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Thu, Mar 29, 12 at 9:27
| Hi,
I am a somewhat novice gardener. We have a garden and I have some leafy things growing such as basil and lettuce. I know that manure is really good for growth. As I already have these planted, can I spread a layer of manure on top of the soil? ...maybe work it into the soil a little with my hands being careful not to make contact with the root systems in place? Will the plants be able to utilize the nutrience in the manure this way? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by tn_gardening (My Page) on Thu, Mar 29, 12 at 10:17
| Most likely, this will work just fine. The older and the more composted and weed-free the manure is, the better your results should be. |
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| Is this manure fresh or composted? I ask because I wouldn't use fresh around lettuce. It should be 120 days old at the time of harvest. JMO |
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| If you are not a No-Till gardener, you should till the manure/compost into the soil no mater what sage of composting it is in. Cutting it in will cause it to break down faster & gather some leave & straw as mulch for weed & water control. |
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| As Jon stated, if this is fresh manure, less than 90 days old, you would not want to use it in your garden at all because of potential disease pathogens, and you would not want to spread it around leafy vegetables such as lettuce even then. It makes no difference if you are a no till gardener or not. The Center for Disease Control estimates that 1 in 6 people in the USA has food poisoning every year although many cases go unreported for a number of reasons. Many of these food poisoning cases result from improper use of animal manures. Since you have food growing in your garden now compost that manure for applicaiotn this fall. |
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