Advice needed on compost vs manure

[dizzychickenParticipant]

Hi,

I am wanting to go no-dig on my allotment. I already do this at home, with raised beds in a polytunnel and a small outdoor patch. I create my own compost at home but I can only do enough for the space I have at home. I want to get started at the lottie by covering my whole plot (its only a half plot). I am going to have to buy in compost/manure (have tried the local farm but they cant help at the moment). I have seem on Compost Direct (rec by the National Allotment Society) that I can buy Manure or something they call ‘Veggie Gold Compost’

Which would it be best for me to get to start off? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Clare

[StringfellowParticipant]

I’d hang fire until the local farm(s) can help you out (prepferably before spring) Clare. 110 barrow loads of 2y.o. from our local for £40, delivered, gives you an idea of what is possible. Good bit cheaper than the stuff, wonderful though it is, from the company you mentioned. Hope that helps.

[bluebellParticipant]

Clare do you want it as weed suppressor or to add nutrients?
If to suppress weeds try a local recycling centre which takes your green waste may be worth a try ?

[dizzychickenParticipant]

Thank you for the replies!
Stringfellow – thanks for the tip, the local farm weren’t sure if they would be able to help before spring (they have just turned 3/4 of their land into a solar farm!). Might try a bit further afield

[dizzychickenParticipant]

Hi Bluebell – I got my allotment in September, its not been worked for at least a year. I have cleared all the big weeds, covered some of it with some plastic that I had. I want to create some beds for planting early in the new year but just wasnt sure if compost or manure would be best. Our local recycling centre sells the compost from the green waste but not sure of the quality. Thanks for replying

[charlesModerator]

Clare, if the manure is decomposed (reasonably dark and crumbly, no masses of unrotted bedding) then it has transformed into compost!
Manure is a confusing word for gardeners as it describes organic matter in so many different states. I am lucky to have deliveries from a farmer who has stacked it for over a year, otherwise you need space to stack (compost) it yourself.

[dizzychickenParticipant]

Thank you Charles. I am struggling to find a local farm that stacks the manure for that long and I don’t have enough space to store it for a year at the moment. I want to get growing next year so may well have to buy in to start with. I have offered bags for horse muck but there is an awful lot of straw in it. Thank you for your advice

[RandAParticipant]

We use the local council compost that is organically verified and we get 20 tons delivered in a big tractor and do the no dig and our results are amazing, i won 5 first prizes in our local show this year!!! . So far we have had 4 loads over 2 years and I would suggest you try it if you can find somewhere to source it near where you live.

[dizzychickenParticipant]

Thanks RandA, I will definitely give that a try! Do you contact the local council directly or the green waste recycling? I thing our local recycling has been outsourced but I guess that shouldn’t be a problem

[RandAParticipant]

Hi Dizzychicken

Our council outsources as well, they contract with a local farm who collect all the little compost bins and then take to convert to compost and there vans are always around. It was fairly easy to find them, we do live in rural south wales and the local farmers agricultural/ hardware store has details of them but I am sure the council waste department would be able to assist as well, where are you based in the UK?

[sacredbearParticipant]

Hi,

I had the same decision to make last year. I have a local farmer who had well rotted cow manure, so i went for a couple of tons of that. It was very nutrient rich, but i found it had many, many weeds seeds in it. In the end i wish i had done 50/50. Manure layer underneath with compost from the recycling centre over the top.

hope that helps.

[RhysParticipant]

Depends from council to council what they do with the Green Waste. London Borough of Hillingdon have a very efficient operation ongoing with an outsourced contractor, but you can only get a small amount of free stuff each year – nothing like enough to cover an allotment.

I go around filling my green waste bags with fallen leaves at around this time of year and that is a better mulch than nothing if you can’t get any manure this year. I”m currently experimenting using different mulches as preparation for different crops – I use horse manure for potatoes, this year I’m trying leaf mulch where the parsnips, carrots and onions will go and I’ve used home made compost for the garlic, spring cabbage, winter onions and spinach.

[dizzychickenParticipant]

Hi RandA, I live on the Dorset/Hampshire boarder, literally 100 yards outside of the New Forest National Park boundary, just outside Christchurch – not as rural as I would like to be but we don’t have street lights in our road (does that count?).

I have been doing a bit of research and all our waste including the ‘brown bins’ (for certain garden waste) is collected by a partnership of all Dorset councils, so far I can’t find any information on them selling compost. There are no diary farmers left around us. One farm has a few cows but looks like that will be closing soon, other than that it tends to be lots of equestrian who want the muck shifted asap and I don’t have space to store for a year. Think I may have to buy in for this year and see if the allotment committee will give me a little corner somewhere on site to stack manure for future use

[dizzychickenParticipant]

Hi Scaredbear – thanks for the tip. I was very worried about the amount of weeds that might come through. I have put horse muck on my veg area at home and then been forever weeding it so I am a little weary of doing that again! As I have said above, sadly where I live there are few farms and they are disappearing fast. Thanks for sharing your experience, its very helpful

[dizzychickenParticipant]

Hi Rhys, thanks for your reply. How did the potatoes do in horse manure? How well rotted was the manure? Our road is one of the original in our village and lined with oak trees so I have been going out collecting leaves. My neighbours sweep all their leaves into the road and I am out there bagging them up, they think I am mad! I have homemade compost on my garlic and winter onions this year, so it will be interesting to see how they do.

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