[puffinstuff]

i am at present double digging my plot and wondered what i should put in when i dig over the soil.  I have the choice of horse manure or compost.  I plan to put potatoes into this next year.  All suggestions welcome.

puffinstuff

[gobs]

Manure.

[WG.]

Both if you've got plenty of each.

[Rob the rake]

Seaweed, if you're anywhere near the coast.

Rob.

[WG.]

Seaweed, if you're anywhere near the coast.

Rob.

Does Surrey have a coast?

[TEG]

Watch out if you are on a sandy soil as digging the subsoil can lead to leeching of nutrients.  TEG

[Rob the rake]

Geography was never my best subject, WG.

Rob.

[Rampant_Weasel]

i live on teh coast
u mean i can just wander down to the sea , fill a bag with seaweed and then bury it a spit deep and its as good for the soil as manure?

[WG.]

i live on teh coast
u mean i can just wander down to the sea , fill a bag with seaweed and then bury it a spit deep and its as good for the soil as manure?

Wash it to get rid of extra salt.  Nothing is as good as manure IMHO but seaweed does add trace elements.

[Rob the rake]

No need to wash it WG. A bloke I know has been putting unwashed seaweed on his plot for the last 20 years, and his plants are the healthiest I've ever seen.
I just chop it up with a spade and whack it on as a 2 or 3 inch mulch for the winter, digging or rotavating it in in the spring.
It makes a brilliant liquid manure, full of goodness. A foliar feed par excellence, it also discourages insect pests. As a soil drench it encourages yer microbes. What more can you want ?

The only caveat with regards to salt is to avoid the seaweed which has been standing on the tideline for a while. This stuff is seriously salty, but when dried out thoroughly and powdered is a great slug repellent (used sparingly).

After the bit of rough weather this week there is TONS of kelp on the beach, but I've just had a carpal tunnel op so it's out of bounds.
The inactivity's driving me crazy, I can't even get the lock off the garden gate!

GOD, THE FRUSTRATION........ :evil:  :evil:  :evil:  :evil:  :evil:

Rob.

[WG.]

They always wash it in Surrey, Rob   Hope you are back in action soon after your op.

The farmers in Orkney certainly used to fetch seaweed by the trailerload before artificials became available.  Before my time but most likely spread on the fields before ploughing in.

[Rob the rake]

Thanks WG. It already seems to be improving, the numbness has gone and the soreness/stiffness is abating, but it could still be a while before normal service is resumed.

Rob. :cry:

[WG.]

Thanks WG. It already seems to be improving

That'll be what's known as The Rake's Progress then :?:  

[Rob the rake]

Or lack of it.

[mkhenry]

Seaweed, if you're anywhere near the coast.

Rob.

Does Surrey have a coast?

We donot have a coast line in MK,but they are planning to build a beach in a place called Woburn Sands.
I hope it all go's through then maybe I can get some seaweed for my veg.