Advice for a newbie
 

Hi There,

My first post so be gentle with me..

I live in Surrey, near an area called Claygate and as such with quite a clay soil. Last year I moved to a new house with lots of space so threw a few seeds down and had good results with

courgettes
runner beans
parsnips
carrotts

the only crop that remains for me to pick are my Leeks which have been growing since April last year and I am hoping I can pick this spring..

this year I plan to branch out further to broad beans, sweetcorn and more of the above

my question is re. compose and manure. All advice I can see for most of the veg I want to grow suggests mixing manure into the soil. I have already used bags of compost to fill trenches I have dug in order to plant the crops I have listed above, but am wondering if I am missing a trick by not using actual manure....or will compost do?

To be honest I am not mad keen on the idea of laying horse poo in the garden and think the missus might not approve either!

Any advice welcome..

Thanks,

Owen

Advice for a newbie
 

OwenD wrote:
Hi There,

My first post so be gentle with me..

I live in Surrey, near an area called Claygate and as such with quite
a clay soil. Last year I moved to a new house with lots of space so
threw a few seeds down and had good results with

courgettes
runner beans
parsnips
carrotts

the only crop that remains for me to pick are my Leeks which have been
growing since April last year and I am hoping I can pick this spring..


There is no reason to pick leeks at any given time, they go on for some
time, unlike courgettes :-).

this year I plan to branch out further to broad beans, sweetcorn and
more of the above

my question is re. compose and manure. All advice I can see for most
of the veg I want to grow suggests mixing manure into the soil. I have
already used bags of compost to fill trenches I have dug in order to
plant the crops I have listed above, but am wondering if I am missing
a trick by not using actual manure....or will compost do?


Both are good. Just be careful with fresh compost, particularly from birds,
as it may be too strong and burn your plants. OTOH don't leave it in a heap
for ages as all the nutrients will leach out and run into the area down
hill. Bagged compost is usually aged already but still be more spareing
with chicken than horse for example.

To be honest I am not mad keen on the idea of laying horse poo in the
garden and think the missus might not approve either!


It really isn't a health problem unless you use your own - not recommended.
Sure it smells a bit but that's life. Horse manure is relatively
inoffensive when fresh and will soon be quite harmless and odour free when
exposed to the air and sun. However, check the provenance of your horse
manure. If the horses have been on grain feed or some types of hay and it
hasn't been sterilized by heat or composting, there may be lots of viable
grain mixed in whcih will promptly give you a weed problem.

Manure from herbivores has been making gardens grow for millenia you are not
going somewhere new.

David

David

Advice for a newbie
 

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
OwenD wrote:

To be honest I am not mad keen on the idea of laying horse poo in the
garden and think the missus might not approve either!


It really isn't a health problem unless you use your own - not
recommended. Sure it smells a bit but that's life. Horse manure is
relatively inoffensive when fresh and will soon be quite harmless and
odour free when exposed to the air and sun. However, check the provenance
of your horse manure. If the horses have been on grain feed or some types
of hay and it hasn't been sterilized by heat or composting, there may be
lots of viable grain mixed in whcih will promptly give you a weed problem.

I agree with everything that David says about horse manure (lovely stuff),
however there is one additional thing to be concerned about in the case of
the UK and that is the possibility that the manure may have been
contaminated with herbicide (specifically Aminopyralid)

Manure from herbivores has been making gardens grow for millenia you are
not going somewhere new.

Thanks very much for your opinions.

The compost I have been using is all from garden centres in bags..I don't know it's source. Presumably if using this I don't also need manure?

Re. the leeks, I have been told that they should be pulled up very soon as they will start to flower? Is this correct? They seem a little thin currently..

thanks in advance,

Advice for a newbie
 

OwenD wrote:
Thanks very much for your opinions.

The compost I have been using is all from garden centres in bags..I
don't know it's source. Presumably if using this I don't also need
manure?

It's not an either-or. Whether you need manures also depends on the quality
of the compost and how it is made. The purpose of compost and manure is to
supply organic matter (which improves texture and water properties as well
as supporting microflora) and nutrients, the proportion of the two depends
on the origin. Bagged commercial compost and manure ought to be free of
viable seeds but is the most expensive way to buy it. If possible find a
cheap source that is available in bulk locally and then add whatever is
missing. If you are going to stick with gardening you will need a constant
source of compost/manure as both the organic matter and nutrients get used
up.


Re. the leeks, I have been told that they should be pulled up very
soon as they will start to flower? Is this correct? They seem a
little thin currently..


Flowering will mean the end of eating them but so will pulling them up
unless you can store them or eat them all now. If you leave some they will
flower and produce seed but also produce sets which you can leave to grow in
situ or plant out elsewhere. This way you are not buying more all the time.

David

Advice for a newbie
 

"David Hare-Scott" wrote:
OwenD wrote:
Thanks very much for your opinions.

The compost I have been using is all from garden centres in bags..I
don't know it's source. Presumably if using this I don't also need
manure?

It's not an either-or. Whether you need manures also depends on the
quality
of the compost and how it is made. The purpose of compost and manure
is to
supply organic matter (which improves texture and water properties as
well
as supporting microflora) and nutrients, the proportion of the two
depends
on the origin. Bagged commercial compost and manure ought to be free
of
viable seeds but is the most expensive way to buy it. If possible find
a
cheap source that is available in bulk locally and then add whatever
is
missing. If you are going to stick with gardening you will need a
constant
source of compost/manure as both the organic matter and nutrients get
used
up.


Re. the leeks, I have been told that they should be pulled up very
soon as they will start to flower? Is this correct? They seem a
little thin currently..


Flowering will mean the end of eating them but so will pulling them up

unless you can store them or eat them all now. If you leave some they
will
flower and produce seed but also produce sets which you can leave to
grow in
situ or plant out elsewhere. This way you are not buying more all the
time.

David

Yeah, what they said. (I'm also a newb). As I have been researching all
this jazz, most of the studies I have read suggest adding the new poo
at the end of the harvest for next years spring planting, but as you
lead up to the season, use composted poo because new poo is just too
strong.

In the words of Dave Ramsey on not putting all of your financial eggs in
one basket and the diversification of your finances: "Money is like
manuer. If you pile it up in one place it starts to stink and does no
good, but if you spread it around, it can grow stuff that provides for
you and your family." Pretty funny given the topic.
--
RayZorback

Advice for a newbie
 

You can't have enough compost on a clay soil!

I recommend you consider making your own, since then you'll know what
has gone into making it, if you have the space. The Indore method has
you turning the pile a couple times a week (it's a 'hot' method) and
you can have garden-ready material, albeit a bit rough, in a month or
two. Cold piles can take years to break down.

I've heard that purchased manure from garden centers isn't really a
great way to go, but you can augment things by including a variety of
materials where possible: mushroom compost, small amounts of peat,
straw if you can get it, layered with the purchased manure. I have
found that a 3-5" layer of straw on the surface of the soil with some
compost and/or manure and a couple shovels of soil sprinkled over
disintegrates after a growing season. In a year you won't be able to
tell where you put it. If you want to have more amazing results,
build your compost pile in next years garden. Whenever you think you
have enough compost material - you don't have enough!

Good luck with growing your own veg! Try to restrain yourself when
the seed catalogs start flying in :)