Hard manure...

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Cavolo Nero

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Hard manure...
« on: March 01, 2010, 08:00 »
No, its not another way of saying "tough s**t"! When I took over my plot in december there was a big pile covered in weeds beside the shed. One of the old boys said that it was manure that had been there for a couple of years! I cleared the weeds and found that a lot of the manure had turned really hard - I need to use the axe blade of my mattock to break it up! I left some lumps over for the rain to soften but it seem to have little effect. Ive been breaking it up to a gritty consistency and mixing it with compost to add to the soil, but has anyone else seen this and what is the effect of using manure this old?
"If you want to be happy for a day, get drunk. If you want to be happy for a week, get married. If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, be a gardener." - Chinese proverb

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lianne1978

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Re: Hard manure...
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2010, 08:38 »
Hi, this is my first post and just had to respond!

Although I've had my plot for a while now, this is the first year we have started to make some improvements, one of which is creating new composters. We also came across some manure which was so hard we actually found charcoal!  My husband and I spent hours yesterday breaking it up and crumbling it for one of the raised beds so although I don't have the answer to your post I'm hoping that it was okay to use! :D

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Cavolo Nero

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Re: Hard manure...
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2010, 09:05 »
Yes there was one lump that was rock hard and black like charcoal - its currently stopping my leafmould from blowing away!

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gillie

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Re: Hard manure...
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2010, 10:13 »
I don't think that this stuff is manure.  Old manure round here goes soft and crumbly like peat and gradually disappears into the soil.

Gillie

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prakash_mib

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Re: Hard manure...
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2010, 10:25 »
I too inherited  a mound with 1/2 inch thick bindweed roots, nettles and crouch grass in it. killed'em all with weed killer in october and pulled the tap root of bindweed. leaving the mound as it is to grow cucumbers on it wouldnt bother to put them back into the soil.
One kid is handful. Two kids.... Example for chaos theory. Hats off to my mum who managed three...

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diggerjoe

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Re: Hard manure...
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2010, 11:08 »
the last corner of my plot to clear is an old manure heap covered in couch I've plastic bags full of rubbish on top of it for past two years but the couch has grown through them. The manure underneath is only crumbly at the centre the rest has dried out. I get it out with a small mattock. I have tried soaking the hard bits but gave up so they will go into what I call my long term compost heap this year. I am hoping the ground underneath will be good as I plan sweet peas there this year.

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Cavolo Nero

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Re: Hard manure...
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2010, 11:32 »
I reckon its fine - the weeds were quite happy to grow on it! Also some of the lumps I buried in the soil seem to have softened nicely. Im quite lucky as I also have a full compost bin and some bought compost left over from growing spuds in a bin last year - its all going into my spud patch will some left over for the alliums. :)



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