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Re: Manure.

Marv:
For what it's worth, you're probably right in your measurements for manure are
probably about right, depending on the type, quality &condition of the manure &
the time of year. You should allow 3-6 months for the manure to break down. I use
horse manure. other people may use cow manure. From my experience, I usually put
up to 6" of manure on top of the garden area I intend to do my lush growing in.
All winter, I let it leach its nutrients into & conditon the soil. then, come
spring, I till the residue into the soil, let the ground settle for 2-3 weeks, &
voila, ready to plant the most fertile plot you ever dreamed of. I do it this
way, because the extra humus left after the winter, when tilled into the soil,
holds more moisture. as long as the soil wil drain, so it is not standing water,
this is very helpful to the plants. I also add some wood ashes to the plot,
especially if I am growing large plants with large blooms or fruit. The potash in
ashes, strengthens the stalks & will result in more, sturdier blooms. Another
benefit is the soil does not compact as much. it is easier to dig, & to pull
weeds. I have also used a soaker hose with a plot like this with a great deal of
success.
Terry Lynn

Lubadub@aol.com wrote:

> Listen up guys. I'm back.
>
> I've been spending a lot of time reading about manure and everything I read
> seems to be a bunch of crap. Some people talk about manure in terms of
> pounds, Some bushels, some cubic feet and some in terms of cubic yards. I had
> no conception of what this all meant. I got back an analysis of soil in a
> friend's garden. It recommended to him that he add two inches of manure or
> compost to his garden. He asked me how much that was. His garden is 5500
> square feet in size. He figured that since 2 inches is 1/6 of a foot that he
> could multiply 1/6 foot times 5500 square feet and this came out to his
> needing about 900 cubic feet of manure. He called the local tool rental and
> they said their average dump truck bed (6 wheeler) is 8 feet long and 6 feet
> wide and 3 feet deep. 8 times 6 times 3 equals 144 cubic foot capacity for
> the truck. He figures he will need 6 or 7 truckloads of manure to provide the
> two inches. Any comments?
>
> His manure spreader is 11 feet long and 5 feet wide and 2.5 feet tall and so
> if he used that he would get about 137 cubic feet of manure per load and
> would again need about 7 loads. Any math people available??
>
> When one speaks of amounts of manure, is it more proper to speak in terms of
> cubic feet, cubic yards, bushels or pounds??? I think we should try to
> standardize this for purposes of discussion. Also how about some comments on
> how much one should add to a new garden and how exactly do you decide? The
> above was determined on the basis of a soil analysis.
>
> Meanwhile I got killed about trying to grow a pumpkin plant using 500 square
> feet of space. (Recall that my garden is about 40 feet by 50 feet and I was
> going to grow 4 plants.) The concensus was that I will need at least 1000
> square feet per plant and even then I will have to do some pruning. Thats
> what you will have to do if you are going for the gold and,as you know, I am.
> It doesn't seem fair. Already my garden isn't big enough. I'm still in this
> Chris. So don't start relaxing.
>
> The fence around the garden isn't up yet and three deer were spotted in the
> garden tonight eating my winter rye cover crop, all female, if it means
> anything.
>
> Stay tuned.
>
> Marv in Altoona PA
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