Help!! I'm a late starter : Grows on You

London, United Kingdom

Help!! I'm a late starter!!
Towards the end of last year I was ill so the compost didn't get turned- it looks like its only half rotted down & I bet there's loads of weed seeds in it! ; the leaf mould never got made. Now I'm looking at my raised beds and wondering what medium to put in them before I start sowing and planting. Gosh its nearly April, ah times running out!!. Thank god I have 3 worrmeries which need turning out and I have bought multi purpose compost. For my roots bed do you think I should add the compost? & maybe for the brasssica bed a mixture of multipurpose and wormmery compost? Then there's the salad bed, and the peas & beans. I don't want to overfeed but I'm worried if I do nothing my veggies will grow hungry! Please help gardening friends.
Thank you

25 Mar, 2010

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Answers

Bertiefox

In general you don't want fresh compost in beds where you are growing roots as this can cause forking if it is not well rotted.
As your compost is only half rotted, why not just apply it as a surface mulch around the plants once they are growing. Alternatively sow your brassicas, peas and beans in modules and then plant them out through the mulch by drawing it back around them as you do so. This way you won't overfeed anything, as the compost won't rapidly decompose in the soil, nor will it rob nitrogen from the soil. Eventually worm action will take the compost into the soil.
I've done this many times with compost far less well rotted than yours sounds to be and found it a good method.

25 Mar, 2010

Great

Ah thanks Bertiefox. Now, if it ever stops raining I'll turn the compost out!

25 Mar, 2010

How do I say thanks?

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