carrots, onions and manure

[Newby]

Happily built my new raised beds at the weekend and have filled one with newspaper, organic animal manure, straw, more animal manure and then compost. But when I started to read up on carrots and onions one book said that carrots and onions hate freshly manured ground?! Is this true and – if so – should I use that bed for my brassicas and only use newspaper, straw and compost in the onion and carrot bed?! Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

[charles]

 Much advice in books is given with the assumption that you have dug soil and then have added, in this case you are quoting, fresh manure. Mixing, incorporating manure into dug soil can cause forking, hence some advice against using it. Also fresh manure is not good for most plants, but they need to say how fresh they mean, I advise using manure more than a year old. (or younger as mulch around courgettes, squash)

However I find that carrots and parsnips love to grow in beds with plenty of compost and old manure, and grow well, when the manure is dark and reasonably crumbly.  I have not found any vegetable disliking to grow in compost and older manure.

[Newby]

Thanks Charles. I clearly have to learn the lingo a little better! But means I can carry on with the other bed as the manure is well rotted and crumbly.

[Author]

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