Fresh manure mulch

[JaneyBParticipant]

I have an area of fruit trees and bushes {apples/plums plus red/black/white currants.) I have a large quantity of (very) fresh stable manure with shavings as the bedding. I want to suppress weeds between the trees and bushes and also feed the plants themselves. Will a mulch of fresh manure with shavings do both? Presumably I can use the fresh manure/shavings between the trees to keep the weeds down but can I use it close up to the trees as well or will I get the nitrogen robbery thing going on? I have read that its ok to use shavings as a mulch but only if you add a nitrogen source as well. Surely the nitrogen source is in the urine soaked shavings?

[charlesModerator]

 Hello Janey, Yes your plan sounds good.

What you read is not true unless the shavings were incorporated, meaning they were in full contact with soil. But on the surface they have little contact with soil so they cannot rob its nitrogen. and they are in contact with air, with bacteria such as azotobacter able to fix some nitrogen from air and help breakdown of materials on the surface. Air is three quarters nitrogen. Urine will help too but actually you don’t want them to rot too fast as they are your mulch.

Tree roots spread a long way out so this applies to the whole patch, it will be a good mulch for them.

[JaneyBParticipant]

Thanks Charles!

[RhysParticipant]

Two pear trees, a plum tree and a cherry tree got the treatment.

We’ll see how they flower and fruit in the spring.

[ashleighParticipant]

would it be ok to use fresh manure mulch on raspberries and currants?

[RhysParticipant]

I’ve got some stuff rotting down which I’m turning every 2 days or so which I intend to put on the raspberries in March, after 4 months of the worms doing their stuff, which I can visibly detect on a monthly basis in terms of the fresh manure turning blacker, the worms growing bigger etc etc.

I’ve read on the net that you could risk it, but I’m not going to first time around. Raspberries are, after all, the most expensive plants in town!!

Don’t have any blackcurrants so can’t comment about those……

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