Originally Posted by chrismorris

hi all i`m new to the forum and pretty new to gardening i got my allotment last year it was in bad shape the grass and weed was every where and the soil was heavy clay i only planted in the green house and in grow bags and decide to get the ground right for the following year i choose to buy in some compost from a local company it was not cheap but i got 2 ton of well rotted compost so i dug over the plot and removed as much weed and grass as possible then dug in plenty of manure and covered the hole plot in 4" of compost and let the worms take over all the work thats where i`m at now waiting to plant
i have started a compost pile kitchen and garden waste but not sure what i can compost with it the allotment has piles of manure horse and cow a big pile of wood chip bedding that has been used for poultry and a pile of straw horse bedding will these be any good to compost if so together or individually also i have been told that some plants don`t like fresh manure i dug in the manure about 6 month ago is this still fresh manure or will it have broken down by now.
many thanks for any help i`ll have loads more to ask when it comes to planting i have not got a clue

Originally Posted by George.com

"chrismorris" wrote in message
...

hi all i`m new to the forum and pretty new to gardening i got my
allotment last year it was in bad shape the grass and weed was every
where and the soil was heavy clay i only planted in the green house and
in grow bags and decide to get the ground right for the following year i
choose to buy in some compost from a local company it was not cheap but
i got 2 ton of well rotted compost so i dug over the plot and removed
as much weed and grass as possible then dug in plenty of manure and
covered the hole plot in 4" of compost and let the worms take over all
the work thats where i`m at now waiting to plant
i have started a compost pile kitchen and garden waste but not sure
what i can compost with it the allotment has piles of manure horse and
cow a big pile of wood chip bedding that has been used for poultry and
a pile of straw horse bedding will these be any good to compost if so
together or individualy also i have been told that some plants don`t
like fresh manure i dug in the manure about 6 month ago is this still
fresh manure or will it have broken down by now.

if you spread the manure as a mulch acorss your allotment or dug it in to
the soil 6 months ago it will be pleanty ready. It may not have totally
broken down but will be fine for plants.

rob

Originally Posted by chrismorris

hi all i`m new to the forum and pretty new to gardening i got my allotment last year it was in bad shape the grass and weed was every where and the soil was heavy clay i only planted in the green house and in grow bags and decide to get the ground right for the following year i choose to buy in some compost from a local company . .. . . i dug in the manure about 6 month ago is this still fresh manure or will it have broken down by now.

Originally Posted by ESGie

Just remember that compost, as it breaks down, absorbs nitrogen out of the soil. So for leafy green plants (vegetables) you may need to add nitrogen in the first year. Urea is fine,as long as you feed it "little and often". Keep it off the leaves in its dry form, better still, add it well dissolved in water. (excess nitrogen can cause burnt leaves)