What to use as green manure. Green manure - green manure

• Green manure- one of the whales on which organic farming stands;
• Green manure- These are plants that are grown not for food, but solely to increase soil fertility. Their green mass is embedded in the soil to increase the content of organic matter, used for composting and for the preparation of liquid fertilizer;
• Green manure is especially valuable in cases where for some reason it is not possible to store manure in sufficient quantities.

History of green manure

In the practice of agriculture, green manure has been used since time immemorial. In Europe, this technique, borrowed from China, began to spread in the Mediterranean countries already at the time Ancient Greece. Here, it would be appropriate to quote the words of the Roman writer and scholar Pliny the Elder, who lived in 23-79 AD.

Pliny the Elder is the author of the 37-volume Natural History, which is a comprehensive encyclopedia of all kinds of knowledge. ancient world about nature. The largest section of this work, the 21st volume, is devoted to the description of the vegetable kingdom. Regarding green manure, Pliny says the following:

“Everyone agrees that there is nothing more useful than lupine, if it is planted in the soil with a plow or a two-pronged hoe before the formation of beans, or bunches of lupine, cut off at the surface of the soil, are buried near the roots of fruit trees and grape bushes ... This is the same good fertilizer like manure."

In the era of enthusiasm for mineral fertilizers, starting from the middle of the last century and up to our time, green fertilizer has faded into the background and has not been used almost anywhere. Now, with the resurgence of organic farming, it is once again gaining importance.

What is green manure

As green manure use legumes and non-legumes, and most often their mixtures. Plants are allowed to grow and develop a root system and green mass, and then they are either mowed or completely embedded in the soil. The mowed mass is either used for compost, or covered with it on the surface of the soil as mulch, or embedded in the soil.

In the soil, the root system and leaf mass decompose, enriching it with organic matter and nitrogen. The source of nitrogen is the legume component of the mixture, which is able to assimilate and accumulate atmospheric nitrogen in the root nodules. After the root system dies, organic matter containing nitrogen passes into the soil.

In this way, main purpose of green manure- enrich the soil with organic matter and nitrogen. Under the action of microorganisms, plant residues decompose and turn into humus.

Following important effect of green manure- improvement of the water and air regime of the soil due to the loosening and structuring effect on the soil of the root system of plants. In this regard, the leading role belongs to the cereal component of the mixture. Cereal plants have a widely branched, fibrous root system that breaks the soil into small lumps. This effect of green manure is especially useful on heavy compacted soils into which water does not penetrate well. Therefore, in the rotation of crops or in crop rotation, which must also be observed in garden plots, it is very important to allocate space for green manure so that the land is subjected to the structuring and healing effect of green manure (once in several years).

On light soils positive influence green manure is to increase the water-holding capacity by enriching them with organic matter.

On heavy soils, cereals and legumes with a deep root system, such as lupine, alfalfa, rye, barley, loosen the deep layers of the subsoil, and this has a very great importance to facilitate the penetration of water into the soil and improve its water and air regime.

A crop that is grown for green manure does not produce any production in the year of cultivation, but improves the soil for five to six years.

One of the basic rules of organic farming is to never leave the soil without vegetation cover. Green manures that grow before, after, or in between major crops create a dense leaf cover. It protects the soil from weathering and mineralization of organic matter, reduces the leaching of nutrients into the deep layers and keeps them in the upper fertile horizon. Such leaf cover acts as a living mulch, which is especially important for light sandy soils that suffer from nutrient leaching from the upper horizon. Therefore, it is recommended, whenever possible, to sow green manure on light soils in the fall and leave it for the winter, and in the spring to plant living or dead plants in the soil. Podzimnie crops of green manure are also especially recommended on soils subject to erosion (washout of the upper layer by rain and melt water).

Green manure also plays an important sanitary role. Firstly, it suppresses the growth of weeds, and in order for it not to become a weed itself, it is necessary to mow or close it up before seeds are formed. This applies to rapidly growing and abundant seeding: plants such as rapeseed or mustard. Secondly, some types of green fertilizer help cleanse the soil from pests and diseases. For example, dense sowing of mustard significantly reduces the amount of wireworm. Green manure produces green mass that can be used as mulch or as composting material.

