[Lis-M]

Hello all... i am a newbie here.. and we have just started an allotment ....just a week ago to be exact...
the plot is not tooo bad.. the previous owner had to give it up cos of a bad back. She has had areas sectioned off with wood.. with grassy (couch )paths in between.. all a bit higgledy -piggeldy really. we have cleared nearly half so far, and I know peas and spuds are imminent.. but I am not sure whether to add a little chicken manure or not... i realise the main addition of manure is at the end of the year, and looking at the plot i'm not sure if this was the case here...
Do we add a little chicken manure as we go...? some books say don't add this to certain veg plantings , some say do... the more we read the unsure we are..? can anyone advise..?

[DD.]

Welcome to the forums.

I think you've hit "new poll", not "new post".

Adding fertiliser depends on the crop, it's horses for courses and you can't give a rule that covers all.

Spuds - yes add your pellets before planting, they are really heavy feeders, peas don't need them, but would benefit from humus found in, for example, horse and cow manure, added the previous autumn.

I use chicken manure pellets quite a bit to supplement the horse manure I have access to. I never apply the pellets the previous autumn as to my mind the nutrients in them will just leech out of the soil over winter.

Other crops that generally don't need fertiliser are roots, such as carrots & parsnips and the salad crops.

[Kleftiwallah]

Is it chicken manure or chicken manure pellets?   If the former, unless it is years old it still may be too 'strong' for your plants and is best put in your compost bin to assist composting.  If the latter, then scatter away.     

I collected a load of chicken pooh in my old van, I had to drive all the way home with all windows open and a couple of stops when it got too 'intense'.       Cheers,    Tony.

[Lis-M]

Hi thanks.. its pellets.... I was referring to manure (horse) for the end of the season...

[ilan]

No just dig and clear the plot at the moment plant then as you dont know what happened last year or if there is or was any crop rotation then plan this to start next year and give the appropriate treatment at the end of this year or early next . of course you need to feed toms ect with the relevant feeds . but as the ground has possibly been cultivated for many years it should not be in to poor condition as to require manure this year .