@PPL - thanks for the comment that the grazing rye wasn't too difficult to dig in. I'd be interested to know if digging it in actually killed it off, or did you have to weed/hoe it into submission during the growing season?
I used shears to cut it down to the ground (don't have a strimmer) then dug it all in. A couple of bits of root started growing again where I hadn't dug them in properly and I either tried again or chucked those bits on the compost heap.
So is it possible to use this method and not need to use horse manure ever again? Or should manure still be planned in somewhere along the line??
I'm sure there are many opinions on this matter!
This book apparently argues that it is possible (not obvious from the blurb on the link below admittedly)-I'm waiting to get my hands on a copy.
http://www.eco-logicbooks.co.uk/index.cfm?fa=book_details&book_id=990Next year I plan to use green manure as stated above and reserve the horse manure for hungry feeders such as courgette and squash and raspberries. I'd like to reduce my use of manure mainly because of importing weeds onto the plot but also the time taken to bag it up sufficient quantities and collect it from my current source in multiple car loads. (Husband is NOT keen on manure on the car either!
![Roll Eyes ::)](https://chat.allotment-garden.org/Smileys/green/rolleyes.gif)
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I'm not convinced whether green manure will actually save time, but provided I don't allow it to go to seed anything that doesn't
increase the number of weeds on the plot is a bonus!
Next year my ideas will probably change, (depending on what I learn on this forum :blink: and my experience) but that's all part of the fun.