Is Manure Good for Tomatoes?

Manure remains the best of all fertilisers, with compost running a close second. Whilst the proportion of the three major nutrients that manure contains is rather low, and dollar for dollar artificial fertilisers do give more weight of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; manure rots down to make humus to benefit the soil and its micro-life.

Any type of manure should be heaped for six weeks or so before using

When you buy manure, it is likely to be pretty fresh – and far too strong and ‘hot’ to use. You will need to leave it in a heap for six weeks or so; covered with a plastic sheet to keep the rain from leaching the nitrogen out. This also allows you to assess whether the manure contains a lot of weed seeds as they will germinate in this time. Those deep in the heap will probably be killed by the heat of fermentation and any that come up on the surface can be put on the compost heap. Or if there is room in the bin you can simply dump the manure on the compost heap. Discover which type of manure is the best -cow, horse, sheep or poultry in How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes.