It's this time of year when the allotments become a frenzy of activity. Everyone is digging, composting and manuring like mad.
It's this time of year when the allotments become a frenzy of activity. Everyone is digging, composting and manuring like mad. My neighbours Mr and Mrs Ron wait until Easter, then till and plant their three plots within a week. The rest of us just do a bit here and there.
But this year a fretful question hangs over the quality of manure. Some anxious comments have been posted on my blog about last year's contamination and subsequent crop failures. The manure was contaminated with the herbicide aminopyralid, which distorted and sometimes killed crops. Plants most affected included potatoes and tomatoes, peas and beans, carrots and lettuce. Aminopyralid is slow to break down, so it seems likely that it could cause problems for some years.
So, to give you an update:
There is still the potential for manure to be contaminated this year. If you're wary of applying muck to your plot, speak to the farmer who supplied it and send it back if necessary. Contaminated muck can be spread on grassland.
Products containing aminopyralid have been withdrawn from supply, sale and use while the Pesticides Safety Directorate investigates its potency. However , it's not illegal to store the herbicide, so there's no guarantee the farm where you source your manure has not been using aminopyralid.
Dow AgroScience, which makes aminopyralid-based products such as Forefront, is offering advice to gardeners and allotment holders via the email address ukhotline@dow.com. Information collated by the manufacturers will be passed to the Pesticide Safety Directorate.
In short, be cautious. Be careful of accepting manure from sources that cannot give assurances that it hasn't come from animals fed on grass or forage treated with persistent hormonal weedkillers.
But please don't stop using mulches and organic matter. Returning nutrients to the soil is vital for healthy plant growth and decent yields, improving soil structure and moisture retention. If in doubt, stick to home-made garden compost, leaf mould or composted green waste from the local council.
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