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I now have a polytunnel up and running with one half of the tunnel given to a raised bed and the other to pallets/benches/pots etc. I have read that one should not use compost especially animal based composts in polytunnels - if so why and what do you use to improve a very poor clay soil

confused

any help gratefully recieved

Hi, I haven't heard of this. I've used well-rotted farmyard manure in my tunnel and everything seems OK. Hopefully someone else will come along who has heard of this 'problem' of not using compost in a tunnel.

A friend of mind puts his compost heap into the tunnel. At the end of the season he digs it out and puts it on the veg beds. So every year he has fresh "soil" in the greenhouse, but the veg patch still gets compost too, if-you-see-what-I-mean

I think, from what I have read there has been problems with manure which still has herbicde residues in it even after going through the animals gut!

In a normal garden or allotment environment these chemicals will be purged eventually by the action of rain,wind, frost and other environmental factors.

In an enclosed environment like a polytunnel or a greenhouse the manure will not be weathered to the same extent and could linger in the soil.

As long as you are certain of the source of your manure there shouldn't be a problem though!

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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)

"there has been problems with manure which still has herbicde residues in it even after going through the animals gut"

See also:

horse manure

An interesting paragraph in this blog...

For info on manure issue follow the attached link, it appears to be an increasing issue from last years manure. it appears to be
Aminopyralid Herbicide Residue in Manure Killing Crops.
Hope you find this helpful
Contaminated Manure Aminopyralid Update

regards Barry @ Bristol

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Barry@Bristol


Manuring a poly tunnel won't make it grow into a bigger poly tunnel no matter how hard you try

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Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.
~ Mary Kay Ash

@ Barry at Bristol

As discussed in this other thread the herbicide has been withdrawn / banned:

Warning: Toxic Compost

(Not that that helps the communication of the problem and the fodder and manure that is in the supply chain, as discussed in that thread)

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K's Garden blog last update 3rd August 2008