@Nollie when you use well rotted manure on veg beds do you dig them in or just leave them on the surface of the beds?
@f@Fairygirl - I find it hard to dig in manure in my flower bed as I will really have to do it with a hand fork (which rather limits the depth that I could dig down anyway) as a standard sized fork would most certainly decimate all the other plants in my flower border…
@m@MikeOxgreen I think no dig is defo going to be the main RHS stance in the future as it does seem kinder to the soil structure and micro-ecosystem - but what is often conveniently omitted is the cost of procuring such large quantities of compost / manure.. I spent £200 on compost to fill 8 raised beds last summer and that is with the use of free wood chips for the bottom half of those beds.. it would have cost me double that amount otherwise..!
Maybe I over complicated things @celcius_kkw - the manure can just be laid on top and will work in over time. No need to work it in if you find that hard. Any organic matter can just be laid on top. The word mulch just means to put a layer of 'something' on soil, but that can also mean slate or gravel, not just something organic like compost etc Where it's useful to dig manure in is when planting clematis, as it's better down at the bottom of a hole to encourage those roots to get down really well.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I mix bagged manure into the top 15cm or so of the raised veg beds, just lightly turn it in with a border fork and rake over, weeding and removing stones as I go, all part of spring bed prep, so it’s ready for direct sowing. I miss out the bed due to have garlic and onions that year as they don’t need manure - gives them soft, thick necks and then they don’t store well.
I sometimes then mulch on top of veg beds with straw to help retain moisture.
On ornamental beds fully planted up, yes just spread around plants as a mulch - preferably after some decent rain.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I mulched my beds with about 10cm of well-rotted manure last winter. No digging, and by this autumn it was all seamlessly integrated into the soil, all by itself.
I think whether to spread or dig in depends on your soil and your rainfall..
My uncultivated shallow layer of heavy clay on rock was pretty stale and bereft of worms and other microbial activity. Even five year’s later, if I just spread manure and left it over winter, it would still be sitting on top six months later. In high rainfall areas, although you would benefit from an improved soil texture generally, since nitrogen is highly soluble, that element in manure would be quickly leached out by the time you came to plant. For both those reasons, forking it in in spring works best for me.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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@m@MikeOxgreen I think no dig is defo going to be the main RHS stance in the future as it does seem kinder to the soil structure and micro-ecosystem - but what is often conveniently omitted is the cost of procuring such large quantities of compost / manure.. I spent £200 on compost to fill 8 raised beds last summer and that is with the use of free wood chips for the bottom half of those beds.. it would have cost me double that amount otherwise..!
Any organic matter can just be laid on top. The word mulch just means to put a layer of 'something' on soil, but that can also mean slate or gravel, not just something organic like compost etc
Where it's useful to dig manure in is when planting clematis, as it's better down at the bottom of a hole to encourage those roots to get down really well.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I sometimes then mulch on top of veg beds with straw to help retain moisture.
On ornamental beds fully planted up, yes just spread around plants as a mulch - preferably after some decent rain.
My uncultivated shallow layer of heavy clay on rock was pretty stale and bereft of worms and other microbial activity. Even five year’s later, if I just spread manure and left it over winter, it would still be sitting on top six months later. In high rainfall areas, although you would benefit from an improved soil texture generally, since nitrogen is highly soluble, that element in manure would be quickly leached out by the time you came to plant. For both those reasons, forking it in in spring works best for me.