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Farmyard Manure

LottolearnLottolearn Posts: 73
in Fruit & veg
Is it OK to use well composted farmyard manure on a strawberry bed? I have a raised bed that has strawberries in it but it needs more compost and I have some farmyard manure but I'm not sure if that's OK to use for strawberries. Does it need mixing with potting compost or can it be used on its own? thanks

Posts

  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,500
    'Good Old Fashioned Farmyard' has been revered for years and is naturally good, BUT it can have a few downsides.  Modern farming revolves around cattle being kept indoors in winter, their food being derived from silage which, for those unused to that word, is grass cut in summer and either preserved in a concentrated pit system, or via plastic bales for winter use.  The problem occurs when, mixed in with the summer grass, is a variety of weeds like docks, thistles and dandelions that pass straight through the animals' systems and germinate once the manure is deployed.  When one considers that a healthy dock might produce several hundred viable seeds, a gardener will need to keep tabs on his/her plot so that emerging weeds can be removed.
  • LottolearnLottolearn Posts: 73
    thanks Nick, really good point and I'll watch out for those!
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391
    That really applies to stuff direct from farms.  The bagged manure found in garden centres is composted at higher temperatures and is weed free in my experience (I can only speak for the brands I've used, Westland, Mr Muck and Bord na Móna though.)
    I did have a huge load of well-rotted manure from a local farm many years ago which did introduce a few new types of weed, but it was used on the veg plot, so relatively easy to control them there.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • AthelasAthelas Posts: 915
    Agree about Mr Mucks’s organic manure compost being weed free — excellent compost
    Cambridgeshire, UK
  • LottolearnLottolearn Posts: 73
    OK thanks. I did get a delivery of bagged manure so assume it has been composted at higher temperatures. I also had a big load from a farm many years ago when starting a new flowerbed and had terrible trouble with weeds. 
    I really wanted to check that it's ok to use farmyard compost for things like strawberries?
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391
    Yes, they will appreciate it, both as a feed and to help keep the roots moist.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Johnny CrosbyJohnny Crosby Posts: 53
    You are planning on putting manure on your strawberries? Honestly, cream is much nicer.
  • LottolearnLottolearn Posts: 73
     ;) 
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