Mr
Manure Man
Have you prepared your garden beds for summer yet?
The Hobart Agricultural Show holiday is rapidly
approaching. The day after, is traditionally when the fine people of Hobart plant their tomatoes. It signals the last of the frosts that would otherwise damage baby
plants.
My garden has been sadly neglected and in need of
nourishment. It was time to visit Mr Manure Man.
Mr Manure Man is a local compost source.
He tells me he’s 70 odd and he’s been doing manure
for around 50 years. I tried to tell him about blogs but he said ‘Love, I
wouldn’t even know how to turn a computer on. I’m too old for that.’ He’s also
camera shy.
 |
| Tomatoes, Tomatillos, Capsicum, Pak Choi and Fennel from Hobart's Botanical Gardens' veggie sale yesterday, ready to go in the newly dug and nourished garden beds |
He started his business in horse manure. He tells me he used to provide it, free of charge, to Government House. Each Monday, two prisoners would
come down and collect it, but it stopped when the Queen came to visit. ‘When
was that?’ I said. ‘Probably, before you were even born,’ he said. I’d like to
think that was true, so I'm going with that.
They thought she wouldn’t appreciate the smell and
flies. That’s, Queen Elizabeth II we’re talking about, horses are in her DNA.
So he talked to his wife and they decided to put a
sign on the fence, ‘$1 a bag’, and it sold like hot cakes. He hasn’t looked
back and he’s expanded since with sheep and chicken manure and straw for the garden.
He’s a great source of cheap compost.
You can find him at the Glenorchy roundabout. Look
for the signs on the fence. It’s not a $1 a bag anymore, but it’s still good
value.
