[NewSteve]

Hi all,

It's my first post in the forum so be gentle!

Due to a combination of bad weather and my wife working away, we've only just finished cutting the turf off our new veg plot. The original plan was that it would be plot 1 of our eventual 3/4 plot rotation and we'd dig some manure in last Autumn. Obviously that didn't happen... is it too late to add organic matter now? We'll want to get some seconde earlies in by the end of March. If not manure, we may be able to get hold of some decent quality compost.

The plan now is to split the plot in two and grow potatoes, squashes, cucumber and spinach on the 'manure' side and beans, onions, garlic, lettuce, radish etc. etc. on the other. Roots and brassicas to come in later years...


EDIT: Reading down I can see this has been answered about a million times before! Since we also don't really have a source of well rotted manure, I'm going to go with poultry pellets across the whole plot. Unless anyone tells me not to 

[mumofstig]

Welcome to the forum 
You can just use compost, it will work just fine 

[Hamani]

Welcome!

Don't get too worked up about trying to have perfect soil straight away. Work it over the years, adding manure and compost when you can. Simply cultivating it will make it better over time.

Gardening is a slow mans game =]

- Gary.

[DD.]

I know some women who would disagree with that! 

[Azazello]

You could try a few bags of well-rotted manure. There are a few processors round here - maybe you have one or two nearby? - if the worse comes to the worse, there's always a garden centre for a few bags.

[NewSteve]

Thanks for the advice. I'm sure we'll have a few failures this year but just want to make sure we have some successes too!

According to the neighbours we have great soil. There used to be a pig farm here!

[gremlin]

and it has been suggested  many times to sow to the weather, not to the calender.  I have put off my sowing for two weeks already, and possibly will have to grit my teeth and resist planting spuds / and parsnips for at least another two weeks, if Carol Kirkwood is right.  That will be a month delay, compared to last year

[ilan]

Perhaps its more a case of how you want to grow the veg and what soil you have its more important to have some cultivated depth to it than to have had fresh manure on it If you have a decent depth then the addition of an organic or non organic fertilizer would work. ;)After all most farmers dont plough in tons and tons of manure , but do open up the soil with the plough 

[spudlover]

i see that you taken the turf off. first thing you should do make a compost bin .put the turf in the bin with all you veg peeling and once the bin is full. turn it over in about 6 months.next 6 months put it all in the ground as compost. do the same with fresh horse manure.you cant beat making it youself save money at the end of the day. one way to make compost faster put your wee.on the compost heap.paul