Manure

Despite what we might want to eat, we all know that eating the right foods is better for us, but luckily, our plants are not as fussy. We discussed composting back in September last year (click here to read the post), and whilst that in itself is a great source of nutrients for the garden, other organic materials work just as well, and they often come in the form of manure. You may well have heard stories from grandparents of their younger years spent chasing behind horses, carrying shovels to collect any waste products to sell to local gardeners – health and safety has come a long way since then! But way before garden centres became the norm, farm animal… dung was used to fertilise plants, for many centuries and with great results. Today, buying it in bulk is easier, less time-consuming, and often safer than the alternatives, but if you’re willing to put the work in – and you have access to the necessary animals – you could have an endless supply.

Composted plant and vegetable waste is a manure in itself, and although it may take many months to create the right end product, once the initial hard work has been completed, it’s simply a case of turning the pile regularly to provide your plants with some good feed. To increase the quality of your compost, however, you can add animal waste from vegetarian animals and birds, but like the plant waste, it will need to mature before being use, otherwise you run the risk of damaging your plants and putting them – and yourself – at risk of potentially harmful bacteria. So care needs to be taken, but with the resultant manure rich in nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in particular – it’s worth it. And it doesn’t stop there; you will also be rewarded with a slow-release fertiliser that improves soil structure and provides better moisture retention, whilst creating its own ecosystem to benefit your plants further.

Different waste types will differ in their composting time: vegetation, for example, can take up to a year, whereas horse manure – a favourite, not least because, unlike other animal manures, you’re unlikely to find rogue seeds amongst the waste – may only take 4 months; chicken manure also takes a year – but if you can still smell it, leave it longer – and cow and sheep waste, somewhere in between, and although sheep dung in particular is less nutritious, as a rule, it doesn’t smell quite as bad as the other types. The regularity of turning your compost/manure pile will have an impact on timings, but you should be able to judge for yourself when it’s ready to use: if it crumbles between your fingers – and you’re willing to do that – you’re good to go.

The best time to apply manure is in late autumn or winter, at least 3 months before your plants start to grow. Cover your soil with your composted manure and dig it in, ensuring the soil is loose. The rain will help with the decomposition of the mixture to give your soil the nutrients that will see your plants thrive the following year, and it will also help the soil to retain moisture and keep the rain from eroding it. When adding new plants to your garden, it’s advisable to always add compost, and if they appear to be struggling to grow, another layer around the base – avoiding contact with the plant – could help. Too much, however, can have a detrimental effect on your plants too, so close scrutiny is advisable, and it’s worth noting that not all plants like manure…

    

As manure can increase the pH level of your soil, plants that would ordinarily prefer a more acidic type will not thank you, so stick with compost without manure in areas you may be growing plants like Rhododendrons and Azaleas. Root vegetables will need some consideration too: well-composted manure can be used but sparingly; too much could affect the quality of your carrots and potatoes. If you’re growing native wildflowers, you could have a similar problem as most have adapted to poorer soils, and introducing large quantities of a compost and manure combo could encourage growth from particular plants and lead to an invasion of the more aggressive types.

      

If the thought of handling animal faeces leaves you feeling nauseous, there is an alternative: green manures. Green manures are a group of plants grown specifically to benefit the soil. Not only do they cover the ground, thus suppressing weed growth, helping to retain soil structure and encouraging necessary wildlife to the area, when dug into the soil whilst still green and growing, they decompose, adding vital nutrients. They may be a less messy option but do come with a few disadvantages that should not be ignored: firstly, they should only be sown in bare soil to avoid overwhelming existing plants, but bear in mind, they may suffer from the same diseases as other plants; secondly, with a lush carpet of green, you could see an increase in slugs and snails; conversely, sowing during a dry summer could see you watering the plants to avoid losing them before they’re fully established, and that could in itself attract more pests. Once the plants are ready for digging into the soil, the visible growth may need to be removed first, and there will need to be a period of time to allow for the rotting process, otherwise the very plants you want to feed could be suppressed like the weeds. Lastly, some green manures are perennial, so you could get regrowth that is not welcome. But it’s not all bad news: many are hardy so will see the winter out, ready to be dug into the soil the following spring; those that are sown before the autumn are unlikely to be so, but as the frosts affect them, they can be left as mulch.

There are many plants that are suitable for green manures, but like any other plant, there are preferences to light/shade, soil types and temperature, so be sure to do your homework. As a general rule, a mix of varieties is better than a single type, and commercial green manures are often sold as such; if you’re wanting to create your own mix, however, white clover, grazing rye and vetch are amongst those that are hardy; bristle oats, buckwheat and fenugreek are non-hardy.

      
The beauty of waste products cannot be underestimated, but if the process of creating that beauty is a little too much to stomach, we have bags of matured manure in our compost section all year round, so you too can be as happy as a pig… on a truffle farm!