COMPOST
We strongly recommend applications of quality compost to soils for long term sustainability and suppression of soil borne diseases and pests. Compost has a big advantage over manure in that as well as nutrients, it also supplies a huge microbial load to the soils and is an excellent soil bio-activator and disease suppressor.

However, compost quality is the key to seeing great results and poorly made compost can cause more harm than good. Ensure you manage the C:N ratio, moisture and temperature in your compost carefully. If natural compost processes are not working properly there may be a problem with E.coli and Salmonella pathogen in the compost which can be a very big issue for edible horticultural crops. We offer a test for these so you can be sure that your compost is pathogen free before application. We also offer compost liquid extract analysis to look at the pH, EC and levels of available nutrients.

MANURE
Manure is a good choice for adding carbon and nutrients (P and K especially) to sandy and low carbon / compacted soils. However, adding manure to soils that are not suited to the mineral content of the manure can cause serious problems with soil fertility and future crop production. The main problems are excess potassium and phosphorous in the manure which build up in the soil locking up micronutrients like zinc, iron and manganese and reducing the uptake of magnesium and boron. Manure also pushes calcium out of the soil, further disrupting the mineral balance - it can therefore useful in high calcium soils which are prone to micronutrient deficiencies.

Manure does not add biology to your soils. Manure only supplies carbon which is a slowly available food source for the microbes. Compost adds the biology. Therefore before applying manure, always consider carefully the fertility and nutrient balance of your soils in combination with the analysis of the type of manure you have access to.