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Sacha[_3_] · 11-09-2008, 09:13 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening,rec.gardens,rec.gardens.edible

On 11/9/08 03:45, in article
laccess, "gunner"
wrote:

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
"Dee" wrote in message

Fresh manure can be used as a top mulch, but IME it's very important
to make sure the manure does not directly touch any plants, as it
will cause problems (burning, stunting) otherwise. Top mulching of
the manure allows rain water to seep through it and down to the roots
of the plants, effectively giving them 'manure tea', while the
wormies go to work incorporating it into the soil. It may be that by
next spring there will be nothing left to turn under into the soil,
as the worms will have done it for you. That has been my experience,
anyway.

Mine too. Bloody good stuff is horse poo, but the Brits have had problems
with weed killers spread on pastures contaminating the poos - it's then
gone on to kill plants in gardens. I don't have this problem in my
country and it appears that the worst thing to do with the weedkiller
infested British horse poo is to pile it and try to 'age' it - the poison
apparently doesn't break down going that route but does if spread.
What poison is it?

"The alert is mainly about a substance called aminopryalid in an
agricultural herbicide called Forefront - although similar substances may be
causing similar effects.

It is a new kind of "hormonal herbicide" * meaning it interferes with the
growth signals of broad-leaved plants like dandelions and docks, so they
shoot up too fast and starve, while the surrounding grass is unaffected.

It has been declared safe to graze cows on treated grass, or on hay and
silage made from treated meadows. The herbicide passes through their systems
more or less undigested. But that means it is present in their manure and
gets into their bedding straw too.

The packaging of Forefront includes warnings about not using affected manure
and straw on vulnerable plants *including tomatoes, potatoes, peas, beans,
carrots, lettuce, delphiniums, phlox and roses. But the warning is not
always passed on.

Forefront was launched three years ago and Britain was the first European
country to use it. Last year, some professional potato growers lost crops
after spreading manure. An emergency education campaign, aimed at livestock
farmers, vegetable growers and spraying and spreading contractors solved
that problem."

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/...re-poison.4209
491.jp
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon