A cheap way of feeding my allotment?

Mrs_Money

Can anyone suggest a frugal way to enrich the soil in my allotment?
I can't generate enough home made compost and access is impossible for trailer loads of manure. I do make a trench for the runner beans and fill it with kitchen waste etc which always works well, but after 3 seasons with no real enrichment to speak of, I'm beginning to see a slight lack of size in some crops- carrots and parsnips fir example.
Bags of well rotted manure from garden centres are too expensive for the amount of ground I'd need to cover and local stables are overwhelmed with people who want their horse manure- which I don't think is rotted so I'm not even sure if it would be okay to spread that on the earth now? Even transporting that would be difficult- not sure the boot of my car is suitable!
Any suggestions welcomed!

Elsewhere

I'm assuming you aren't near the sea? When the council clear seaweed off the beach here after storms they take it to the allotments for the gardeners.

A friend who has an allotment collects her family's urine for fertiliser. There's information about using urine here:-

http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/gardening/605742/urine_the_ultimate_organic_fertiliser.html

Sally_A

Do you have other less well known manure available? poultry, cow dung? mushroom compost? Agree to take it whilst still fresh and layer it into you compost bins along with kitchen peelings, grass cuttings, and dry stuff, such as shredded paper.

As for transporting manure in the car, a clean wheelie bin on it's side (if it will fit) is far less stinky or prone to leaks as bags are.

As your carrots and parsnips don't like freshly manure soil, why not try them on last years bean trench, and do a fresh bean area for 2016. (or are you like me, and always do your beans in the same bed?).

I_have_spoken

MiracleGro?

ljonski

Go out into the streets and bag up fallen leaves

SailorSam

Elsewhere wrote: »

A friend who has an allotment collects her family's urine for fertiliser. There's information about using urine here:-

http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/gardening/605742/urine_the_ultimate_organic_fertiliser.html

I thought it was only male urine you could use.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Comfrey liquid feed? Most allotments have comfrey growing on them

Chicken poo liquid feed? Anyone on your site or locally have hens that you could get manure from?

Grow-more? Most gardeny places sell Grow-more or their own equivalent, you just spread it around your crop periodically

Chicken manure pellets? As per Grow-more


Not sure where in the country you are but maybe you could use sites like freecycle or streetlife in your area to source bags of manure or mushroom compost, stick them in your boot and use a wheelbarrow to get it from your car to plot?

The general rule of thumb I follow for manuring is that if it grows above ground, it's fine to manure but if it grows underground, it's not so that's when I use either Grow-more or liquid feed

alanobrien

As stated above comfrey liquid feed is easy and cheap, nettle liquid feed is also good. Another easy way is green manure, plant some seed let it grow then dig it in, adds nitrogen and texture to the soil. I get mine here;

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/SeeKay-Horticultural-Supplies/Green-Manure-/_i.html?_fsub=2300163016&_sid=189317356&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

forgotmyname

Offer to take peoples grass clippings and veg peelings, my local council started charging for garden waste so easy to mention to a few neighbours that if the put it into a plastic tub or non leaky bag i will take it away for them.

I need to start another compost pile, and shred some of the twigs and branches in my long term compost bin.

Wonderhamster

All urine is useful s accompanied activator and for adding nitrogen to the soil, male urine is a bit more so.

I don't have personal experience of no-dig gardening, but many people report success with a thick mulch of spoilt hay and or other organic material.

Mrs_Money

Thanks all for the suggestions.
I am only a few miles from the sea- our council doesn't do anything with seaweed though. I guess I could go down to the beach and collect it-is that allowed?
Mushroom compost- I had completely forgotten that and may be able to get some cheap. Probably have an allotment full of mushrooms then!
I need to source comfrey leaves as don't have any at the allotment and too few at home in the garden. I may start growing it on my plot in a corner.