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Mulching
Having hacked back and weeded the garden in preparation for winter, I
am now arranging to have considerable amounts of farmyard muck delivered which I then propose to spread over the veg patch and in the ornamental beds also. I am then planning to let the elements and the worms work their magic. Just one question: should I dig the veg patch first, then mulch, or should I much now, and wait till spring to do any digging ? (the latter appeals immensely:-) TIA Cat(h) |
Mulching
"Cat(h)" wrote ... Having hacked back and weeded the garden in preparation for winter, I am now arranging to have considerable amounts of farmyard muck delivered which I then propose to spread over the veg patch and in the ornamental beds also. I am then planning to let the elements and the worms work their magic. Just one question: should I dig the veg patch first, then mulch, or should I much now, and wait till spring to do any digging ? (the latter appeals immensely:-) Sorry, I do both. :-) -- Regards Bob Hobden 17mls W. of London.UK |
Mulching
On Nov 12, 5:31 pm, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"Cat(h)" wrote ... Having hacked back and weeded the garden in preparation for winter, I am now arranging to have considerable amounts of farmyard muck delivered which I then propose to spread over the veg patch and in the ornamental beds also. I am then planning to let the elements and the worms work their magic. Just one question: should I dig the veg patch first, then mulch, or should I much now, and wait till spring to do any digging ? (the latter appeals immensely:-) Sorry, I do both. :-) I was *really* hoping I would not be told that... Ah well. Let's hope for a dry week end :-) Cat(h) |
Mulching
Cat(h) wrote:
Having hacked back and weeded the garden in preparation for winter, I am now arranging to have considerable amounts of farmyard muck delivered which I then propose to spread over the veg patch and in the ornamental beds also. I am then planning to let the elements and the worms work their magic. Just one question: should I dig the veg patch first, then mulch, or should I much now, and wait till spring to do any digging ? (the latter appeals immensely:-) I think it depends on your soil :-) The heavier bits of mine are being dug now, prior to the application of muck. The better lighter beds can just have it spread over, and digging can be in the spring. Gardner's Question Time recommended that you mulch when the soil is warm to trap the heat inside. Or at least as warm as its likely to get at this time of year. My second trailer load of horse muck needs unloading tomorrow. - Nigel -- Nigel Cliffe, Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/ |
Mulching
On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:21:05 -0000, "Nigel Cliffe"
wrote: Cat(h) wrote: Having hacked back and weeded the garden in preparation for winter, I am now arranging to have considerable amounts of farmyard muck delivered which I then propose to spread over the veg patch and in the ornamental beds also. I am then planning to let the elements and the worms work their magic. Just one question: should I dig the veg patch first, then mulch, or should I much now, and wait till spring to do any digging ? (the latter appeals immensely:-) I think it depends on your soil :-) The heavier bits of mine are being dug now, prior to the application of muck. The better lighter beds can just have it spread over, and digging can be in the spring. Gardner's Question Time recommended that you mulch when the soil is warm to trap the heat inside. Or at least as warm as its likely to get at this time of year. Hmmm... Ok. I have till Saturday to prepare myself mentally :-) My second trailer load of horse muck needs unloading tomorrow. No, I'm not helping out. I have my own to wheelbarrow and dig. That's enough occupation for me. Cat(h) |
Mulching
Just a warning. I bought a load of cow manure a few years ago which
contained so many chemicals that my vegetables, especialy the runner beans, were inedible for a year and didn't seem to get back to giving that feel good feeling for a couple of more years. "Cat(h)" wrote in message ups.com... Having hacked back and weeded the garden in preparation for winter, I am now arranging to have considerable amounts of farmyard muck delivered which I then propose to spread over the veg patch and in the ornamental beds also. I am then planning to let the elements and the worms work their magic. Just one question: should I dig the veg patch first, then mulch, or should I much now, and wait till spring to do any digging ? (the latter appeals immensely:-) TIA Cat(h) |
Mulching
On Nov 19, 10:02 pm, "Colin Hammond" wrote:
Just a warning. I bought a load of cow manure a few years ago which contained so many chemicals that my vegetables, especialy the runner beans, were inedible for a year and didn't seem to get back to giving that feel good feeling for a couple of more years." I've used this stuff before, and it is fine. It is a mix of peat and very high pedigree bullshit (literally) + some small amount of chopped straw. I am near neighbour to a bull stud evaluation farm. But I am curious. How did you know your stuff was full of chemicals - did you get it analysed in a lab? And how were the beans "inedible"? Cat(h) |
Mulching
On 20 Nov, 13:22, "Cat(h)" wrote:
