Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: ThatsNice on February 02, 2013, 10:36
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I have found a source of horse manure from very local stables, that I've been invited to help myself too. They have told me its been sitting since October. I'm intending putting a heap full in my new compost bins (when they're built!). I was wondering though, when I come to plant my spuds in a few weeks time, will that manure be ok to use on the spud beds or should I use something else until its rotted down for longer?
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if it doesn't smell like .....erm.......... poo :D then it's ok to use :)
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Haha!! :D :nowink: Good tip! Will have a good sniff before spreading it about 8)
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I am always very very wary about using fresh horse manure or even some composted stuff as weed seeds are designed to pass thro a horses digestive system and be deposited in its own mini compost heap !! spread this on the land at your own risk Best place is to bury it deepish so that any viable seeds are unable to reach the surface or as a mulch in dry weather so the seeds germinate and die off or the birds get them ;)
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I use it all the time and it has loads of shavings... Everyone always says "you have to leave it to rot down first" ... well look at these pics and decide for yourself. I just add some extra fertilizer or chicken pellets to give it some nitrogen to break the shavings down..
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Here is another at the height of the growing season.. :D I have done it for years like this..
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Wow Gavin that is brilliant.
Ive got a load that looks very much like your does in the first pic. I thought I would have to leave it to rot for aaaaaaaaaages.
I have put some directly onto the lottie but got shaking of the head and tuts when i did by the old timers , sorry Experienced plot holders.
So just chuck it on and then throw on chicken pellets as well?
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That does indeed look fab! I am very encouraged to just go for it now :D
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It might not be right but it seems to work for me.
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Well i must say things have grown well for you there ..
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the question is do you fertilise in other ways too? such as fish blood and bone, growmore etc? a lot of the older hands throw fresh muck on their plots and don't worry that it hasn't time to rot and they all do well. i always ask what else they use though as muck is more of a soil conditioner that a fertiliser.
plus, with the year we've just had i imagine a heck of a lot of nutrients have been washed away. i'll be adding liberal handfuls of fish blood and bone throughout the year.
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Manure on potato beds is supposed to cause potato scab on the skin.
Now I now this doesn't effect the potato beneath the skin - but depends what type you're planting. Scabby looking new potatoes aren't very appealing! :tongue2:
I use pelleted chicken manure on my potatoes only and save the manure for eveything else.
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I think you have to balance the possibility that the manure is infected with the bacteria which can cause scab with the fact that dry conditions when the tubers are forming is perfect for allowing infection to take place (the other risk factor is alkaline soil conditions.)
I prioritise my home-made compost for use in the spud trenches and have never had scabby spuds despite growing them in a very light soil.
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Manure on potato beds is supposed to cause potato scab on the skin.
Now I now this doesn't effect the potato beneath the skin - but depends what type you're planting. Scabby looking new potatoes aren't very appealing! :tongue2:
I use pelleted chicken manure on my potatoes only and save the manure for eveything else.
Mine were fab with no scabbs at all..
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This is encouraging as I've picked up a few fresh bags at the weekend.
I was always lead to believe that you need to rot down hot manures because of the potential for food poisoning?
Gavin do you prep your beds with fresh poo in autumn or sping?
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I do exactly as you do Gavin. Spread the manure all over the plot. Worked for my Dad and his mates, and so far, works for me to!! :)
Sometimes I put cardboard down first and then spread manure on top. This all gets weathered down and is great to plant in. :D
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This is encouraging as I've picked up a few fresh bags at the weekend.
I was always lead to believe that you need to rot down hot manures because of the potential for food poisoning?
Gavin do you prep your beds with fresh poo in autumn or sping?
Hi Ema - it depends when it gets delivered which varies dependant on the local stables when they deliver to our site. If its there I get and put on asap.. So basically to answer your question - anytime from autumn when the crops are out till just before I plant in Spring..
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Ok so now im confused.
I spread some 2 month old manure on my spud patch in late november maby early december which i hope will be fine by planting time in mid march but is there really a possibility for food poisoning from fresh manure?
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Lots to read if you Gurgle "Pathogens in animal manure"
In a nutshell, there are potential risks from using most sorts of manure, especially when fresh, but they are pretty minimal in practice unless you do something really inadvisable like putting fresh manure on your salad crops shortly before eating them (and then don't wash the produce properly first.)
Most veg are of course cooked before eating, which kills any potential nasties anyway.
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Dai - You tend to live... I'm still alive after living on a farm, eating farm animals, farm milk, farm veg grown in manure, farm water from the well.... etc... etc... everything that Google and others say one shouldn't do..
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The biggest risk is if you put manure on the plot that has come from a meat eating animal so def no dog or cat manure nor any meat in the compost bins
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Ihave used horse manure for years, but always leave it for 5 to 6 months before using it, you do get a few weeds off it, but so what thats what a hoe is for.
It works well with potaoes but place the manure below the potato and then soil above it , or rotavate it in well, doing this i have never had scab on my potatoes.
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No need to wait for a 'bin', just make a brick shaped heap with slightly sloping sides, earth up the sides and cover the top. That will give you a better product than a bin or frame. If it's a big heap and fresh enough to heat up, make a couple of chimneys from bunches of twigs, to prevent it 'burning' and losing nutrients. If it needs turning, that's easier with a heap too.
Partially rotted material encourages fungal conditions in the crops, if you want to avoid these then only add well rotted manure or compost to the soil unless it will have time to finish breaking down before you need to sow or plant. If partially rotted is all you have and you have to use it, then when your plants are growing, make a tea from Horsetail (equisetum) and water the ground around them with it to ward off fungal infections.