Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: rhysdad on March 22, 2011, 18:33

Title: Chicken manure pellets, carrot growing and hindsight....
Post by: rhysdad on March 22, 2011, 18:33

So, my best growing site for carrots, at home, and tonight, for some inexplicable reason, i've chucked a load of chicken pellets on it and given it a good rake around. I've then thought 'oohh, i wonder if pellets will fork carrots like other manures' and lo and behold, i think the general consensus is YES!!! Oh dear, why don't i read up on things first?  :wub: how long before they disappear and i can get non-forked carrots??

Title: Re: Chicken manure pellets, carrot growing and hindsight....
Post by: iggyboy60 on March 22, 2011, 18:40

rhysdad,what price a packet of seed? Try to find other ground for growing carrots,but I would also still sow carrot seeds in your prepared bed as well. Reason for this being,I was lead to believe that it was only fresh manure that caused forking in carrots. Others my beg to differ,at the end of the day you wont know the outcome unless you try for yourself :)

Title: Re: Chicken manure pellets, carrot growing and hindsight....
Post by: Hobnails on March 22, 2011, 21:33

I agree with iggyboy- go ahead and sow your bed. Carrpts are more likely to fork as a result of the root striking a stone or hard spot than by an excess of nutrients. With all the nitrogen in chicken pellets you should get some lush growth above ground.

Title: Re: Chicken manure pellets, carrot growing and hindsight....
Post by: TerryB on March 23, 2011, 12:19

I'd plant, don't think using chicken pellets is the same as using manure, think it just has less P&K than balanced fertilisers.

I know all the books say don't put manure on beds growing root veg but has anyone ever tested this?
Could it be something which is just repeated from one book to the next?