When to spread compost

[Andrew MParticipant]

In 30 years plus of ‘ no dig’, I’ve always spread compost and rotted manure in early winter.

I note the RHS this month recommended leaving it until Early Spring as benefits ‘ leach out’. I always covered in Autumn to encourage worms rathe4 than ‘ add’ nutrients.

With a few cwt of recently acquired alpaca manure, should I postpone?

[charlesModerator]

Andrew thanks for posting this comment, interesting on three counts:

1 Who decides RHS advice? It’s dangerous because I suspect that not everyone in the RHS would agree with that, yet the word is as you phrase it, “the RHS recommended”.

2 I certainly don’t agree because we are talking compost here, “rotted manure” as you call it. Nutrients become non-soluble in water, almost all. If that were not the case, your 30 years of autumn-spreading would have resulted in a miserable garden. Likewise Homeacres would look washed out by now, 11 months since I added anything at all to the soil!

3 The vagueness of the ‘manure’ word. Is your alpaca manure fresh? If so, stack it co compost. Is it aged and dark, a bit crumbly and little odour? If so, it’s compost and spread it. This is why I changed the topic title to compost rather than manure. There is more clarity with ‘compost’.

[Andrew MParticipant]

Thanks for this Charles. Sorry, for some reason I didn’t get an alert. I’ve since put some of the raw manure on to some fallow beds to rest/ rot down over winter.its been sprinkled with worm compost as while its a warm Autumn, I don’t expect much heat and the worms/ eggs can get to work

Wise words on RHS ‘recommended’! Now off to Norwich to catch your lecture.

Thanks again

[Author]

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