30% aged cow manure in garden but wont retain water even with mulch.

Question

We had to plant additional garden space due to unemployed. We tilled strips of ground with sun and added aged cow manure. the tilled dirt just lets water run through and under the tilled dirt it is soggy. I have to water every day to wet the top inches of the garden. we even have straw for mulch. Any ideas on how to fix? We took some clay pots and corked the hole in the bottom and we fill it with water and uncork when we need extra water. this has helped a lot as the water slowly releases about root deep but still plants are wilting from not enough water. I dont want a high water bill from trying to save money on gardening. any ideas?

Answer 1

Sandy soils usually give this kind of problem. Sandy soils are also easily impoverished, because of their free draining nature the nutrients just leach out with the water.

In hot weather the first layer of soil will always be dry - water evaporates whatever the soil type, adding manure does not prevent this - even manure will dry out completely in the sun.

Mulching is the only way to prevent evaporationn from the soil surface. The best mulch I have found over the years is grass clippings. If the grass is applied as a thick mulch, it's surface will dry but the soil underneath will remain damp. Because of the texture of grass clippings water does not transfer easily from the soil surface to the mulch.

If you have sandy soil adding generous amounts of humus when tilling will improve the situation.

The proportions of sand, silt and clay have a major influence on soil structure. In sandy soils the particles do not bond together strongly and therefore have little structure, but are free draining. As the clay content of the soil increases from loam to clay loams to clays, the particles become held together more strongly and generally structural strength increases. This bonding is due to the high level of chemical activity exhibited by clay particles.

 For production, good soil structure relies on the formation of small soil aggregates which do not break down when wetted, with good pore spaces between the aggregates. In the right conditions, soil particles will cluster together and become stabilized by organic matter, fungal hyphea and polysaccharides produced from root, fungi and bacterium exudants and organo-metallic complexes. In the wrong conditions, aggregates will not form, or will break apart when wetted, reforming into large, dense and impermeable clods with few pore spaces.

Therefore, soils with poor structure will probably be low in clay or organic matter and high in minerals, such as sodium, that reduce the ability of clay particles to bind together. Management practices that break down organic matter cause soil structural degradation. This is indicated by hard setting soil surfaces and crusting in tilled soil.

It should be remembered that organic matter not only helps to hold particles together, but it also helps hold them apart, creating pore spaces.

I hope that helps. There's lots more information on my web-site at http://aberaeronallotments.org

G.

Answer 2

I did the same thing here in Arizona. I expected wonderful results from the aged cow manure. Everything I planted in it died and I couldn't keep water from just running straight through. It turns out that there is too much organic matter and there isn't enough actual soil to create the right culture. I had a consultant come out and look at my garden and that is what he said. We need to add more actual topsoil in for the soil biology to work right. Humus and worm castings will help immensely. The first year I planted was a disaster. Things are just starting to live, but not yet thrive. Our soil make up is caliche so it has a lot of clay. The plants I put directly in the ground did better than the ones in the cow manure.