"Dee" wrote in message
om...

Ed

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.

Dee


I will have to make it clear that in tree biology workshops it was often
stated that manure should compost before using as well as fresh wood chips.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
www.treedictionary.com
and
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
Watch out for so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, tornado's, volcanic eruptions and other
abiotic forces keep reminding humans that they are not the boss.