HELLOO FROM BATH

[BonnieT]

Hi,

What a fantastic site, I am so glad it has coincided with my first forray into self sufficientism. I have been dying to grow stuff for so long but have only just got my own garden, having torn up my parents garden for veg and bought them chickens for christmas (didn't go down well at the time but now they're hooked!)

I have spent all day clearing a patch for my veg beds and the henhouse I have just won on ebay (before I discovered freecycle!) is arriving in the week - three ex bats are arriving a week later.

I am sorry to start off with a question already, but I went to my best pals stable yesterday and dug bags and bags of manure (with a mixture of straw and shavings) which has been there since april/may. Does anyone know whether I can dig this into my beds now or do I have to wait until next may or is six months enough? I would rather get it over with now as time is going to be pushed in spring - I also think it is better to let the soil consolidate over winter?

I will keep you posted. I am working on my partner for a couple of sheep but no luck so far...

Bonnie

[red]

hi and welcome

re horse poo - depends hwat you are going to plant.. dont put any in if its roots.. spuds can cope with neat poo right at time of planting

in general, digging it in now would be a good idea, I should think.

[Thomzo]

Hi Bonnie and welcome. I'm just up the road in Swindon.

Have fun with your ex-bats. I have 5 and they are great.

I don't know much about horse manure but I would say that if you are going to be pushed for time in the spring then dig it in now. If you leave an area that isn't manured you can use that for anything that might complain.

Cheers
Zoed

[Shirley]

Hello BonnieT

Welcome to the forum - I used to live near Bath (peasedown st john) but am now up in Scotland again.

[BonnieT]

Small world Shirley, I am just down the road from PSJ in Carlingcott.

Thanks for the advice so far, will bite the bullet and dig in manure now.

[Millymollymandy]

Hi BonnieT and welcome!

I agree with the others and would dig the muck in now. A lot of my horse muck has only been rotting for 6 months or so and whilst some of it is still in clumps it will break down in the soil eventually. Horse muck is great for retaining moisture as I've found out the last few years with my free draining sandy soil!

[pskipper]

Hi BonnieT and welcome, I'm just down the road in Trowbridge!

[Peggy Sue]

I'm a big believer in horse poo and not that worried about age BUT I did read a very good book on composting (one of the best reads I've had for years in fact!) and it said straw takes 18 months to release its nitrogen and can absorb goodness from the soil til then. This has resulted in farmers who plough in stubble finding the nitrogen isn't available at the right time then suddenly late in the season the crop can bolt.

I think this is where the much talked about 'must wait for it to rot for a year' comes from. I don't stable my horse so I pick up poo from the field and use it within a few months- only disavantage being the nettles that sprout- but hey!

Anyway welcome and good luck

[BonnieT]

Thanks Peggy Sue,

That makes sense - unfortunately I have already dug in quite alot of it. I am sure I read somewhere that one of the reasons manure should rot first is that there is too much nitrogen in it to put straight on to delicate plants, which causes scorching.

Hopefully the excess in the poo will be absorbed by the straw breaking down?

Was going to make a terrible joke about clutching at straws but won't!

I will soon find out if it has catastrophic effects on my crop ...and let you know.

[yugogypsy]

Hi From Canada,

I have family in Bath that don't even know I exist-if you know any Doswell's, see if they are connected to PT. Doswell that came to Canada around 1910

Lois

[hedgewitch]

Hello Bonnie and welcome to the ishers.

[eccentric_emma]

hello and welcome!

[JR]

Hello and welcome to the ishers