Hey expert gardeners!!

I just taken on new allotment which, as expected, is pretty overgrown
with bindweed n couch grass n stuff I don't recognise.

So, I started double digging the whole plot to remove as much as
possible of all of these deep rooted perennial nasties.. It will take me
until end of August to complete this.

Some people say I should then cover the dug ground with rotted manure
and leave it over winter. Others say I should cover it with compost.
But I don't know the difference between rotted manure and compost?

Are they the same thing?

Ed

"Ed" ex@directory wrote in message
news:FIKdnZ13F4pi7b3VnZ2dnUVZ8sqjnZ2d@plusnet...
Hey expert gardeners!!

I just taken on new allotment which, as expected, is pretty overgrown with
bindweed n couch grass n stuff I don't recognise.

So, I started double digging the whole plot to remove as much as possible
of all of these deep rooted perennial nasties.. It will take me until end
of August to complete this.

Some people say I should then cover the dug ground with rotted manure and
leave it over winter. Others say I should cover it with compost. But I
don't know the difference between rotted manure and compost?

Are they the same thing?

Ed



Hi Ed

Manure is 'Oats which have been through the Horse' and Stable Straw and left
to rot, compost is the stuff from the garden which has rotted in a heap or
compost bin :-))

Mike

"Ed" wrote
Hey expert gardeners!!

I just taken on new allotment which, as expected, is pretty overgrown with
bindweed n couch grass n stuff I don't recognise.

So, I started double digging the whole plot to remove as much as possible
of all of these deep rooted perennial nasties.. It will take me until end
of August to complete this.

Some people say I should then cover the dug ground with rotted manure and
leave it over winter. Others say I should cover it with compost. But I
don't know the difference between rotted manure and compost?

Are they the same thing?


Your only way to get rid of those weeds is using weedkiller, you will
certainly not dig out Bindweed and I doubt you will overcome the Couch Grass
either. Glyphosate binds to the soil on contact and acts on an enzyme only
found in plants and that is what I would use. Spray the green leaves, leave
for a few weeks to see what goes brown and whats left alive and spray again
and repeat all season by which time you may have killed it all. If you
really want to double dig the whole plot then do so next winter after the
weeds are dead.

A winter mulch, give the pests a nice warm blanket for the winter? :-)
I dig the year old Horse manure in as soon as it arrives each spring.

Manure ( rotted down plant material and excreta) provides lots of nutrients
on top of what compost does; compost (rotted down plant material) is a good
soil improver, it helps break up clay and holds moisture.

If you use lots of manure/compost and you want to grow brassicas don't
forget to check you soil pH and lime if it's acid.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 6/5/08 18:03, in article , "Bob
Hobden" wrote:


"Ed" wrote
Hey expert gardeners!!

I just taken on new allotment which, as expected, is pretty overgrown with
bindweed n couch grass n stuff I don't recognise.

So, I started double digging the whole plot to remove as much as possible
of all of these deep rooted perennial nasties.. It will take me until end
of August to complete this.

Some people say I should then cover the dug ground with rotted manure and
leave it over winter. Others say I should cover it with compost. But I
don't know the difference between rotted manure and compost?

Are they the same thing?


Your only way to get rid of those weeds is using weedkiller, you will
certainly not dig out Bindweed and I doubt you will overcome the Couch Grass
either.
snip

Bob, have you used this new weedkiller called Resolva? I speak as one who
does not grow her own food, BTW!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

"Sacha" wrote

Bob, have you used this new weedkiller called Resolva? I speak as one who
does not grow her own food, BTW!

No, I've read a lot on Glyphosate but don't know what Resolva is combined
with and therefore wouldn't use it without doing research and satisfying
myself it doesn't stay around long term.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 6/5/08 18:31, in article , "Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote

Bob, have you used this new weedkiller called Resolva? I speak as one who
does not grow her own food, BTW!

No, I've read a lot on Glyphosate but don't know what Resolva is combined
with and therefore wouldn't use it without doing research and satisfying
myself it doesn't stay around long term.

This will leave you wiser than it leaves me, I feel sure.
http://www.gardenhealth.com/product/42/130
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

"Sacha" wrote after "Bob Hobden"
wrote after
"Sacha" wrote

Bob, have you used this new weedkiller called Resolva? I speak as one
who
does not grow her own food, BTW!

No, I've read a lot on Glyphosate but don't know what Resolva is combined
with and therefore wouldn't use it without doing research and satisfying
myself it doesn't stay around long term.

This will leave you wiser than it leaves me, I feel sure.
http://www.gardenhealth.com/product/42/130

It just says...

"It uses the unique IQ technologyT, which combines glyphosate with a fast
'burn down' herbicide"

Not any the wiser. :-(

Hopefully I shan't have to resort to such things on an allotment again so
it's academic.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden

"Ed" ex@directory wrote in message

Some people say I should then cover the dug ground with rotted manure and
leave it over winter. Others say I should cover it with compost. But I
don't know the difference between rotted manure and compost?

At the start of winter, I cover my veg beds with fresh stable rakings
(manure mixed with urine and sawdust and some dropped feed) and then cover
the manure mix with Autumn leaves. I don't bother with letting it get to
the "rotted manure" stage as I figure it can do it's rotting on the bed.
Come Spring, it's lovely and alive with worms.

Bob Hobden wrote:
"Sacha" wrote after "Bob Hobden"
wrote after
"Sacha" wrote
Bob, have you used this new weedkiller called Resolva? I speak as one
who
does not grow her own food, BTW!

No, I've read a lot on Glyphosate but don't know what Resolva is combined
with and therefore wouldn't use it without doing research and satisfying
myself it doesn't stay around long term.
This will leave you wiser than it leaves me, I feel sure.
http://www.gardenhealth.com/product/42/130

It just says...

"It uses the unique IQ technologyT, which combines glyphosate with a fast
'burn down' herbicide"

Not any the wiser. :-(

Hopefully I shan't have to resort to such things on an allotment again so
it's academic.

Hi,http://farmingforum.co.uk/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1218922079


here is a link to the farming site discusssing Glyphosate/ diquat
mixture, as in Resolva 24h.
There are other sites which discuss useage of Diquat on a google search.
Both ingredients attack plant enzymes and claim to be neutralised on
contact with soil.
Regards
Cineman