This topic contains 8 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by MPG 5 years, 12 months ago.
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Hmm there is some nonsense out there!
Firstly, there is nitrogen in the poo, for example from the residues of grasses and hay.
Secondly, this statement you read might have been written by a manufacturer of chemical fertiliser as its hidden implication is that growth does not happen without plenty of nitrogen. Yes veg need it, and compost has enough and in a slow-release form too, whereas larger amounts of available N cause problems of sappy, unbalanced growth which many insects are attracted to.
So you are doing just fine!G’day from New Zealand. Actually, I’m a UK expat enjoying the good life in NZ. I was introduced to you, Charles, recently via a Facebook message from my son with a link to your video ‘No Dig Abundance’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HATC3rG6NbQ. We are just in the process of turning our front garden into a chicken run and vegetable garden, hopefully heading towards veggie self-sufficiency!
I was particularly interested in the bit of the video where you showed an area of manure that had been covered with old carpet. I noticed that you were talking about cow manure – that suggested that when you first covered the ground with it was ‘fresh’ rather than well rotted.
Could you tell me if I have interpreted that correctly, please? At the beginning of January in NZ we still have plenty of growing time in NZ, particularly where we live at the top of the South Island. By early March, I’m hoping to start growing veggies in an area of grass (including couch grass) that we are covering with horse manure and tarpaulin.
By the way I love the ‘plugging’ method. If I can start planting in the above plot then I will have plenty of time to get my seedlings ready for dibbing and ‘plugging’!
By the way Happy New Year to all – I’m glad to have found this site. There is a lot of contradictory information out there!
Welcome to the forum Sue. And glad you like the video.
Words are a problem! what is fresh to one person is old to another and I hope I have not confused too many people by my video comment. I put down less rotted manure but it was still a year old, more straw visible than usual.
Some gardeners do spread fresh (say less than a month old) manure and it has a weed suppressing effect but I think that quite a few nutrients may be leached out of it. The composting process makes them less soluble in water.
Starting was you are in midsummer, I don’t think that couch grass will be sufficiently killed within two months to remove a tarpaulin. I would leave most of it in place until early spring, just try a corner for your plug plants in March.
Check in winter to see if any couch shoots are still growing, if not all is well, otherwise leave tarp and plant e.g. potatoes, squash through holes perhaps.Thanks Charles – I will learn composting patience!
We had decided to view everything we do in the garden as an experiment, except for dealing with couch grass because we have so much of it! So thank you again for your advice!
I’m looking forward to learning more from your forums!
Hello, I am looking for a bit of advice on pricing. I’ve found some well rotted (5 year old) horse manure for sale on our local rural hub noticeboard, and I’ve asked the price for 15 tonnes, and been told to make an offer! I can’t find any idea of price online (or I can, but they vary so wildly, that it doesn’t help at all!)
Can anyone provide me with guidance please? (also bearing in mind that it will be delivered)Delivery is worthwhile, offer £10/ton perhaps to see.
Age does not guarantee quality eg was the heap aerobic.
But quality varies, perhaps bedded on woodchip, I would check it first, also do a bean test for aminopyralid, for that quantity.Thanks Charles. I asked about aminopyralid and he says he’s having it tested and will send us the test results in about a week, so we will wait for that, and we also plan to have a look at it before we buy.
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