Manure - "to dig or not to dig" that is my question.

I have spread a thick layer of fresh horse manure over a large area of my allotment because the ground is so poor. Having done so, what is the best thing to do with it now? I feel it should be dug in to be of any real use but that's not an easy thing to do!

In walking on the manure, I grow several inches in height and as fast as i dig it in I seem to dig it up again - and it's hard work!

Has anyone got any suggestions or advice, please?

 

Quaedor,if you find digging in the manure too hard then why don't you just leave it on top of the soil and try not to keep walking on it as the ground underneath will start to become compacted.

The worms in the soil will gradually pull the manure down into the soil and will digest some of it as well as breeding when the weather is warmer which will give you a good supply of soil breakers as that is one of the jobs of the earth worm.

I usually use home made compost and leaf mold on my allotment as I can't get hold of the proper stuff and then after a week or so I rotavate it into the ground which I find easier than trying to dig it in.We used to always winter dig our 30 pole but when we started getting older and the ground easier to manage we stopped winter digging and we just keep rotavating the soil and it is now nice and crumbly.

If you have any bonfires on the land then the ash will help to give a good structure in the soil will all go to help

 

Hi Quaedor I have to agree with Kandy's idea of leaving the poop on top of your soil and letting the worms do their thing, this is the same advice we have been given by our allotment buddies and it does work very well or so they tell me.:wink:

Leave the poop to do it's thing and turn it all over in spring a couple of seasons of doing this and you will be rewarded with some lovely soil just like Kandy has.Hel.xxx.

 

Thanks all!

That's the problem - I've heard both sides of the argument - hence the question! I understand both points of view and will have to consider what has been said. It's, obviously, easier to leave the manure on the top of the soil but I've heard that it's more beneficial to dig it in..

Kandyfloss, I had to smile at the picture that came to mind when I read your reply! I don't go walking on the manure - what I meant was that, from my past experience, when trying to dig it in, it just clings to the bottom of my boots and I slowly get taller! I suppose I could carry the manure over to where I want it, a bit at a time, and dig each bit in as I go along but that sounds to me to be very time consuming - also, I hadn't thought of doing that and the stuff is spread all over, now, quite thickly. It's, also, very fresh manure collected directly from the fields so is very slippery (yuk!) and like walking on mud.

One other thing I heard was to add lime to the manure, which will, then, so it's said. help to break it down into "compost" far quicker but I've never done that so it's another thing I will have to think about.

Once again thanks very much to you all for your replies.

 

Quaedar,I have the same problem with muck sticking to the bottom of my boots.When I first started allotmenteering 28 years ago I was 5ft 1" now I am over 6ft:D

What sort of manure are you collecting to have it so fresh?You really need to stack it first or put it into compost bins for at least six months,possibly longer through colder weather.If you leave it to rot down in the soil as it is so fresh it can take nutrients from the soil as bacteria and other nice things break it down.It is much better for the soil that way and the rule of thumb is never add lime to the soil at the same time as manure.

If I was you I wouldn't spread any more until you have looked more into it.Any good gardening books from the shops or library will point you in the right direction also if you Google manure you should come up with plenty of advice

 

My view as a non expert, but what I have observed in my own garden


Compost-leave on the top-the worms will do the work for you, it doesn`t damage anything in particular if it touches the collar of the plants, and it will act as a mulch during winter, conserving moisture and keeping weeds down.

Manure-dig in. It will burn the collar and the roots of plants if you allow it to be in continual contact with them.

It very very much depends on whther you are growing edible plants or ornamental.

Lime is essential if growing edible plants, but you do need to test your soil.

 

If digging in is too hard leave it on top but cover it with a mulch of grass clippings or something similar: it keeps the nitrogen from dispersing in the atmosphere, adds some nitrogen of its own and keeps the stuff a bit warmer and a bit moist, so the worms and bacteria can manageit more easy. In spring, when you prepare the soil for planting you will mix everything up nicely.

I have found that using fresh manure in autumn to enrich the soil that will not be planted for several months is quite ok, but of course old one must always be used in planted areas.

Lime does help, but you don't need it if hte soil is already rather alkaline.

 

I would say, rake it off. Because you are doing more harm than good by using fresh manure. Manure should be left at least 12 months before using. Then, to use it, you should turn over the ground and spread and leave the WELL ROTTED manure for the worms to take into the soil.:thumb:

 

Ditto davids comments.

 

Quaedar,

I have the same problem with muck sticking to the bottom of my boots.When I first started allotmenteering 28 years ago I was 5ft 1" now I am over 6ft


What sort of manure are you collecting to have it so fresh?You really need to stack it first or put it into compost bins for at least six months,possibly longer through colder weather.If you leave it to rot down in the soil as it is so fresh it can take nutrients from the soil as bacteria and other nice things break it down.It is much better for the soil that way and the rule of thumb is never add lime to the soil at the same time as manure.


If I was you I wouldn't spread any more until you have looked more into it. Any good gardening books from the shops or library will point you in the right direction also if you Google manure you should come up with plenty of advice

Thanks so much to everyone – Kandyfloss, David, Pro Gard, Ivory, Lollipop73, JWK, Helofadigger, and anyone I’ve missed!

I’ve read all the replies but have probably only taken in a bit so far – I’ll have to read them again!

I have got and read many gardening books and googled, Kandyfloss, but not really found the answer to my own particular problem – at least not to my satisfaction. I prefer to, hopefully, learn from other’s experience, hence the question. One, also, gets many tips and tricks, and useful advice by so doing! But thanks.

The manure is fresh, straight from the fields - a large trailer load (about 6ft x 4 ft x 2ft deep), and, perhaps, I shouldn’t have but I’ve spread it over a large area of my allotment. I’m lucky because I can get a free large trailer load any time I want – they come from a friend who keeps horses and needs to get rid of the stuff. The next trailer load is going into a large, separate composter.

The problem is, that the allotment, in summer, won’t retain any moisture and dries out far too quickly, whatever I do, leaving the surface rock hard. If ever you’ve walked along a country lane that, over the years, has been polished by the feet of many other walkers – that’s my allotment! And it feels like ti to dig - it’s, also, full of flint stones but that’s another problem – I stone-pick and sieve but it’s not easy!

The reason for doing what I did with the manure was, about three years ago, a friend I took over, and shared, an allotment. The soil there was just as bad as what I have now and, not knowing anything about gardening (I’m still learning but think I’m getting better!) we covered the whole allotment with inches deep fresh manure, in October, and left it, like that, over winter. We dug the manure in, several times during the early part of the following year, and the ground was nothing like it had been. We had to watch what we planted and sowed but the soil was beautiful.

We now have individual allotments and I decided to do the same with my new one. That’s the story of what I’ve done and why.

One of the choices I had was to cover the manure with a thick layer of compost (of which I can buy a large quantity, locally and reasonably cheap) rather than dig the stuff in, which is not easy. This might be the best solution.

When googling, I read about adding lime to lock in the nitrogen, which is why I mentioned it but I have no knowledge or experience of doing this so will have to re-consider.

Raking it off, David, would be a big job, now. I don’t intend to sow or plant anything there until April next year so, perhaps, things won’t be too bad. I could even leave it, because it’s not my only allotment – I have another one with all raised beds and that I am not putting manure on!

Thanks for all your replies and I shall, I promise, take note. At least I, now, have a good idea as to what to do and what not to do! Any further advice, ideas or suggestions would be vey much appreciated.

Sorry for the long “letter” - hope iy makes sense!