Started on the new 'allotment' on our property. 16 raised beds built then filled with a mix of well rotted horse manure, soil and sand. We're on heavy, non-draining clay so the raised beds should help make a better growing environment.
Planted onions and garlic which are coming up well. Globe artichokes are in along with the early potatoes. Asparagus is in it's first year and just starting to show itself. Planted the peas last weekend after starting on the heat mat in the greenhouse.
The other half of the veg plot currently has 4 weaners working it over and won't be in use till next year.
I've laid out the area for the polytunnel and plan to just cover that with manure and silage sheet for the year then install the polytunnel next spring or later this summer.
Had the tractor and chipper running to get rid of all the spare stuff from laying a hedge and that's now been put between all the raised beds to keep the weeds down and make for less mud underfoot.
I don't know much about gardening so the next few years will be quite the learning experience.
Justin , horse muck carries tremendous amount of weed seeds if the horses have been field grazed or fed on weedy hay . Their digestion is not as good as a ruminants so does not get enough acid & enzymes etc to kill off the weed seeds in their guts.
So this year you may get a heck of a lot of weeds appearing where you have used it.
A decent patch of potatoes is a good idea in a newly horse manured plot the canopy of leaves helps suppress a lot of the more delicate weeds in the first year & if they can't grow you won't get so many turning to weed seeds to plague you over the next year or so .
Cow, pig ,sheep, chicken ,turkey, goat, duck, llama & rabbit muck with the associated beddings , all composted well & re-mixed to give a even distribution of everything is about the best natural stuff you'll ever find.
Add add bits of rotted fish or trimmings or add them to water , stir every day for a week or more to get them to rot to make an emulsion & pour that into the compost mix too . As well as a bucket full of worm casts & you'll be able to grow most UK producible crops very easily .
March & April normally see the brandling type muck worms hatch in their zillions in compost bins & heaps .
If you fill a few strong plastic bags with this home made compost and drop a dozen or so worms in each bag & close . Use a zip tie to fold the top over & point the open end down to stop any more moisture getting in . Then place the bags against a sunny wall for a year , this will see most of the compost go through the worms & leave you a with afantastic " Black Gold " fertilizer
But like all composting it should have be started in the autumn last year so it is ready for this years crops
If you can , stay clear of commercially made so called composted manures & soil improver's . Bitter experience has told me time & time again that most are not even worth the cost of the bag they are sold in .
Plus a lot have crap from council waste dumps added ..then you'll never know what toxins or garden chemicals / poisons etc you'll be putting in your garden.