Got my Manure, What next?

[chellybobs]

Evening all!

Ive had such a busy day! I had 10 sacks of well rotted manure delivered today. Ive dug it into the plots in my garden and turned it over well. Ive also potted up 24 pots on the patio (left by the former owners so ive not had to buy any yey!), Ive potted them with a mix of manure and compost (mainly compost).
Ive just waterd the whole lot really well. Ive now got a few questions as im new to all this lol
1 - What more do i need to do before planting my veg (a mix of seeds and plants grown from seed in the conservatory at the min)
2 -How often do i need to water it?
3 - Before planting will i need to add any other nutrients?
5 - Is it normal to get mustard coloured flies delivered with your poo?

Cheers all
Chelle x

[JimmerG]

Chelle,

Sounds to me like you've got everything about right.

1 - If you can leave the compost/manure for a few weeks it'll give the worms and rain a chance to get in there and help 'settle' everything - it should also help take some of the 'sting' out of the manure so you don't harm your new plants. This probably isn't vital, but I like to let everything brew for a bit. I don't think seeds will like growing in soil that's been freshly manured, but I could be wrong.


2 - make sure you keep the mixture damp - manure dries out to a useless hard crusty lumps if left dry too long.

3 - depends on what you're growing but most things will be fine in a soil/compost/manure mix - just don't stick root crops in manured ground - they'll fork everywhere.

5 (4?) - You'll always get flies around poo! Once its mixed in with soil and breaks down the flies will go.

Hope this helps - I've only been doing this a few years - so I'm sure someone else will be along soon to advise further....

J

[NOG]

I would plant seeds in compost only as the manure mix will be too rich for them. Also don't forget root (carrot/Parsnip) dont like manure it makes the roots split.