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I attending the Wisley lecture on March 25th and would like to “embark on the no-dig adventure” both at my allotment and in my garden. Once I have spread compost and/or manure on my beds, can I actually sow and plant straight in the material – will “burning” not occur?. Many thanks in advance for any reassurance/advice.
Oh yes! the ‘burning’ often alluded to is a rare occurrence and mostly to do with raw poultry manure. Any heap that is growing weeds, which is most ones I see, is good for vegetables.
Compost or manure which has been in a heap for around six months or more is fine to use for sowing and planting. The issue is more a physical one, whether its consistency is fine enough to sow seeds. Spreading on the surface before winter helps to achieve this, through breakdown of lumps by the weather. When you want an "instant" sowing medium, you can still use quite lumpy material at the bottom of a new bed for example, but need the top inch to be reasonably fine, especially for sowing direct. On the other hand you can set plants into a more lumpy surface.
Enjoy the adventure.
I spread my garden compost 2 years after starting a bin and turning it once, then I use that area for brassicas or potatoes. I would only then sow seeds in it a year later. Quite a long process when I think about it. If I want to get some umph into a plot I grow and compost some rapidly rotting green manure such as comfrey, phacelia, buckwheat and alfalfa tops (plus horse manure if I can find a trustworthy source).
Pete, why are you waiting so long? Keeping compost this long means that the space needed doubles and more.
Seeds germinate happily in compost less than a year old, soil loves it, and in my lettuce trial the year old garden compost gave best growth, compared with potting compost and cow manure!
Yes good point Charles. I seem to be stuck in a rut with this one because thats what I`ve always done, it fits in with my schedule and sometimes I do incorporate material that needs a bit longer to rot down. Bear in mind when one of my bins is full, (usually late in the year), the top material is fresh and will not be ready by late winter when I spread. Occasionally I do pinch a bit of compost before its normal time, for courgettes, pumpkins, squashes and fruit. I might experiment with getting my compost on the ground earlier, say summer, instead of waiting until the next year.
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