I've used this stuff before, and it is fine. It is a mix of peat and very high pedigree bullshit (literally) + some small amount of chopped straw. Where do you get the 'peat' consistency from the pat and 'small amount of chopped straw' from? I've used cow manure once, to try, and I didn't get this consistency nor did it come naturally - I had to compost it for 6 months and mix it with grass and straw and whatever I compost before it was any good to use. And if you've already prepared your beds, as you've said you did, you should have no need to dig. Cow manure is very different to horse manure. It is first very low in nitrogen and therefore is the safest to use everywhere, it won't change your soil ph grately if at all. As for the chemicals in it, this has been a very long discussion over many garden fences. If you use cow manure from an organic farm, you might be happier to know that they would be less prone to using chemicals (as in pesticides). However the use of antibiotics is something that organic farmers use if the use is justified. Sadly it is very frequently justified because of mastitis due to excessive milk production, and that's due to the organic milk we all suddenly want. Not to mention the cattle feed, which is imported and used by organic farmers too, to supplement the feed with nutrients, which cows can't get with hay and grass alone. As for a 'bull evaluation farm' you live near, I would be very surprised to find out that they don't use steroids, chemicals, pesticides and coctails of antibiotics. I might be wrong but this sounds to me to be like a stud farm. Also because of the digestive system of cows, weed seeds are less present in the manure than with horse's manure. But cow manure is very wet (and difficult to handle) and is best used in spring when the winter cow yard/barn is cleared (which is then easier to handle and had time to get 'hot'). Also it needs to be composted. You just cannot apply fresh cow manure to your plot. You'll turn your soil acid, especially if you apply it when cold and with it's low nitrogen, you must ask yourself if you want to 'fertilise' your soil or just 'mulch' it, and mulching in winter alone on empty plots gives very little other than not letting the elements break your soil as intended. It defeats the objective, really. It needs to get hot first, hence the best time for cow manure to be applied is spring as opposed to horse manure which you can use in less than 5 weeks if composted. |
Mulching
"Cat(h)" wrote in message ... On Nov 19, 10:02 pm, "Colin Hammond" wrote: Just a warning. I bought a load of cow manure a few years ago which contained so many chemicals that my vegetables, especialy the runner beans, were inedible for a year and didn't seem to get back to giving that feel good feeling for a couple of more years." I've used this stuff before, and it is fine. It is a mix of peat and very high pedigree bullshit (literally) + some small amount of chopped straw. I am near neighbour to a bull stud evaluation farm. But I am curious. How did you know your stuff was full of chemicals - did you get it analysed in a lab? And how were the beans "inedible"? Cat(h) "How did I know the cow manure was full of chemicals?" No lab test needed, just careful observation of how I and my family felt. You should feel good after eating fresh vegetables from the garden not worse. No other conditions were changed so that was good enough for me. If I had tested other people I may have had a different result, but that of course would had been irrelevant. I have stuck to using garden compost on the vegetable patch since that experience, I do know what goes on the compost heap! Best place for cow manure is the flower beds, but even there can be a problem as it encourages acid loving plants that die off when the manure is exhausted. Colin -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
Mulching
On 21/11/07 14:29, in article ,
"Colin Hammond" wrote: "Cat(h)" wrote in message ... On Nov 19, 10:02 pm, "Colin Hammond" wrote: Just a warning. I bought a load of cow manure a few years ago which contained so many chemicals that my vegetables, especialy the runner beans, were inedible for a year and didn't seem to get back to giving that feel good feeling for a couple of more years." I've used this stuff before, and it is fine. It is a mix of peat and very high pedigree bullshit (literally) + some small amount of chopped straw. I am near neighbour to a bull stud evaluation farm. But I am curious. How did you know your stuff was full of chemicals - did you get it analysed in a lab? And how were the beans "inedible"? Cat(h) "How did I know the cow manure was full of chemicals?" No lab test needed, just careful observation of how I and my family felt. You should feel good after eating fresh vegetables from the garden not worse. No other conditions were changed so that was good enough for me. If I had tested other people I may have had a different result, but that of course would had been irrelevant. I have stuck to using garden compost on the vegetable patch since that experience, I do know what goes on the compost heap! Best place for cow manure is the flower beds, but even there can be a problem as it encourages acid loving plants that die off when the manure is exhausted. Colin I'm sorry but I find this entirely unconvincing. You and your family may well have caught some virus which you had passed from one to another over a period of weeks or even months. On top of that, there are 'echo' viruses which return over and over again to the same person. None of this convinces me that your manuring of your vegetables made you and your family ill. If you didn't test the manure you have absolutely no way of knowing that this made your family unwell. This seems to me to fall into the 'gross exaggeration' category, to be frank. -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove weeds from address) 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
Mulching
In article , Sacha