Especially green manure is of great importance for the cultivation of developed areas. It helps to restore the fertility of the soil destroyed by construction or other works, where machines and people have completely destroyed or compacted the upper cultural layer.

Table 1 shows Comparative characteristics different types organic fertilizers in terms of their impact on soil properties. The effect of fertilizer is evaluated on a point system.

Table 1

This table shows that green manure, especially cereal-bean mixtures, is not inferior to manure in terms of its ability to enrich the soil with humus and nitrogen, but is inferior in terms of enrichment with some nutrients.

This is easy to explain: how much green fertilizer took mineral elements from the soil, it returns the same amount after dying off. Nitrogen and humus are an exception, as their amount increases due to the ability of plants to use nitrogen and carbon from the air. Therefore, green manure does not completely exclude the application of manure or compost enriched with potassium, calcium, phosphorus, etc., but it allows to reduce their dose.

The table reflects the possible negative effect of green manure, which may be due to errors in its use or in the choice of crops. An increase in infestation may be due to the late mowing of seeded plants, and an increase in diseases may be a consequence of non-compliance with the rules of crop rotation.

Techniques for growing and using green manure

To benefit from green manure and avoid the mistakes associated with its use, you need to have a good understanding of what green manure is and how it works.

When planning to use green manure, the gardener must keep in mind several considerations at once: what effect he wants to get, what kind of crop in his conditions can give such an effect, when is it better to sow it and plant it in the soil, etc. The material presented in this section should help you navigate these issues.

In table 2, you can find information about the effect of various crops used as green manure. It was said above that green manure has several purposes and has several purposes. One culture cannot satisfy all requests at once. Therefore, it is important to determine which action is needed first and then select the appropriate crop or mix of crops.

table 2

Purpose various kinds crops for green manure (Probst G., 1982)

It should be explained what the release of sparingly soluble phosphorus mentioned in the table means. Phosphorus is part of soil minerals, but in a form that is difficult for plant nutrition. Plant roots secrete organic acids, which, interacting with soil minerals, convert phosphorus into a soluble state.

Legumes and mustard are especially active in this regard, as shown in Table 2. In addition, some legumes and mustard absorb phosphorus from deep layers of the subsoil with their deeply penetrating roots. Phosphorus accumulates in the aerial parts of these plants and in their root system.

After incorporation into the soil and decomposition of plant residues, the topsoil is enriched with organic phosphorus compounds contained in them, which, under the action of microorganisms, are transformed into a form accessible to plants. The crop following this green manure grows on soil enriched with available phosphorus.

It should be borne in mind that the effect of green fertilizer is quite dependent on the age of the plants. Young and fresh plants are rich in nitrogen, they quickly decompose in the soil and quickly release nitrogen. And therefore, after the incorporation of young green plants, the main crop can be sown or transplanted to this place in 3-4 weeks.

But at the same time, you need to know that if you put too much raw plant mass into the soil, it will not decompose, but sour. And besides, a very large amount of nitrogen released can have a negative effect on the main crop.

Practice has shown that incorporating too much green mass into the soil immediately before sowing almost always reduces the yield of the subsequent crop. Therefore, the surplus of fresh green mass is best used for composting and mulching, and the rest is embedded in the soil.

Fresh plant residues almost always contain growth and germination inhibitors, and therefore, after incorporation into the soil, it is necessary to wait some time for them to be digested by microorganisms. Young green plants enrich the soil with nitrogen, but enrich it with humus to a lesser extent, since they contain mainly rapidly decomposing organic matter.

At a more mature age, when plants have formed a rigid stem, they decompose more slowly, as they contain hardly decomposable organic substances that go to the construction of soil humus, in other words, they increase the stock of stable soil organic matter, which is the basis of its fertility.

But it should be borne in mind that mature plant tissues are rich in carbon and poor in nitrogen. The microorganisms that decompose them do not have enough nitrogen for their life activity, and they compensate for this lack by absorbing nitrogen from the soil, taking it away from plants.

Therefore, when incorporating mature plant mass shortly before sowing the main crop, a nitrogen deficiency may occur in the soil, which will adversely affect the growth of the main crop, if a certain dose of nitrogen fertilizer is not applied.

With all these considerations in mind, it is recommended to incorporate green manure during the budding period before flowering, when the plants are not yet very rough. The time and depth of embedding is chosen so that the green mass decomposes quickly and easily.

