"Ed" ex@directory wrote in message
et...
First time allotment holder, seeking advice...


The local riding stables have left a whole big load of horse manure
outside of our allotment site for folk to use. It is pretty fresh (great
strong pong from it) and it contains only a moderate amount of straw.

Notwithstanding the warnings I have seen on this list and elsewhere
regarding contamination with weed killers and the like, how can I
beneficially use this stuff?

I used to spread fresh mixed manure's with straw bedding, grass clippings
and wood shavings mixed in over the gardens in the fall and let it decompose
all winter. They called it sheet composting where I lived at the time. In
spring it was turned in. The plants thrived.


Can I use this manure straight away on the beds in my plot as a top mulch
and dig it in next spring? Or should I just add it to my compost bins and
let it mature there for, say, a year and then use it?

Also which plants would benefit from an application of manure? I seem to
recall that root crops don't like recently manured beds?

Ed