says... I'm sorry but I find this entirely unconvincing. You and your family may well have caught some virus which you had passed from one to another over a period of weeks or even months. On top of that, there are 'echo' viruses which return over and over again to the same person. None of this convinces me that your manuring of your vegetables made you and your family ill. If you didn't test the manure you have absolutely no way of knowing that this made your family unwell. This seems to me to fall into the 'gross exaggeration' category, to be frank. People often put 2 and 2 together and make 5 regarding food. Many years ago my father had a headache following eating food heated up in a relatives microwave oven. As a result he refused to ever buy a microwave oven. He is convinced that food that has been in one is somehow radioactive and gives off microwaves after eating it! Other than this oddity he is quite a rational man and a competent electrician and engineer! -- David in Normandy |
Mulching
On Nov 21, 2:29 pm, "Colin Hammond" wrote:
"Cat(h)" wrote in message ... On Nov 19, 10:02 pm, "Colin Hammond" wrote: Just a warning. I bought a load of cow manure a few years ago which contained so many chemicals that my vegetables, especialy the runner beans, were inedible for a year and didn't seem to get back to giving that feel good feeling for a couple of more years." I've used this stuff before, and it is fine. It is a mix of peat and very high pedigree bullshit (literally) + some small amount of chopped straw. I am near neighbour to a bull stud evaluation farm. But I am curious. How did you know your stuff was full of chemicals - did you get it analysed in a lab? And how were the beans "inedible"? Cat(h) "How did I know the cow manure was full of chemicals?" No lab test needed, just careful observation of how I and my family felt. You should feel good after eating fresh vegetables from the garden not worse. No other conditions were changed so that was good enough for me. If I had tested other people I may have had a different result, but that of course would had been irrelevant. snip Not very scientific, but whatever rocks your boat. I and the other people I serve them to enjoy the fresh veg from my garden, and have noted no ill effect from consuming same. Cat(h) |
Mulching
On Nov 21, 12:34 pm, wrote:
On 20 Nov, 13:22, "Cat(h)" wrote: I've used this stuff before, and it is fine. It is a mix of peat and very high pedigree bullshit (literally) + some small amount of chopped straw. Where do you get the 'peat' consistency from the pat and 'small amount of chopped straw' from? I've used cow manure once, to try, and I didn't get this consistency nor did it come naturally - I had to compost it for 6 months and mix it with grass and straw and whatever I compost before it was any good to use. And if you've already prepared your beds, as you've said you did, you should have no need to dig. Peat and straw is what the bulls are bedded on. So what I am getting is the well rotted bedding, including poo. Before you remind me that peat is an unrenewable resource - which it is, at least on the scale of human life - the fact is that the farm uses it, and I am quite happy to "recycle" it to add organic matter into my garden. Cow manure is very different to horse manure. It is first very low in nitrogen and therefore is the safest to use everywhere, it won't change your soil ph grately if at all. As for the chemicals in it, this has been a very long discussion over many garden fences. If you use cow manure from an organic farm, you might be happier to know that they would be less prone to using chemicals (as in pesticides). However the use of antibiotics is something that organic farmers use if the use is justified. Sadly it is very frequently justified because of mastitis due to excessive milk production, and that's due to the organic milk we all suddenly want. Not to mention the cattle feed, which is imported and used by organic farmers too, to supplement the feed with nutrients, which cows can't get with hay and grass alone. # Not many bulls get treated for mastitis... But no, the local bull station is not an outpost of organic activism. As for a 'bull evaluation farm' you live near, I would be very surprised to find out that they don't use steroids, chemicals, pesticides and coctails of antibiotics. I might be wrong but this sounds to me to be like a stud farm. No pulling wool over your eyes, is there? ;-) snip Cat(h) |
Mulching
On 22 Nov, 12:30, "Cat(h)" wrote:
Peat and straw is what the bulls are bedded on. So what I am getting is the well rotted bedding, including poo. Before you remind me that peat is an unrenewable resource - which it is, at least on the scale of human life - the fact is that the farm uses it, and I am quite happy to "recycle" it to add organic matter into my garden. Oh, absolutely. You're doing well in doing so. I didn't know that peat was used as bedding. Now that I also remember that you live in Ireland, I think, I'm not surprised and you are very lucky to have found a good source, in plenty and for nothing! Not many bulls get treated for mastitis... LOL! A slight oversight. But this was a point for Colin who I hope will not give up on the cow pooh altogether. These issues are being talked about everywhere, but finding a middle ground and some well backed facts is hard. I think in this case it's what works for you. Though I don't beleive the illness due to the manure. I'm sure it has nothing to do with it. And it is interesting to see that if he convinced himself with this to start with he might have overlooked something else. It happens so many times. But no, the local bull station is not an outpost of organic activism. You don't say :o)) No pulling wool over your eyes, is there? ;-) g |
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