Experience has shown that it is better to plant green fertilizers shallowly, since when deep planting they do not decompose, but turn into a peat-like mass. Planting depth on light soils is 12-15 cm, on heavy soils - 6-8 cm.

Green fertilizers will give a good effect only if they grow well and develop a sufficient amount of green mass. Therefore, they require good soil preparation. In no case should you sow in undigged or rough-digged soil.

The soil must be well loosened; seeds close up shallow, especially small ones. It goes without saying that the richer the soil and the better its water-air regime, the better the growth of green manure and the higher its effect.

Different types of green fertilizers are not the same in their requirements for growing conditions. Some are water resistant, while others are drought tolerant. Some require high soil fertility, while others grow well on poor soils. According to the conditions, it is necessary to choose the culture that suits.

Table 3 shows the characteristics of soil requirements for the main crops used for green manure. The column "Removal of nutrients from the soil" characterizes the requirement for fertility: the higher the removal, the more demanding the culture.

Table 3

Features of various crops for green manure and their requirements for soil (Kant G., 1982)

*Removal of nutrients from the soil: weak +; middle ++; high +++;

** Development: slow x; fast xx; very fast xxx;

When choosing a crop for green manure, it is also important to know how fast it grows, what is its productivity in terms of its ability to accumulate organic matter through photosynthesis, and what nutrients it will enrich the soil. These data, obtained under the conditions middle lane Russia are shown in Table 4.

Table 4

Characterization of crops for green manure (Tuzhilin V.M. et al., 1990)

* In the numerator - development indicators for the first year, in the denominator - for the second year.

When working with green manures, it is also necessary to know which botanical family each crop belongs to. This is necessary in order to establish the correct alternation of crops. Plants belonging to the same family are affected by the same pests and diseases. Therefore, you cannot place green manure and main crop belonging to the same family in a row.

For example, you cannot sow mustard, rapeseed, oil radish, belonging to the cabbage family, for green manure before planting all types of cabbage belonging to the same family.

To avoid such errors, reference table 5 is provided.

Table 5

Belonging of vegetable crops and species used for green manure to botanical families

Characteristics of crops used for green manure

Broad beans are a rich source of nitrogen. Better than other legumes grow on heavy soils; they tolerate negative temperatures well and therefore, in areas with mild winters, they are suitable for winter sowing. Some plants die in winter. In the spring, the above-ground part is mowed and used for compost. The roots and remains of dead plants are buried in the soil. Beans can be grown mixed with vetch and field peas. Seeding depth 4-6 cm. Seeding in rows or scattered. Seeding rate 22-30 g/m 2 .

Winter vetch, or hairy, like all legumes, enriches the soil with nitrogen, organic matter. It is sown in autumn after harvesting the main crop. Sow in rows or scattered to a depth of 1 cm, mixed with some cereal component that serves as support for weak vetch stems (winter rye or wheat). First, vetch is sown, and after a few days - rye. Vika is undemanding to the soil, tolerates low negative temperatures, drought and shading. In the northern and middle regions, it is sown on July 1-20, in the southern - in August. In areas with mild winters, vetch is embedded in the soil in early spring, and if it is in danger of freezing in severe winters, late in autumn. With broadcast sowing, the seeding rate is 7–9 g/m2. Vetch is a good predecessor for nitrogen-demanding crops.

Spring vetch is grown for green manure in areas with severe winters, where winter vetch freezes. Often used mixed with oats or broad beans. It is sown in early spring as a precursor to late crops, such as late cabbage, and planted in the soil before flowering.

Spring vetch can also be sown in the second half of summer after harvesting early vegetable crops and planted in the soil before frost. Vika is a good food for goats and rabbits.

Field peas, pelyushka - grows rapidly and develops a large green mass. Cold-resistant plant, recommended for northern regions mixed with vetch and oats. Enriches the soil with nitrogen and organic matter. With broadcast sowing, the seeding rate is 15 g/m 2 .

Mustard is a very popular plant and most widely used as a green manure in household plots especially in Germany. It enriches the soil with organic matter, phosphorus and sulfur (due to the fact that mustard roots convert these substances from soil minerals into a water-soluble state).

