Organic Fertilizers:

We can nr have too much organic matter dug into the gan pacularly in the vegele gan. Whilst in the humus (half decompo state), it s as a sponge in light soils to ret food and moise; in heavy clay it provides a drage filter between the soil pacles.

When preparing the beds for vegeles the organic felizer sho be added at a e of two bucketfuls to the sq. yd.

Manures

Well-rot animal manure is of the fst by-products that are available to the organic ga. It may sound like a messy and an unhygic substance to handle but in t f it looks completely difent m the fresh product. It doesn't smell, in f it resembles rich, brown, crumbly compost, ch of cse it is. Howr, when handling any type of composts and felizers it is sensible to wear gls.

Farmyard manure is a mixe of the dpings of horses, pigs or cows, including their ur and the litter u for their bedding. Cow manures are wetter, colder and er in nutrts than horse manure, and decompose more sly in the soil, ch makes them more suile for sandy soils. Likewise, pig manure is s ing but long lasg, as it is s to t, t too is a cold manure and thfore unsuile for the making of hot-beds. Bullock manure is recomded because many are fed a composition diet to build up tissue and body weight, thfore the residue co be transpor into their manure and ch might necessarily be beneficial to us.

One ton of farmyard manure will give about 10lb. Nitrogen, 5lb. Phosphoric acid and 10lb. Potash, much of ch is accessible to the plants soon after application.

Not ry lives in the country or close by riding sles but many of the animal manures can be purcha m d Gan Centres or m suppliers h web sites who can deliver to y home. Manures are geally d all round balanced felizers h amounts of nitrogen as well as a little of many other ingredts. It must always be u when it has maed, fresh will harm the plants by "burning" the stems and roots. If are able to collect it m sce let it rot for about 8 weeks but do make sure that cr it to stop the r-washing away all the nutrts. In autumn dig lots of manure into the vegele plots it will ensure that the plants have a really d start in the foling season. Besides root cs pre soil that has been manured the previous season.

Chicken Manure

Chicken manure is often sold in pellet f so it is easy and clea to handle. It is very rich being high in nitrogen but it is lacking in almost all other nutrts. Howr it is very useful when u combd h other felizers. Chicken manure must nr be u fresh.

Hop Manures

Spent hops are useful for improving the physical condition of the soil, howr they have little if any nutrts.

Compost

The term "compost" is geally thought to mean a mixe of soil, peat and sand, ch is u in potg and often called potg compost. Th is aher medium, ch is vegele waste of all kinds, ch has been thoroughly rot n and fed a blackish-brown crumbling material very near to humus.

I think ry is aware of the benefits of compos plant waste. Rich in all the necessary ingredts including micronutrts and micro organisms it is of the best if the best products we can use on soil. Whether it is a simple w bin or specially built conter, any who is keen to grow or her own food must have a compost sce. Not only will it be a place to dispose of the grass cutgs but can add lots of other waste too:

1. Leaves
2. Clippings
3. Straw.
4. Sawdust.
5. Shredded branches and twigs.
6. Cut fers.
7. Comfrey leaves.
8. Tea leaves.
9. Coffee grounds.
10. Egg shells.
11. Banana skins.
12. Fluff m the vacuum clea.
13. Manure.
14. Ur.
15. Shredded paper.
16. Vegele waste

If live near the sea can add kelp (a f of sea w). Nr add kitchen scraps because it will attr vermin. Other ingredts that sho be u are dog or cat manure (their wing treatt will kill off the composg ws); don't use citrus peel eer its too acidic for ws and don't use disea plants it co mean that run the risk of spreading the disease all around y gan.

To help the compost to rot n an ivator sho be u. T can be manure, bird dpings, ur or a priety ivator; in dry weather it sho be watd.

In a perly made compost heap the temperae will rise to 180deg. F. (82 deg C.). It is then that the inomycetes break n the more resistant proteins and carbohydes. As the temperae begins to cool and t co take about a month, the beria will begin their work to complete the breakn process.

