[Livinhope]

Our plot was untended for a couple of years but this year it is producing well.  We would like to manure for next year as the space becomes available.  Is it okay to put on fresh horse manure and dig in lightly to leave over winter, or is it better to use rotted manure.

I've kept a plan of what has been planted where so that we can rotate and I know that root crops should not be planted in freshly manured ground.  Is there anything else to avoid planting and can we use compost on this ground instead?

[gillie]

Are you thinking of using fresh  horse poo off a field, or stable manure?

If horse poo I would just leave it on the surface for the worms to dig in.  Stable manure I think should be rotted as it will contain straw or wood shavings, (hopefully soaked in pee) which will take longer to rot down. 

Compost would be better than manure on the root section, but I think it would be better to leave it all together and give it a really good dose once the roots have been lifted.

Gillie

[Livinhope]

Yes, thanks, I do know about the straw in stable manure, or in our case shavings, but this is from the field.  The problem is there are very few worms in our allotment soil and I was hoping to introduce some via a couple of well rotted bags of manure that are teeming with worms.  Thinking about it, that would need to be roughly dug in or the birds will have a field day then spread the fresh left on the top.

[gillie]

There are worms and worms!

I bet that when you start putting manure on the soil the few earthworms that are there will start multiplying rapidly and pulling down their food.

The little red worms, also known as brandlings, only live in muck heaps and the like and will not flourish in soil.

Gillie

[Livinhope]

These aren't litle red worms they're hooching great things.