The correct manure/fertiliser ?

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tallgingerbloke

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The correct manure/fertiliser ?
« on: January 23, 2011, 19:33 »
Hi all,

I read a lot about which fertilisers to use on which crop and at which time. What soil improvers to use and what not to use.

To the beginner (very much like me  ;)) this is a little confusing and with all the planning for which crops etc, I would love a more simple solution, so....

If there was just one thing I can do to improve my soil for all crops, all places a couple of times a year, what would it be?

I realise this may be a bit simplistic , but hey, so am I :D

cheers

Tim

p.s. I have a sticky, clay soil and am trying to grow fruit, veg and excuses as to why I shouldn't need to do any ironing.
Thinking of calling my shed "the Dun Inn".

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Yorkie

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Re: The correct manure/fertiliser ?
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2011, 19:42 »
Adding organic matter to your soil is the one thing which will make the most difference.  That's manure, compost, leaf mould, etc.

I would avoid carrots on that soil - they prefer sandy light soils.  Parsnips might be a little tricky to germinate; if you wish to grow them, leave sowing them until April rather than Feb.

Don't manure where you plan to grow the parsnips, but otherwise pile the stuff on in autumn and overwinter.
I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days all attack me at once...

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bigben

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Re: The correct manure/fertiliser ?
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2011, 19:49 »
Get started composting would be my first point - this however will not provide you with anything in the short term.

Have you got any old leaves still lying around that could be bagged up for future use? (Again this will not be a quick fix but will provide you with leaf mould in a year or two) good for breaking up your clay.
Consider trying to get your hands on free horse manure which benefits most crops except roots like carrots - it causes them to fork. Chicken manure pellets and blood fish and bone are widely used to provide nutrients.

Clay soil tends to be better in terms of nutrients but does need lots of organic matter to help break it up. You might find in your first year your soil is pretty good and you can grow what you want without having to add much more.

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TheSpartacat

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Re: The correct manure/fertiliser ?
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2011, 19:57 »
Two fold job
1. Lots of organic matter into the soil
2. Topping up the nutrients in the soil

The first and most important thing you want to be doing is making your own compost to incorporate into the soil-  rotting down all your garden waste, veg scraps, annual weeds- as all of that will improve soil structure, which is important for good drainage, moisture retention (yes that sounds like a contradiction but you need a balance between the two), soil aeration and to hold any nutrients in the soil structure, including trace elements. Manure does the same thing as compost, but supposedly has higher nutrient content (though i've read conflicting stories on that)
If you havent got plenty of organic matter in the soil then it doesnt matter what you feed the plants- they'll not get the full benefit of it. Organic matter is the nice 'spongey' stuff that gives the texture good soil needs- neither dry and barren or wet and waterlogged.

On top of that, vegetables will benefit from feeding.
As far as I'm aware, compost doesnt have high levels of nutrients to grow "hard", where you're cropping the same patch of land year after year (and taking the nutrients out of the soil in the form of your nice veggies) So you need to replace those.

SOme people use a general purpose fertiliser like Growmore... or you can use chicken pellets, or Fish Blood and Bone- all of which break down at different speeds and have different levels of NPK (nitrogen phosphorous and potassium) - depending on what is growing, as different veg use more of one or the other (fruiting plants like tomatoes and strawberries love potash/potassium, but they still need the other two)

Or you can go up the comfrey tea and nettle tea route which are great food for plants- just rot the comfrey or nettles down to make a liquid feed!? This is a great additional thing to boost the plants, if you have access to loads of nettles or can devote some space to growing comfrey.

Root vegetables dont like recently manured ground- they produce lots of roots instead of the big tap root that you need, so never manure a patch you're about to grow those on

Hope thats of help
« Last Edit: January 23, 2011, 19:59 by TheSpartacat »

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solway cropper

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Re: The correct manure/fertiliser ?
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2011, 21:54 »
My plot soil is derived from boulder clay so is heavy and stony. Five seasons ago I started it from scratch by digging up part of a lawn and, as I had no compost and was new to area and didn't know any horse keepers I just worked in some blood fish and bone fertilizer. Crops were surprisingly good and the following year I had plenty of compost to add and since then I've never looked back.

As others have said, clay soils tend to be rich in nutrients but they do need a bit of help and compost or manure is the best thing you can give them.

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Kristen

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Re: The correct manure/fertiliser ?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2011, 09:37 »
I'll try simple:

1. Work organic matter into the soil. Well rotted Manure or home made compost. Don't put manure where you are planning to put Parsnips or Carrots.

2. Work some general fertilizer (so called "Growmore") into the surface in (e.g. using a hoe, not a spade!) a couple of weeks before you start a crop.

3. Come back and ask for more advanced variations once you've got that cracked!

I don't have enough time to do a good job (although I have lots of experience). I do pay attention to getting manure on every year.  Other than that mostly I plant the crops and water them when needed. Anything else I manage to do "by the book" is a bonus! Not recommending that as a target, but it does work - although I'm sure I get lower yields than if I fed and cared for them more.

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NorfolkVeg

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Re: The correct manure/fertiliser ?
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2011, 13:18 »
I'll try simple:

1. Work organic matter into the soil. Well rotted Manure or home made compost. Don't put manure where you are planning to put Parsnips or Carrots.

Kristen - Is it OK to use Well Rotted manure while seeding or planting out or does the rule of only using when season has ended still apply?


2. Work some general fertilizer (so called "Growmore") into the surface in (e.g. using a hoe, not a spade!) a couple of weeks before you start a crop.

Kristen - Is 'Growmore' a brand name?  Do any other companies make something similar I can search for?

Cheers

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Kristen

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Re: The correct manure/fertiliser ?
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2011, 13:49 »
I'll try simple:

1. Work organic matter into the soil. Well rotted Manure or home made compost. Don't put manure where you are planning to put Parsnips or Carrots.

Kristen - Is it OK to use Well Rotted manure while seeding or planting out or does the rule of only using when season has ended still apply?

You can use well rotted manure at any time. If you are going to use it as a mulch - just laying on top of the soil to supress weeds, ad keep the moisure in, then put it on in SPring once the soil has warmed up (otherwise you will "seal" the cold in and the soil will take longer to warm up)

If you are going to dig it in, or rotavate, then anytime is fine.  Better to have it, than not.

Quote
2. Work some general fertilizer (so called "Growmore") into the surface in (e.g. using a hoe, not a spade!) a couple of weeks before you start a crop.

Kristen - Is 'Growmore' a brand name?  Do any other companies make something similar I can search for?
[/quote]

"Growmore" may once have been a brand name, I can't remember, but now its just a generic term.  Fertilizers have N:P:K ratios, those being the main elements for plants - Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium - and "Growmore" has them in equal amounts - which I think are 10 : 10 : 10. (If you find some 20 : 20 : 20 for example, then that's the same, but you only need half as much of it :) )

Sulphate of Ammonia which promotes growth is all Nitrogen - it.s NPK is 20-0-0, whereas Tomorite for Tomato Fruiting is rich in Potassium and its NPK is 4 : 4.5 : 8



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