Mustard germinates quickly and quickly accumulates green mass. It can be sown any time the soil is free: before, after sowing and between major crops. The optimal growing time is 8-10 weeks, when it develops a large green mass and just begins to bloom.

But if you have a shorter period of time at your disposal, then it is still advisable to sow mustard, which will not only provide organic matter, but also prevent nutrients from being washed out of the soil by binding them in their roots. Mustard must not be allowed to seed, otherwise it can turn into an annoying weed. If the mustard is repaired in the fall, then next year its organic mass will gradually decompose, releasing the nitrogen associated with it. Sowing mustard is a good remedy for wireworm.

Mustard requires fertile soil and especially nitrogen fertilization, since nitrogen itself does not fix from the air, like legumes. Does not tolerate drought well. It cannot serve as a precursor for cabbage, as it is affected by the same diseases and pests. With broadcast sowing, the seeding rate is 4 g / m 2, for protection against wireworm - 5-6 g / m 2.

Buckwheat - different rapid growth. Enriches the soil with organic matter, phosphorus and potassium. Particularly recommended in heavy soils, as its deep branched root system greatly improves the soil structure.

Buckwheat is sown in the spring (7 g / m 2), embedded in the soil in late autumn. The above-ground part can be mowed and used for compost. It is mostly used for sowing between rows of fruit crops.

Clover requires at least two years of cultivation to obtain the desired effect, so its use for the garden plot is limited. Can be used between rows of fruit crops. White, red (meadow) and incarnate clover are suitable for this purpose.

White clover enriches the soil with nitrogen and potassium. It grows very quickly, is resistant to cold, but does not tolerate the acid reaction of the soil and therefore needs liming. Sowing - in spring or summer; close up in the soil before flowering. When sown in August, the seeding is done in the spring. Seeding rate 2.8 g/m 2 . Embedding to a depth of 1-2 cm.

Red clover is suitable for areas with good moisture. Sowing in early summer, planting in spring.

Incarnate clover is not resistant to freezing and can only be used in the southern regions.

Lupins. Annual species are used in garden plots: blue (narrow-leaved), yellow and white. Lupins are most common in Germany, where they are called the "blessing of sandy soils". But they give a good effect on loams.

Lupins enrich the soil with organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus. It is assumed that microorganisms live on their roots, which can convert insoluble phosphates into an accessible form. Lupine green manure is close to manure in terms of nutritional value.

Plants are sown in late summer or late spring. Buried into the soil approximately 8 weeks after sowing, when the flower buds appear, before they have acquired color. Later, the stems become woody and slowly decompose.

Lupine is sown in the row at a depth of 2.5 cm. The distance between rows is from 15 to 30 cm, between plants - from 5 to 15 cm. At large distances, weeding is facilitated. In planting lupine, you can plant corn, which remains after harvesting lupine and receives rich nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition.

After embedding lupine in the soil, the next crop is sown immediately. If the lupine is left to grow more long time, its aerial part is mowed and used for compost. Lupine is considered the best predecessor for strawberries.

Lupine blue has more speed growth and develops a deeper root system than other lupins, and is also more resistant to cold. It is most suitable for the northern regions, grows well on the su sandy soils not sensitive to acidity.

Lupine yellow of all lupins is the least demanding on the soil and not very sensitive to acidity, but does not tolerate alkaline soil reaction, requires good moisture.

White lupine is the most demanding on soil fertility and not very sensitive to acidity. Of all types of lupine, it gives the largest green mass.

All lupins require well-drained and weed-free soil. When planted late in July or August, the plants are planted in the fall, and in areas with mild winters, in the spring.

Alfalfa is a perennial legume with a deep root system. Enriches the soil with organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus. Spring sowing is buried in the soil or mowed before flowering, until the stems are woody.

The mowed mass is used for compost, and the roots decompose in the soil. Alfalfa grows best in the southern regions, where it produces up to five cuts per year. The soil is not very demanding. With broadcast sowing, the seeding rate is 2.5–3 g/m 2 .

Oats enrich the soil with organic matter and potassium. Usually used in a mixture with vetch or peas. Sowing in spring, embedding before flowering. The above-ground mass is mowed and buried in the soil.

