when to manure beds?

[queen of the cobs]

Have planned out what will grow where for next year, so I know which of my beds want manuring. I was planning to spread well-rotted manure over the top of the beds, dig it in a bit and then cover it with cardboard and leave it for the winter.

My questions are:
1) when do I do that?
2) how deeply to spread it?

thanks.

[Snadger]

Rightly or wrongly, I usually manure between each crop! As one crop comes out, bed is manured and another goes in!

[queen of the cobs]

right - I guess that means I can go it now! How deeply do you lay it on? I have assumed that I will need to spread it pretty thickly for it to have an effect after the rains of winter?

[Snadger]

Strawy manure add a six inch layer, 'cheesy' well rotted stuff 2 to 3 inches!

I don't think you can add too much!

[queen of the cobs]

thanks! I shall do so...but maybe next weekend now... x

[Nicos]

Just make sure you don't manure where the root crops are going to be ...otherwise you'll be entering the 'most rude carrot competition'!!!

I muck in the spring as my watertable comes up near the surface and leaches away all the goodness. So...anytime between now and spring is fine. ( obviously you'd need to use only very well rotted in the spring)

[Demeter]

I read an article in a magazine recently (forget which one) which surprised me by how little they said was necessary for nutrients. Don't quote me on the figures but I think it was something like 1 barrowload per 6 square metres if it was manure that had been covered to prevent nutrients being leached, or double that if it had rotten down in the open. This spring on each bed of about that size we put about 6 barrowloads!

Mind you, I don't think you can overdo it (except with carrots obviously, we definitely had a few winners for the rudest carrot competition!) as it's all good stuff and improves the soil regardless of the nutrient content

[selfheal]

if there are too many nutrients they will wash out of the soil and enter the water course.

on allotment scale its not a huge issue, but on angricultural scale it is a problem as increased nutrients in the water course can have a huge impact on wildlife!

[queen of the cobs]

thanks everyone - I suppose I'm still wondering whether to do it in the spring, rather than the winter - surely the whole winter of rain just washes everything away? (even if you cover it?)

[Snadger]

I don't particularily add manure for it's nutrient value which is minimal, I use it as a soil conditioner. It does help the friability of the soil, improving the structure tremendously.
A bed mulched with manure will have loads of microbial activity and worms are abundant. There will be increased moisture available to the plants with minimal leaching also better surface drainage as the fauna goes about it's job making loads of little drainage channels.

[MaureenHall]

oooooooooo Snadger, you sounded dead posh and clever there

[Demeter]

He did, didn't he?

Although i daren't go to the allotment just yet (too wet) I did manage to do a bit of digging at our little plot at the city farm which has dried out sufficiently after a couple of days without rain. Cleared the cucurbit patch (except for the pumpkin) and dug it over to pull out a few weeds that had managed to get themselves established under the foliage. Then - cardboard and manure. Yay soil fanua!

[SlugLobber]

Just a note on the source. If you're not getting it from a garden centre, make sure that you use manure from animals that haven't just been wormed! Ivermectin in particular is highly toxic to birds and will kill a dog, too! Which is why you shouldn't let doggie eat poo in unknown paddocks, either.

I manured yesterday and will add more during the week, using up my poo pile before the next pony-worming!

[Demeter]

There were plenty of worms in the manure I used, so I don't reckon there was too much wormer in it! I will check at the farm though whether they use wormer on the animals and what kind - thanks for the tip.