using bagged composted cow manure

13 years ago

Hey everyone,

About a month ago on a whim I bought a little flat of 9 collard and 9 kale seedlings and wanted to put them in containers. I didn't have much money on hand at that time and just bought a couple bags of cheap organic potting mix consisting of "peat moss, composted pine bark, composted forest materials, and dolomitic lime."

At first I just potted 2 collards and was going to wait until payday to get the rest of the potting mix and then do the rest. A few days later when I got paid, I bought more bags of the potting mix and I also bought a bag of composted cow manure (0.5-0.5-0.2) to mix in with it. I potted all the kale seedlings and the rest of the collards.

It's been about 4 weeks since I potted the rest and the 2 collards I potted first with just the potting mix are doing amazing but with the exception of 1 collard, the ones I mixed in the manure have only showed minor growth.

Why is this? Only 1 of the collards with the composted manure seems to be doing as good and that's strange. I didn't have a container big enough to mix the potting mix and manure all together so tried to do each container separately at a 3:1 ration of mix to manure. I'm guessing the one that is doing good had less manure. Did I use too much in the rest? I am thinking at some point the manure will decompose a little more and hopefully they'll start growing but should I just go ahead and just repot them in straight mix?

Also if it is relevant, being in FL and it still being a little on the warm side, I did mulch all of them with wood chips to help keep the soil cool and moist.

Thanks for any advice.

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Comments (4)

klem1
13 years ago
I don't think the manure is at fault. I would guess the plants were shocked while waiting to be potted. The warm weather is definatly not good for the plants and watering is hard to get right in the tiny nursery containers. I would expect them to recover without repotting.
ka0ttic
Original Author
13 years ago
I didn't really think of that tbh. The others did sit there for a few days before I potted them so that's definitely a possibility. I did my best to keep them moist and shaded until I could pot them but that is hard in those little nursery flats.

I just got some romaine seedlings today and have 2 big rubbermaid containers I was going to put 2 each in. I'm going to do 1 with just the potting mix and 1 with the mix/manure today so I guess the results of that will tell me for sure.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
13 years ago
Manure is not a great component to any potting soil mix so it does not surprise me much that plants grown in the soil to which this stuff was added struggled compared to their mates in plain potting soil.

Manure is 100% organic matter and OM continues to decompose and breakdown with time, water and mild temperatures. When this happens in a potting soil mix, it reduces air space (pores between the potting mix particles) and impedes proper drainage. This compaction reduces the oxygen that is able to reach plant roots and contributes to excessive moisture retention. Lack of oxygen and too much water stress roots and hamper plant growth.......if left unchecked it can result in plant death.

Container grown plants need a coarse, textural and very durable potting mix - a combo of the bark fines and peat is about ideal; often there is a drainage enhancer like perlite or pumice or clay added. Any nutrient requirements need to be supplied by you, not the soil. You will find that with a good quality, free-draining potting soil with you providing any necessary watering and fertilizing, your plants will thrive.

If you need confirmation of this info, check the Container Gardening forum and look for a post on "water movement in container soils".......you will be enlightened :-))
ka0ttic
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the knowledge. I'll definitely check out that post.