Rapeseed, like mustard, is from the cabbage family. Enriches the soil with organic matter, phosphorus and sulfur. Quite demanding on soil conditions, grows poorly on poorly cultivated, humus-poor soils with an acidic reaction. Dislikes sandy and heavy damp soils.

The continuous sowing of rapeseed on rich soils with a high nitrogen content helps to bind nitrates and reduce their leaching into groundwater. Rape has a deep and branched root system, which has a structuring and loosening effect on the soil and subsoil.

For sowing small seeds of rapeseed, well loosened and leveled soil is required, the seeding rate is 2.8 g/m 2 .

Spring rapeseed is sown in July or August (southern regions) and embedded in the soil before flowering or mowed down for compost. Winter rapeseed can be sown in autumn and left for the winter as a protective soil cover. During severe winters, it dies.

Oilseed radish easily adapts to various climatic conditions and to any soil, so its cultivation is not a big problem. Due to the deep root system that extracts water from deep layers, it tolerates drought well.

It is used as a leavening agent on compacted soils. Sowing is possible from early June to early September, and in the southern regions - until mid-September. The later the sowing, the higher the sowing rate: the average rate is 2 - 3 g / m 2. Oilseed radish can be sown in a mixture with spring vetch as its support. For 1 g of radish seeds - 6 g of vetch seeds (per 1 m 2).

Oilseed radish grows rapidly, develops a large amount of root and leaf mass, which makes it possible to reduce the dose of organic and nitrogen fertilizers. The green mass is closed up late in the fall, having previously chopped with a shovel. If the plants have overgrown and formed woody stems, it is best to use them on compost. Oilseed radish actively suppresses nematodes.

Winter rye is most suitable for winter sowing. They close it in the spring, with a stem height of about 60 cm, before they begin to lignify. Young and tender plants decompose quickly and enrich the soil with organic matter, nitrogen and potassium. Rougher plants decompose more slowly and release nitrogen more slowly. Seeding rate 9 g/m 2 .

Rye is a very good plant to improve physical properties soil, but its disadvantage is a strong drying effect on the soil. Therefore, its sowing in the aisles of fruit trees can only be used in conditions of sufficient moisture, otherwise the fruit yield will be greatly reduced. Rye is also used mixed with vetch.

The turnip is a plant from the cabbage family, it has the advantage over rapeseed that it makes less demands on the soil and is adapted to more late deadline sowing - until mid-September. The rape grows well on both light and heavy structureless soils, so it can be used to cultivate new areas.

Spring rape can be sown early in spring before the main crop, winter rape in autumn and left until spring. Seeding rate 1-2 g/m 2 .

Bred in Germany, a hybrid of rapeseed and Chinese cabbage is called perko. It is suitable for late sowing, gives a large mass of leaves, frost-resistant. In autumn, it forms only a rosette of leaves without a stem, so it is easy to incorporate into the soil.

Phacelia grows very quickly, forming a large green mass. Unpretentious, grown in a wide variety of conditions, on poor sandy or stony soils. Phacelia is a good honey plant. If sown from spring to early June, it will bloom all summer and autumn. Blooms 6 weeks after sowing. Seeding rate 8-10 g/m 2 .

Phacelia is considered in Germany an ideal plant for gardeners. It belongs to the hydrophilic family and therefore can be the precursor of any vegetable crop. Its tender leaves and stem decompose quickly and serve as a good nitrogen fertilizer. Phacelia is sown in rows or scattered.

Green fertilizer in crop rotation in the garden

At first glance, it may seem that in a heavily used small area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden plot it is difficult to find a place for green manure. However, upon closer inspection, you will find a ton of opportunities to sow them.

If you remember the important rule of organic farming - never leave the ground uncovered with plants, you will see how often your beds are empty after harvesting the crop that occupied them.

The most simple form green manure is a fast growing crop that is sown before, after or in between vegetable crops.

For early spring plantings, before planting the main crop, for example, tomato or cabbage seedlings, fast-growing plants are used: mustard, rapeseed, oilseed radish. Approximately two weeks before planting the seedlings, green manure is raked into the soil or mowed and used as mulch.

German gardeners offer to use a rather unusual crop - watercress - as a green fertilizer. Its seeds germinate very quickly - in two to three days. Watercress can be sown in early spring under a film on those beds where it is supposed to plant late ones in May. vegetable crops. Two weeks before planting, young cress plants are raked into the soil.

