Spring Manuring

[Greenleaves]

Hi All

Having taken on a new plot....well I think there is one under the weeds somewhere, I have discovered that one area is pretting heavy ground and incredibly hard word work when digging. I have listened to the advice of my peers and covered the area with cardboard...well wetted and then covered at the moment with two tarpaulins.

My question is can I put well rotted manure on top of the cardboard this time of year as I dont intend to plant it this spring. Will this help the soil structure or should I dig in the manure?

Am I going about this the wrong way?

As always the wisdom of the Grapes will be very much appreciated!

[Jamesy_uk]

Take a look at lasagne beds, might be more helpful at this point.

[BertieFox]

From your description, it sounds like you are adopting the 'no dig' or sheet mulching method, so there is no problem lying even fresh manure across the ground. But don't dig it in! The better time to do this is in the autumn before winter as that would give time for the manure to break down and the worms to begin to get to work underneath it all and take compost down into the soil.

But as you are where you are, why don't you take advantage of the situation by spot planting things like courgettes, pot grown brassicas or any other larger plants by drawing back the mulch, cutting a hole through the cardboard if it hasn't begun to rot, and putting them into the soil underneath? It is not in fact too late for potatoes that you could plant in the same way through holes in the mulch, and this will help 'clear the ground' with the effort of digging them out when ready.

[snakeshack]

Should be fine to lay minute on top of cardboard , I'm in trouble if it isn't as I've just filled my raised beds which had dropped with about 6 inches of well rotted cow poo. I do about half my beds each year and don't dig in. These freshly manures beds get all the " big feeders" like cucumbers, courgettes ,pumpkins, and tomatoes this year as they will be too rich and loose for brassicas and would make root veg like carrots or parsnips fork. The manures beds will be lightly dug in the autumn and used for overwintering salad.next year the other 9 beds will be manures. This year it took two loads of about 5 tons


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