Hops in composted manure

[ebrooker007]

I just planted 16 hop plants. Like varieties I planted 3 feet apart and 5 feet for different varieties. I dig 1.5 x 1.5 X1.5 holes. Then I filled them with composted cow manure and planted the hop plants. I bought plants rather than rhizomes. Is it ok to plant directly in composted manure or should I add some lime? I got the composted manure from my neon or who is a cattle farmer and don't want to burn them up.

 

[alane1]

It's usually better to mix compost 50/50 with garden soil or apply it as a top dressing of a few inches. What's done is done though, they might be alright as long as the compost was aged enough. If you have access to a soil ph meter I would test it before adding lime. Try to aim for a soil ph between 6.0-8

 

[ebrooker007]

I will be getting a meter tomorrow. If the ph is right is it possible to burn them up with too high of nutrient such as nitrogen or is ph the only concern? The only thing I have grown is a few tomato plants hence all the questions.

 

[TeeJo]

Yeah, you can have too much Nitrogen, but if the manure is well composted it's not going to be that big a deal.

Does it look like poo, or look like dirt? That's about the dividing line, from my perspective.
If it sat outdoors long enough to break down, it might be a little warm, but not hot like fresh chicken poop or the like.

Hops are tough to kill. Like, common cold, kind of tough. OK, maybe a touch short of that, but close!

TeeJo

 

[ebrooker007]

It looks like really rich dark dirt. He turns it a couple of times a year. He makes a pile each year and only uses the second year pile. My neighbor is a 90 year old farmer and just put 2 tandem axle loads on his garden by his house to grow his vegetables.

 

[ebrooker007]

Ok. I dug them all out and mixed with some really good too soil tonight. I put too much effort to slack now. The ph is right and I will be checking the soil for all the other essentials tomorrow, i.e. Nitrogen etc because I finished up in the dark tonight.