Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: mrs bouquet on July 19, 2019, 14:15

Title: What is best for impoverished soil ?
Post by: mrs bouquet on July 19, 2019, 14:15
Well rotted horse -manure.   Or something else.  I do not have a compost heap, and so will have to buy in.
 Mrs Bouquet
Title: Re: What is best for impoverished soil ?
Post by: jezza on August 30, 2019, 17:57
Hello I use a company called kings compost he gets horse manure from racing stables then composts it for a couple of years it's well rotted and can be used for top dressing or as we do put it under the runner beans trench jezza
Title: Re: What is best for impoverished soil ?
Post by: snowdrops on September 03, 2019, 16:28
Manure & compost win everytime for me, maybe if you feel it’s really poor some chicken pellets first or blood fish & bone, but I’d add them into the planting hole usually. Just be careful of Aminopyralid in any manure you bring in,(Johns written articles about it ). As I’m now no dig I just pile it on top of the soil & let the worms do the work for me.
Title: Re: What is best for impoverished soil ?
Post by: sunshineband on September 04, 2019, 10:17
Any organic matter you can get your hands on...leaf mold, spent mushroom compost, spent hops from a local brewery, and obviously well rotted manure

I find mpc is good to start with but soon breaks down and loses structure so is not as useful as you might first think

And if you have space, perhaps start your own compost bins. I add masses of shredded paper to mine as well as everything else suitable I can get my hands on... serves me well, but not helpful to you right now Mrs B I know. But next year....

because adding organic matter is a regular job every single season
Title: Re: What is best for impoverished soil ?
Post by: jezza on September 09, 2019, 18:52
Hello if you can get hold of leaves put them in a black bin bag and make compost or if you have a rotary mower run over them and chop them up then bag 3month and beautiful leaf mold I have 33 bags waiting to be spread should have another 33 bags this year walnut leaves need a couple of runs over to break them up but rest of them oak  apple lime poplar all go through in one pass jezza
Title: Re: What is best for impoverished soil ?
Post by: rowlandwells on September 10, 2019, 18:25
I've been looking at using green manures on a trial basis to see how green manures compares to other  manures  I found quite there was a write up on caliente mustard and the benefits of using this type of mustard including improving soil fertility

and because we have small holes in our potato crop that may be wireworm cliente mustard is said to deter wireworms and other soil-borne pathogens so its on my list to set out a plot for green manure trials
Title: Re: What is best for impoverished soil ?
Post by: jezza on September 10, 2019, 21:13
Hello mustard is a great green manure just be careful if you decide to cut it down first be fore working it in I recently read an article in a tractor magazine were a farmer was cutting mustard on a warm day and nearly gassed him self with the fumes  jezza
Title: Re: What is best for impoverished soil ?
Post by: rowlandwells on September 14, 2019, 09:46
that's interesting to note jezza  thanks for that advise because I was intending to cut the mustard down by hand maybe its best to cut mustard on a dull day