There is another way to use watercress and mustard: they are not buried in the soil, but left to grow in the aisles, and only in those places where seedlings should be planted, the watercress plants are pulled out, grooves are made, appropriate fertilizers are applied to them and planting seedlings or seeds. Pulled plants mulch the soil around the seedlings.

Among cress or mustard plants, you can grow kohlrabi, broccoli, sweet corn, cauliflower, chard, celery, and tomatoes. Young plants grow well under the cover of cress or mustard. When the cress gets too tall and interferes with the main crop, it is pulled up and used as mulch.

In winter, watercress dies off and forms a winter mulch that protects and loosens the soil. Snails are very fond of watercress, so they will eat it first and not touch the vegetable seedlings.

More opportunities are presented by the autumn sowing of green manure after early crops.

If the crop is harvested early and 70-80 days remain until the end of the growing season, lupine, pea-oat mixture, vetch-oat mixture, phacelia, spring and winter rapeseed, spring and winter colza, white mustard, oil radish, perko are used for green fertilizer.

With later harvesting, when 50-60 days remain until the end of the growing season, fast-growing crops can be sown: spring rapeseed, spring colza, perko, mustard, oilseed radish.

You can plant them in the soil in the autumn after frost, but you can leave them to grow for the winter, when they, having died off naturally under the influence of frost, will cover the soil with a protective blanket. In spring, dead plants are buried in the soil, and they quickly decompose.

Winter rye can also be used for autumn sowing. It overwinters and grows back in the spring. Rye suppresses weeds well and develops a large green mass. In the spring, it is mowed down and buried in the soil. This is a rather laborious operation and requires a three-week interval before sowing the next crop, which is necessary for the decomposition of the embedded plant mass.

If the vegetable crop remains in the ground until late autumn, then you can proceed as follows. Shortly before harvesting, loosen and water the soil and plant a cover crop between vegetable plants. By the time of harvesting, young plants will develop well and take root and form, as it were, a living mulch.

In conditions of sufficient moisture, green fertilizer can be sown directly in the aisle. For example, in Bulgaria it is recommended to grow barley, vetch, peas, beans and their mixtures for green manure between tomato plants.

Tomatoes generally respond well to green manure. There is evidence that they grow well on their own residues. In autumn, tomato tops can be chopped and planted in the soil in those beds where next year it is supposed to grow tomatoes, that is, tomatoes themselves can serve as green manure.

Experiments in the Yaroslavl region showed that mustard is a good green fertilizer for onions. If at the beginning of August mustard is sown in the area intended for next year for onions, and at the end of October it is planted in the soil, then this helps to enrich the soil and enhance its biological activity, and as a result, the onion yield and its quality increase significantly.

With regard to green manure for potatoes, there are quite definite recommendations that are well applicable in field cultivation and difficult to implement in a garden plot.

Here we can only say that if it is possible to introduce a cereal-bean mixture into the alternation of crops, which grows all summer or the second half of summer after harvesting an early crop and is planted in the soil in autumn, then it is a very good predecessor for potatoes.

In Germany, to suppress nematodes that serve as a carrier of a viral disease of potatoes - glandular tuber spot, oil radish is sown and planted in the soil before planting potatoes. Oil radish is more active than other types of green fertilizer in suppressing the spread of nematodes.

The methods listed above help to maintain the soil in good condition and replenish the annual natural loss of organic matter due to mineralization. If the soil requires more serious measures for its improvement, then more time is needed for this.

One of possible ways is to introduce one plot into the crop rotation of the garden, which will be occupied by a crop that restores soil fertility throughout the season. This culture, moving to a new site every year, will cover the entire area of ​​​​your garden at the end of the crop rotation cycle.

This area is treated as follows: in autumn or early spring it is dug up and compost is applied, the surface is leveled with a rake and vetch is sown to a depth of 3-5 cm. The seeding rate is 17 g / m 2. After germination, the vetch is mowed.

The wet beveled mass is sprinkled with a mixture of bone and horn meal at a dose of 51 g/m 2 and left for a week. Withered greens are embedded in the soil, the surface is leveled with a rake and rye is sown at the rate of 13 g / m 2.