It will take roughly about 12 months for the pile to break n perly into compost. If y conter does have a lid it is a d idea to cr the top h plastic sheeg or a tarpaulin weigh n to reduce the amount of rwater m leaching out the nutrts. It will also keep in the heat to al tation and a cker breakn. It's a d idea to give the pile a forking r m time to time t will accelee decomposition. Aher tip, chop-up the waste as it will take less time to break n. Vary the type of material making layers of the difent ingredts t all helps to sp up the process, ning it h a gan fork m time to will also help.

If the compos waste takes up an area of at least 12ft. x 12ft. it is a d idea to include a ventilation shaft that will help h decomposition of the material. T is d by inseng a post in the centre of the heap, piling the waste around it layer by layer until the pile reaches a height of about 6 ft., then the post is remd, leaving an air shaft through the middle; t will ensure that the waste does get a balanced airf.

It is easy to see when the compost is ready; it will be rich and dark brown, crumbly, loose, in f it resembles the potg compost that comes in bags m the gan centres that are ready to plant into. It will have become the perfect product to ren to f the soil.

Compost when perly made, can be more valuable than dung for it conts plant food and it is alive h millions of micro organisms for the health and well being of the soil. It will cont most of the minor mrals or trace elets all vital in d, healthy c cultivation.

When the compost is ready to use it can be added all around the gan but especially the vegele plot. It will impr the soil just dig in between 1 - 2 inches of compost. It can be use as mulch, or as an extra boost during the hungriest part of the growing season when the fruit are dloping. You can n mix some compost h water to make a lid f.

A compost bin can be construc using f woo pallets, each stood up on its side h the topside of the pallet, ch has all the slats, facing inwards so that the extra slats made d compost retention. Through the centre of each pallet to ret the position, two stout stakes are driven vecally into the ground. When the compartt is full up, three more pallets can be jod to the side, making a second chamber. After t too is full, a third can be c and ntually a fth; the total number of pallets rered is twelve. By the time the fth is filled, the first compartt will have compost ready to be u around the gan. Access to each compartt can be easier; eer of the outward walls of each bin may be simply lif r the stakes for the removal of the compost. If the pallets are first p h wood preservative they sho last for a te few years, after ch they can be replaced eer individually or completely at very little cost.

Lid manure

Th are so many things that can make up into a lid f. Comfrey leaves put in a bin h water and aled to rot n make a very d lid f. Howr, other ingredts such as manure, blood and b meal, a capful of concented seaw felizer aled to stand for about a week, make up a very f brew. It must be dilu at a io of about 1 parts lid f to 4 parts water. As draw the last dregs m the conter, it is wiser to dilute a little more, as the mixe becomes more concented at the bottom. W bins produce very d lid f and just as the previously tid brew, must be dilu before use. When using the lid, water it onto the soil around the plants avoiding the foliage as much as possible. T f can be administd about ry 2 - 3 weeks throughout summer.

Green manure

Green manure has been u for thousands of years for mly vegele cs; it is a way of replenishing organic matter into the soil, especially soils that have been imprished by chemical felization. It is a sustable enricht of soil by incorpoing un-decompo green plant material that will benefit the soil in many ways:

Increase soil felity
Increase biological ivity
Nish subsequent cs
Reduce soil erosion
Reduce nite losses
W suppressant
Soil struce imprt

The annual lupin is extensively u as a green manure c as is Crimson clr (Triglla foenum graecum) and Mustard (Sinapsis alba). These will add organic matter and really impr the soil as they rot n. One key ingredt in green manure is legumes, ch fix nitrogen into the soil. T is a d prise especially in soil wh hungry fers have been grown.

Green manure For more infation visit: www.mrsgreenfingers.co.uk (You n an Internet connection to visit t site)

Howr, green manure does give ck results as it is s to ivate - and the reason why it is often u in ordinary home gans. It usually takes at the very least six months for the vegele waste to rot n. When cs are dug into the land in a fresh condition, the soil organisms have to get to work on the green plants and break them n. In doing so they starve the land of nitrogen during the time the waste is being broken n. Thfore green manure method is geally applied on land that is to have a season of rest. Besides th are other fors, ch come into play in or that the best results are achid. The land sho be perly dred so that suffict air is present; it sho be adequately limed so that it is acid, and the soil sho be warm.