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soil improvement

• Message 1. 

  Posted by emme (U14363291) on Thursday, 10th February 2011

  Apart from good old manure, what soil enricher is recommended for use on my 8 raised vegetable beds?

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Amazingrotavator (U14058080) on Thursday, 10th February 2011

  I'd put a load of mushroom compost on them and dig in.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Tee Gee (U10012255) on Thursday, 10th February 2011

  I am a bit of a traditionalist so it is farmyard for me.
  
  However you could use well rotted home made compost.
  
  No disrespect to amazing rotovator, mushroom is good, but I wouldn't use it for potatoes!
  
  Potentially too much lime in it, but good for brassicas.
  
  

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by Tee Gee (U10012255) on Thursday, 10th February 2011

  Forgot to mention horse manure if there are any stables in your area give them a call.
  
  People with one horse often have some.
  
  They might welcome you taking it off their hands.

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by Italophile (U12516505) on Friday, 11th February 2011

  As long as it's not too fresh if planting is imminent.

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by TallyHo (U2364821) on Monday, 14th February 2011

  "They might welcome you taking it off their hands."
  
  Tee Gee: a couple of years ago I did this — the stable owner delivered it on a trainer… 6 months later it was put on most of my veg plot, potatoes and tomatoes were planted and it all came up distorted and then died. I'm convinced he knew it was bad stuff as he had his own vegetables and wanted to shift a bad batch.
  
  Aminopyralid. Anyone considering using manure of any type however innocuous the source and however much they assure you it'll be ok, DO A TEST first. Mix up a 50/50 of the manure and soil, plant some tomato seeds and wait, if they're ok, go ahead with the manure, but if not contact the stable owner — they may have bought in winter feed or bedding contaminated with the chemical.
  
  I'd have been better off if I'd sprayed the crops with Roundup as the soil wouldn't have been affected for the following two years.

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by Lil-of-the-alley (U14785774) on Monday, 14th February 2011

  Hi folks,
  
  I'd be careful about manure for the same reasons as TallyHo.
  
  I carefully rotted down and then dug in stable manure to enrich my previously impoverished veg beds a couple of years ago, only to find they are now affected with residual Aminopyralid. I understand that it takes quite some time to fully break down. So not only did I waste all that time and effort (we treated 18 beds), but I appear to have set the plot back rather than making any improvement.
  
  From now on I use only my own compost which includes the weekly 'waste' from our chickens.
  
  That's not to say manure is bad - just be careful and check your sources, that's all.
  
  Lil

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by Tee Gee (U10012255) on Monday, 14th February 2011

  I know that my last load of manure that I took delivery of in October is affected with aminopolyprid but I won't be using it till this October.
  
  I was affected last year as well but found that if it was dug in and left in the ground it had little or or no effect on produce.
  
  However if I dug it in and planted immediately after it did affect produce.
  
  as can be seen here;
  
  
  
  
  

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Amazingrotavator (U14058080) on Monday, 14th February 2011

  I agree with Tee Gee, but, last year my manure was contaminated and lost nearly everything.So until everything is found to be safe, I will stick to mushroom and home made compost. By the way, most of the lime is gone when the mushroom compost arrives. I have grown potatoes in it before and hardly any scab, it's only skin deep anyway.

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Kleftiwallah (U13700999) on Monday, 14th February 2011

  From the 'Bible' according to Geoff Hamilton.
  
  Spent mushroom compost, Wool Shoddy, Seaweed, Composted pine bark, Spent Hops, Peat, Should be enough to be going on with. Cheers, Tony.

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• Message 11

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Sanducho (U14788951) on Thursday, 17th February 2011

  Try mixing in Sand and ash it breaks up the earth so in a few years it starts to crumble instead of clog. Ash has been shown to improve crop harvest by about 10%.
  
  Sanducho

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