Manure

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Manure’s most important contribution to the garden is that it adds organic matter to the soil much like compost and peat, or the, supposedly eco-friendly alternative, coir.

Peat and peat composts are, in fact, something that should be avoided as far as possible due to the fact that the use of them depletes the bogs from where it is cut.

For some strange reason it took a million Pound study for the British government to “discover” that manure is needed for a healthy soil and that using chemical “fertilizers” actually leaches nutrients from the soil. Any organic gardener and farmer could have told them that for free. In fact, they have done so for ages.

The best time to add manure to soil is autumn, but it can also be added in early spring before planting. Add 2 to 3 inches of manure to the soil and mix it into the top 6 to 9 inches of soil, well into the root zone. Do not add manure if you expect to harvest vegetables within two months or so of adding the manure to the soil. Also note that the pH of the soil may change with the addition of manure to the garden.

Not all manure should be used in the garden. While cow, horse, goat, sheep, rabbit, and poultry manures are all safe to use, manure from dogs, cats, and other meat-eating animals is not safe due to the risk of parasites disease pathogens.

Never, however, add fresh manure directly to the soil. It should always have been aged at least six months, ideally a year, or composted first. Either let it simply age or if you wish to compost it yourself make sure that the temperature of the compost reaches at least 66 degrees Celsius (150 degrees F) to get rid of pathogens like E. coli that are potentially lethal to humans. An alternative, obviously, is, like most people do it, to buy it already composted at the garden center.

Organic matter, such as manure is, is important to create and provide a good soil structure and a nutrient rich soil. Using the same soil year in year out for, and this is the worst thing that modern agriculture does, and only applying chemicals leaches the soil of nutrients and destroys the structure.

Chemical fertilizers do not equate manure, even though the components may be right, by way of nitrates, etc. They are but plant food and not soil food. Feeding the plants, however, only goes thus far and no farther.

There was a reason why our ancestors worked the way they did. They found that it works and it is Nature's way.

© 2013

Gardening Matters

By Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011 saw the launch of “Gardening Matters: Urban gardens”, a report by the Royal Horticultural Society, prepared by Dr. Tijana Blanusa (RHS) and Abigail Page (independent consultant).

The report highlights, in its eight pages, the immense value that (urban) gardens present for people and the environment.

I should think, though, that there is very little of that that really comes as a surprise to those of us involved with the environment and with gardens and gardening, whether on an amateur or a professional basis.

In the same way as do city trees, and hence they are so valuable, gardens moderate the temperatures and cool the urban environment. A town or city without trees, gardens and parks would be much hotter in summer and less balanced in its micro climate. We get a detailed rundown on how gardens work by way of moderating the urban climate on page three of the report.

Gardens, and that too has been a given to those of us who work with Nature, are an aid to the prevent flooding in the urban environment and page four of the report highlights that very well indeed.

When I look around my own neighborhood it is obvious why we have a problem with flash floods everywhere when it rains heavily. Most front gardens have been paved over between three quarters to completely to make parking spaces for the at least two cars per home, often even three or four. Back gardens too often are no more than ten percent of their former selves as people build decking and patios to create (large) outdoor “rooms”. All this contributes to a lack of soil capable of absorbing water and leading to run off.

The report “Gardening Matters: Urban gardens” is a very valuable piece of research and resource that has lot of good and important information for the urban gardener. Making it, therefore, available for downloading as a PDF document from the RHS website would be a very good idea.

© 2011