how much compost to use

radiat

hi,
I've just got an allotment and have made a few raised beds from old scaffolding boards. There's plenty of rotten manure available but how much should i use in the beds? Should i use 50/50 manure and topsoil?

muckyhands

radiat wrote: »

hi,
I've just got an allotment and have made a few raised beds from old scaffolding boards. There's plenty of rotten manure available but how much should i use in the beds? Should i use 50/50 manure and topsoil?

Try one barrow full of manure per square metre. As this is a new allotment for you, presume that it hasn' t been cultivated until now unless you have some sort of history for it.

This will get your soil to a great start.

Micheal GIY

Well rotted manure is one of the best things you can dig into your new beds. Just one thing to watch out for - if you are planning on growing carrots then they don't do as well in freshly manured ground. They will tend to fork, and also the manure can burn off the small white roots on the carrots so they are less likely to thrive. If you can plan your growing based on a rotation (lots of great advice on crop rotation here on the site) then you can move your carrots to a new spot next year and they will get the benefit of this years manure.

Good luck with the allotment.