On Tue, 04 Feb 2003 19:38:31 +0200, Rodger Whitlock wrote:

On Tue, 4 Feb 2003 01:49:50 -0000, "Bart" wrote:


Manure usually contains nitrogen, and may contain other nutrients, so it
can act as a fertilizer, but perhaps not a very concentrated one. One
trouble is that you can't be sure just how much of what you've applied.
The real benefit of manure is more likely to lie in the stimulus it
gives to the various critters that live in soil. A healthy soil is a
living soil full of bacteria, fungi, and small creepy-crawlies of many
sorts.


that is correct. what happens is that the nitrogen is in organic form and
it needs some time to get in nonorganic form with the help of bacterials.
the whole procedure is slow so you cannot expect much on that field from
manure.
what you gain is that manure improves soil structure, the soil maximum
water capacity, the soil ability of exchanging ions (fertility) etc
also the manure if not correct matures may cause more harm than good.

But if your garden soil is depleted of nutrients, there's nothing like a
bag of all-purpose granular fertilizer (dreadul chemical, non-organic
stuff) to get things moving. Roots are not all perennial, and simply
encouraging plant growth via fertilizer leads to organic matter being
formed in the soil, up to a point, and consequently a more biologically
active soil.

correct again