manure

[sunnybird]

hi i am making some raised beds for the allotment and have got some well rotted horse manure and was wondering if you could give me some tips on what to do i was going to mix it with the soil and some compost but not sure how log i have to leave it before i plant anything as im planting some from seeds and some that have already started to grow i the allotment and are ready to plant out.

[FionaH]

If it is really well rotted you should be able to plant in it straight away as long as you have mixed it with soil and MPC

[zazen999]

Before you do anything PLEASE check that it isn't contaminated.

I waited for 2 years to check that our local source wasn't, then had some delivered this winter and lo and behold; it is. A few of us are a tad upset tonight. Still worse when the farmer had problems last summer, was TOLD to check the manure and didn't, blamed it on the weather and CARRIED ON SUPPLYING IT.

Fuming = understatement.

Herbicide contamination of manure and straw

So please check it before you put it on any beds.

And yes, I spent all day today removing as much as I could and Mr Z and me will mostly be removing the rest tomorrow.

P.S....the straw was supplied to him and he has sold it on to local horsey people; so it goes without saying pretty much anyone in our village will get this if they use any manure from the straw he supplied. I know that others are using this, so I am going to check tomorrow and see if they have problems.

[FionaH]

Flaming Hell Zaz thats a blow! Best you pour yourself a glass of sommat nice pronto

[zazen999]

Flaming Hell Zaz thats a blow! Best you pour yourself a glass of sommat nice pronto

That's about the 15th time I've been told that today.

One saving grace, I went to see a couple that were new today, and they were just about use a batch - they said 'ooh, jean used some on the spuds' and pointed and yes, Jean's spuds have 6 inches of gnarled stunted growth on top of what looks like 2 months of normal growth. The new couple were relieved that I came over and warned them!!!

[sunnybird]

thank you how can i check for this sorry but i have never grown anything before im new to all this

[zazen999]

Check the link, it involved sowing some lettuce seed in some and seeing if it germinates.

If you have a spare tomato plant, use it to pot it up and see if it reacts in a couple of weeks.

I'm never ever using manure again. I'm sticking to coffee grounds and cardboard!

[sunnybird]

thank you zazen

[realfood]

As far as I know, the aminopyralid is unlikely to be in the straw, as it is unlicensed to be used on crops that provide straw. The usual source of the contamination is the hay or silage that has been fed to the cattle or horses over the Winter.
Have a read of this page :- manure_contamination
Can I suggest that you report this instance of aminopyralid contamination to the Green lane allotment site using the link on the above page. They are keeping records of all known incidents to exert more pressure on the government.
I suffered last year so I know what it is like and you have my sympathy.

[zazen999]

Cheers RF; looks like we did the right thing in removing all top dressing and raking out as much as we can. I've reported it and we shall see if we can get it removed from the site. I don't want to be barrowing it around now for the 3rd time; there's loads of it and I just want someone else to do the hard work to remove it now.

Might call Dow and see how they arrange for removal.