Hi andrea - Did this article explain how or why this supposedly works? And did it stress composted manure rather than fresh stuff? I have used chicken manure in my compost for years and that compost gets added to the garden of course. But adding straight CM directly would seem to be awfully hot and high in N for tomatoes. Definitely so if it is fresh. Not to mention the smell and fly attractant problems it has. ;) Dave PS: I thought I had read somewhere that V. Wilt wasn't a problem in CA. Is that true? According to the article is this supposed to work for other soil-borne diseases as well? ******************* hi dave, we do have verticillium wilt here in california. the article did not say HOW chicken manure works to reduce the incidence...i imagine that it probably promotes some sort of fungal or bacterial activity that attacts the v-fungus. they didn't say to use composted poultry manure...but i thought that was just good common sense ;) . i'm wondering though...for people who add the chicken manure in the fall, i garden year round. i plant cole crops in the winter. will i still have the benefits of chicken manure if i add it in the fall or will my cabbage and chard suck up the nutrients before i set my tomatoes out in spring?

Hi, Ricardo. Looking at your pictures I'm guessing you're in the UK. The plants in your picture are all tough perennials which do not need any kind of nitrogenous fertiliser. However, your plants are not dying. Given the amount of rain we're getting at the moment the nitrogen will wash out pretty soon. If you want to do something for them start a compost heap and mulch them with that when it's ready. In fact, to be honest with you I'd dig up all the plants, get rid of the Oxalis and maple seedlings and dig a load of compost into the bed before replanting. Pelleted chicken manure is mostly used by vegetable growers. Just follow the dosage recommended on the bucket.

Dear Trish! Ouch!!!! I can just see the whole event happening in front of my eyes! Yes, kids can get into the the most interesting situations at times. This little lady also broke her ankle on a swing at school about seven months ago, just a few days before her fourth birthday. So it was the whole process of rushing to hospital and dropping her three-month old baby sister and my eldest off at someone's house along the way while at the same time trying to comfort her and keep all calm. At that time my husband was gone for work so it was quite a challenge. After the whole stint in hospital, we had to carry her around for the whole time while she was recovering as she could not mobilize with crutches (too young ). In the end, she got so frustrated and she started to bum-shuffle, which was hilarious. :-) I found her one day trying to water my pots outside while still shuffling on her hands and buttocks, dragging the hose behind her :-) :-) :-) At least it is a bit easier this time around (that is, after surgery and the visits to the wound care nurse to clean the finger), and I know she is getting better the moment she starts watering the garden, which she has :-). She has a great affinity for soil and dirt and I must just try to keep her away in order to keep the finger clean until it has healed appropriately. Easier said than done :-) Moses and Lisa, I had a good laugh about your initial confusion about the word "kraal" My apologies! One tends to forget that local vernacular is not always known internationally. But well done on your investigations! Lisa, If I remember correctly you also have some Dutch heritage? I initially thought "kraal" might have had its origins in Dutch (where Afrikaans originated) but after reading your posts it struck me that the word might have come from the Koisan or other indigenous African languages - it indeed refers to an enclosure for cattle although, in centuries past, I think it was also used to refer to an area where groups of dwellings of particular tribes were constructed in a circular pattern which were then closed off with thorny branches etc. in order to keep wild animals out. We have so many languages over here and we all eventually "borrow" words from each other so "kraal" is an accepted English word here as it is in Afrikaans (our home language) and several other languages as well :-). One tends to forget that it is not necessarily known internationally. Moses, I think our mushroom compost might be similar to yours although I believe (I stand to be corrected) that we use coir peat instead of peat moss, which is not such a sustainable resource over here. We also have mushroom growers, possibly in greenhouses? They are readily available in our supermarkets although prices can be slightly more expensive at times. I used peat moss for my roses the previous time I amended some garden beds but was not satisfied with the soil quality a year later, that's why I considered the "kraal manure" Thanks to all of you I think I might get the recipe better this time. I really can't wait to get all my roses in the ground. The previous time was a bit easier as I had to start from scratch so I could design everything as I wanted. This time we have moved into a much bigger but older house with a large established garden (although not a single rose apart from 5 iceberg tree roses (we call them standard roses) at the gate. There are many trees providing lots of shade and it is a bit more daunting to think what must be moved / removed/ altered as there is already a basic plan and I don't want to simply redo the whole place right now. :-)

I have about 10 feed sacks of henhouse clean out I got from my folks. I initially intended to use it to get some Japanese tomato rings going, but since it’s late in the year, I may just put a bunch in a row between my rows of tomatoes and cover it with wood chips as I mulch the entire bed. I’ve had good results in the past with no indication of the hot manure causing problems.