Forum home Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

To Manure or not to Manure

For several years I have had really good brocolli harvests  by following advice to grow it in previous year's runner bean patch and to manure/compost in autumn. For rthe runner beans I usually manure at some point between winter and spring.

My question is, do I need to manure the bean patch again for next year's brocolli crop there or would the plot be good enough as it is without extra manure?

Many thanks

 

 

 

 

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    No , Broccoli will not need manure.  If you leave the runner bean roots  in, and just fork it over before you plant your broccoli, they will be fine. They will benefit from a high nitrogen feed such as nettle when they are growing.

  • If the patch has had one good lot of manure in it this year that should be good enough.  Broccoli and other brassicas needs Nitrogen and that is being supplied by the dead roots of the runner beans which 'fix' their own Nitrogen from the air (actually it's symbiotic bacteria which grow in bean root nodules which do the business.)  If you want to give the broccoli a boost once it is planted, use a high-nitrate fertiliser such as nettle tea, chicken pellets or use growmore pellets if you don't mind using non-organic fertilisers.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • archiepemarchiepem Posts: 1,155

    busy weekend here . grandkids  down from north wales , theatre tomorrow night ( all my sons)  royal exghange .. sunday family lunch . and lots to do in the garden imageand still got manflu. curry and beer tonight . 

  • archiepemarchiepem Posts: 1,155

    sorry should be on hello forkers . told you  i had manflu.

  • Thanks for that advice Fidge and Bob. I suspected that that would be the case.  I will certainly make some nettle brew next year but will be starting with growmore as per usual.  Would comfrey brew be ok to use later too?(anther one I intend to make)

     

  • Yep, comfrey brew is excellent stuff.  Nettle tea has more nitrate so more suited to leafy veg and comfrey is more balanced so perfect for flowers and fruit.  Either will work extremely well on your broccoli but I'd use the nettle on the broccoli and save the comfrey for tomatoes etc.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Sign In or Register to comment.