Grow Your Own Magazine

This chap - I think he may also be a member here - posted a very interesting paragraph at the bottom of his weekly blog which could affect people here. I'll leave you to decide/discuss, but from my own perspective, it could be the reason for a number of crop failures I've had this year

http://www.myallotments.com/

Skotch

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Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away

Interesting in the light of the curly top growth people have been having on their plants. Fallow ground for 12 - 24 months is going to be a blow. I really believe that, as hard as we are trying NOT to use chemicals, the government is working against us as they are allowing herbicides as potent as this to get into the food chain. It's wicked. Makes me glad I never got around to getting any muck. Indolence rules!

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If a man is in the garden and speaks, and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated January 3rd - Birdwatching.

I'm with you Flum!! Now I'm not sure what to do this autumn, when I had planned on spreading lots of the stuff liberally around my lottie - this makes you think twice.

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

Ditto; we hadn't got any in and won't be doing now. I'll stick with cardboard to add organic content. It seems to be working thus far.

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Andrea :wavehello

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...logs/zazen999/

moon trials completed:
tomatoes
[46% increase in crop per seed sown and 10% increase in crop per plant]

currently underway:
calabrese
garlic

http://linearlegume.blogspot.com/

I use straw as a mulch but I'm even wondering if this is advisable in the future? I'll just have to stick with my own 'home made' compost methinks..................at least I know there's nowt naughty in it!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

I won't have nearly enough homemade compost this year for my lottie - any other ways of getting hold of safe alternatives? I really want to beef up the soil on my plot especially since this is my first year there and I'm not sure what was done to it previously.

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

Organic farm? Although they're more likely to use their manure on their own fields, so that's probably not a likely source. Hmm....

I've been given a bag of 'Farmyard Manure' which was bought from a garden centre - will that be ok? I was going to use it where the pumpkin is on our plot (desperate attempt to win the biggest pumpkin competition - so don't want to upset the children!)

Pootle- I should ask the garden centre to contact the producers of the manure to ensure that it is safe to use.
Perhaps you can let us all know which brand and if they guarentee it's OK??
We could all help each other out with this!

I use a local farmer's muck- and it's definitely contaminated- it would be too expensive for me to buy bags of the stuff for the lottie.

The expensive organic stuff I bought in France will be fine for sure....it's just a bit far for you lot to pop over and collect.( Maybe Beefy could fill up his truck and import some????

"as hard as we are trying NOT to use chemicals, the government is working against us as they are allowing herbicides as potent as this to get into the food chain"

Whilst I'm with you on trying not to use chemicals the instructions on this herbicide quite clearly state that any manure from animals fed hay etc. from sprayed fields must not be used for horticultural crops, nor a whole range of other plants. Folk selling muck containing this either don't care, haven't read the instructions properly, or have bought in feed from a source without the caveats being passed on / understood.

I'll check the brand tonight and contact the suppliers as I'm not sure exactly which garden centre it came from (This was a bag left over from a job done by a gardener friend of mine - I'm too tight to buy it in at £3.99 a bag!). I'll keep you posted Can't have any accidents with that prize winning pumpkin

Hi all, the branded compost I've been given is Levingtons Farmyard Manure (Organic Choice) and I've had a swift response from their customer services;

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your enquiry and I apologise for my delay in getting back to you but I did want to make sure so I have been chasing people around making sure I can give you the correct answer.
The result is that our Manure is safe to use and is not contaminated.

Thank you again for your patience.

Regards

Vicky Page
Consumer Services Advisor

+44(0)870 5301010

So hopefully that pumpkin prize is all mine!

oh good. I think this is what I bought (Levingtons) as well as Miracle Grow Organic Compost.

Good one Pootle!!

Anyone else asked about the brand they used?????

Thanks for the info, gratefully received.

No problem! I must say I was impressed with the speed of their response

I didn't use some of the manure we bought last year, so that should be fine.

Pelleted chicken manure is very good - but not if you have pets where ever you are growing, my dog loves it as much as my plants do! As for bulky organc matter, I really have no idea, but if I shredded cardboard, would that work??

Jennifer

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Whilst typing the above reply, I was probably supposed to be doing homework. My excuse: I'm hooked!