[dougsta]

i need to work out how much manure i need for the autumn the plan is i will cover the plot in 4 inches(or should it be more or less) all over and between myself and a fork and the worms i will dig it in
my plot is roughly 180 feet long by 15/16 feet wide
photos can be seen in my gallery i think

thanks for the maths in advance

Turning this into metres (not cos I like it cos the calc is easier) you have about 54m * 4.8m * 0.1m = about 27 cubic metres - as others have said.

Never mind the weight for a moment, let's stick with the volume. You need to know how big a heap to get.

The cube root of 27 is 3. That means that you need the equivalent of a 3m wide, by 3m long, by 3m high heap of muck. Allowing for some compression (the muck at the bottom gets squashed by the weight above it and when you spread it over the plot it expands again) that doesn't sound like such a monster heap to me.

It's a lot of muck, don't get me wrong, but not 30 builder's bags full.

Make any sense?

[Zippy]

Why is animal manure the nutrient of choice here? Just because that is what everyone uses or because it really is the most efficient way of building a wholesome soil structure?

Genuine question here; not trolling for an argument or trying to force my alternative point.

[aelf]

Hi Dougsta

if you stacked 27 full builders sacks in a square, that would be 3m wide and 3m high, it's just the same!

[DD.]

Precisely!

[dougsta]

Of course

[JayG]

Why is animal manure the nutrient of choice here? Just because that is what everyone uses or because it really is the most efficient way of building a wholesome soil structure?

Genuine question here; not trolling for an argument or trying to force my alternative point.

It's by far the easiest way of adding organic matter and nutrients to the soil, and will improve both sandy and clay soils over time. Peat is non-PC, and home-made compost is hard to produce in sufficient quantity, especially for allotment-sized plots. I can see that green manuring has its benefits and possibly should be used more extensively, although there is surely quite a lot of digging involved which is a possible turn-off for many.

(It's not the whole answer though, a sandy soil with lots of organic material added is much improved but is still intrinsically sandy and will revert if the effort is not kept up; loams are a mixture of clay, silt, sand and organic matter, which is why I'm experimenting with adding some clay donated by a neighbour who is a professional gardener.)

[Zippy]

JayG - thank you. For me I find there is not so much digging as (apart from the initial double dig I did three years ago when I first took on the plot) I don't dig; I just mount more organic material on top and let nature take its course.

This means that green manure is simply covered over and it dies down because light is excluded.

I do agree that my two large compost bins are just about enough for the half plot (20 x 20 feet of growing space in total) I work. If I had a larger plot I would struggel to find enough compost material wihtout quitting my job I think!

My approach takes longer but I enjoy and prefer the chosen process. Each to their own.

[sloworm]

Hi Zippy I have thought about using green manure and am happy to dig but am a little worried that it could take over and become a weed ! If planted in the autumn will just digging it over in the spring kill it off?

[Lardman]

Why is animal manure the nutrient of choice here? Just because that is what everyone uses or because it really is the most efficient way of building a wholesome soil structure?

Some of us have such poor soil EVEN green manure wont grow.

[Zippy]

Hi Sloworm - it depends on what you sow. So far I have steered clear of things like grasses; which are meant to either be laid aside for fallowing or are turned over.

If choosing something like Winter Tares for overwintering or buckwheat in the spring if you are not using the bed for a while then a simple hoeing through will kill the manure crop and start the decomposing process.

The advantage of green manuring is the plants hold onto nutrients through winter which are then available for release the following spring.

If I had a full plot, I would have to use both methods I think; animal and green manuring.

[DD.]

Zippy - what you - and others have to bear in  mind with your method, is the size of your plot.

You refer to it as a "half plot", yet it's one eighth the size of what we'd call a full plot here. Those with larger plots would find it impossible to use your method with own sourced organic matter and have to resort to importing it.

[Zippy]

DD - agreed. Even with gleaning lawn mowings off the local copse, raking up leaves from local residents and putting some of the plot over to green manure beds such as Comfrey and of course the compost I make from weeding and veg waste I only just make enough to keep my little plot in nutrient credit.

If I were to take on a plot such as the ones you describe, I would have to rely on animal manuring as well though I would be choosy about where it came from - preferably organic and I would want to ensure animal welfare.

Alternatively with a plot your described size I would put more over to green manure and consider half of it to be for produce.  Apart from Comfrey which is a static bed, green manure could then take part in the rotation of crops.

[DD.]

I've got one that size & so has Mrs. Digger. Wouldn't consider not growing in half of it - the neighbours would starve!

I'm fortunate in that a neighbour keeps horses and dumps manure pre-bagged on our driveway. Like the spuds I grow - it's certified!!

[Ivor Backache]

i need to work out how much manure i need for the autumn the plan is i will cover the plot in 4 inches(or should it be more or less) all over and between myself and a fork and the worms i will dig it in my plot is roughly 180 feet long by 15/16 feet wide

I want to do the same thing and have googled 'how much manure' .
Defra's estimation is 40 tonne per hectare which equates to 4kms/sq m or in English, a bucketful for 2sq m or a (builders)barrowful for each metre width of your allotment.
Other sites suggest spreading to a depth of 3cm. and 35lbs/100sq ft.

Nowhere do I see anything near 4", so you could reduce your calculation by at least a half.
Also nearly all sites talk about rotted manure and spreading in the spring. Manure spread in the autumn will have lost most of its nutritional value at planting time. Better to store under wraps and spread in early spring after you have finished digging the plot.

You would need 60 barrowfulls minus beds that don't need manuring.

[mobilekat]

One thing to remember with some of the green manures is they can affect your rotations, Winter Tares being a legume it can harbour diseases etc and you then wont be growing peas on that part of the garden the next year.

I think everything that you can compost plus manure is often an ideal way to keep a poor soil usable.
My uncle never buys any fertilisers for his garden, (other than tomato food for those greedy monsters!) he relies on what their horses produce.- which is great if you have a free equine product mountain!- and they have an interesting sandy/clay soil mix!
Also many small farmers mainly rely on what their beasties produce too- but I was taught that if possible with livestock you should try to avoid using a species own manure to fertilise where they graze to break worm life cycles!

But as people have said its finding what works for you!