do you leave it where it is and plant in between

Kind regards Old Herbaceous.

Theres no fool like an old fool.

[Chantal]

Last year I covered the ground with straw and then raked off the top layer to make paths; the rest I dug in. The weeds were minimal and to my mind it worked very well.

[Johnboy]

Hi Chantal
That is where the Black HD Polythene comes in. It stops the growth of weeds and also enhances soil warming and prevents leaching. Whereas Straw may prevent weeds to a degree when you use Polythene the soil is in perfect condition to to do whatever you need to do. Straw will not prevent leaching but may slow it down.
JB.

[Allan]

Have a look at Muck is Magic in the November 2006 issue of KG, page 37 on. The importance of organic matter is very clearly stated there. Please note especially that it is primarily a soil improver and there are really large quantities involved.The benefit is long-term whereas much of the nutrients will have gone by then when in my opinion supplementary feeding pays off. It is good to see my view that a high content of organic matter makes the best use of such feeds by acting as a reservoir.

[Chantal]

Thanks for the replies guys. Because I have three plots I'd need an awful lot of black polythene; I'll investigate the price.

I have read the KG article and I can get an awful lot of muck, I'm covering about 3" deep at the moment. I think I'll read it again tonight.

[peter]

Chantal, to answer your original question, Tim.

[Chantal]

Too late Peter; faaaar too late.

[Colin_M]

That is where the Black HD Polythene comes in.

Can you suggest a good source and indicate how much it generally costs?

Most of the black plastic I've put down in the past ended the winter with holes in it, so was unusable the following year. My neighbour has got some swimming pool liner which he's now re-used for 3 years running. Since he uses just 2 pieces to cover his entire allotment plot, I'd guess it gives him a good workout too!

Colin

[richard p]

large cattle farmers use it to cover silage clamps, they buy from agricultural merchants, like mole valley farmers, by the roll, which would be enough for several allotments. if theres a farm near you they may have offcuts or previous years sheets with the odd hole,

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
The price of Black HD Polythene in this area is roughly £50 for 100sq yds (4 x 25) and this is black building damp course membrane.
As Richard say it is used for silage clamps and Agricultural Merchants sell it in larger sheets but I have not bought any lately so have no idea of the price there.
JB.