Late in the autumn, the rye is mowed and the soil is dug up, mixing together with the green mass and roots. For the winter, the site is left roughly dug up, in the spring they dig up and plant potatoes. And it pays off with the yields of subsequent crops.

Another method is aimed at increasing the reserves of nitrogen in the soil. Early in the spring, alfalfa or clover is sown, it is possible in combination with oats. Oats grow faster. It is mowed when the legumes are well established and left as a mulch. In addition to enriching the soil with nitrogen, clover and alfalfa, with their powerful deep roots, loosen the subsoil and improve drainage.

Clover and alfalfa give their best effect after two years of cultivation, but since this is rarely possible in garden conditions, one has to be content with what they can do in one year. This is also a lot.

If there is no possibility or desire to allocate a separate plot for soil improvement, you should use a plot with any early culture. You can also use a plot of strawberries of the fourth year. Immediately after the last harvest, the plot is vacated and a mixture of winter vetch and rye is sown.

They are left for the winter, and in early spring the green mass is embedded in the soil. For 4-6 weeks, plant residues decompose, and you can occupy the area with the main crop, preferably cabbage. If the next crop is root crops, then the green mass is mowed and used for compost.

Vetch roots left in the ground quickly decompose and enrich the soil with nitrogen, while rye roots restore soil structure and improve soil health. Thus, the lost fertility will be restored on each site every five years.

Instead of vetch and rye, you can use other components of the cereal-bean mixture: narrow-leaved lupine, peas, broad beans, from cereals - barley, oats, wheat. The plant mass can be closed up not in spring, but in autumn.

The positive effect of green fertilizer lasts up to five years. The maximum of this action is manifested in the second or third year, when the plant residues with the help of microorganisms will be completely converted into the form of humus.

Stephen Ogden believes that winter rye, which survives the winter and is planted in the soil in the form of green mass in the spring, takes too long to decompose and therefore delays spring sowing by 3-4 weeks. Therefore, he prefers to sow an annual cereal crop, such as an annual ryegrass, after harvesting vegetables. This type of cereal grows rapidly and manages to develop a large green mass before frost. In winter, it dies off and, when planted in the soil in autumn, quickly decomposes. We will give from Ogden's book two examples of the use of green manure in the rotation of crops in a garden plot. Note that for a farmer, the year begins in autumn.

Example 1:

• First year. Autumn - application of manure or compost, liming, sowing of annual ryegrass. Summer is cabbage.
• Second year. Autumn - sowing clover between cabbage plants. Summer - tomatoes, peppers, eggplants.
• Third year. Autumn - sowing ryegrass after harvesting the main crop. Summer - root crops.
• Fourth year. Autumn - buckwheat or ryegrass. Summer - peas and beans.

Example 2:

• First year. Autumn - application of manure or compost, liming, sowing of annual ryegrass. Summer - green crops.
• Second year. Autumn is the sowing of clover. Summer - pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers.
• Third year. Autumn - sowing ryegrass. Summer - onions, garlic.
• Fourth year. Autumn is the sowing of clover. Summer - corn, potatoes.

This is only one of the possibilities, corresponding to certain climatic and soil conditions. Each gardener, when planning green manure, should proceed from the crops available to him and the specific conditions of his garden.

It is only necessary to remember that legumes do not form nodules before flowering, and if they do not have time to bloom when sown in early spring or autumn, they will not give the desired increase in nitrogen content in the soil. Sowing seeds for green manure is usually carried out randomly, and quite densely. Under this condition, green manure can perform another function - weed suppression.

Green manure allows you to reduce the use of other fertilizers. In Ogden's examples, the main fertilization is done in the fall of the first year: 16 buckets per 10 m 2.

When planting seedlings of tomatoes and pumpkin crops, a handful of compost and bone meal (or phosphate) is added to each hole.

Before sowing root crops, potassium-rich wood ash is added, since these crops love potassium.

Compost is added under onions and garlic, covering the soil with a layer of 2-3 cm. Under potatoes, compost is also introduced into furrows or holes.

Green fertilizer for fruit trees

There is quite a lot of literature on the use of green manure in industrial gardens. Some of the techniques offered there are also suitable for a garden plot.

In large gardens, green manure is usually sown between rows. The usefulness of this technique seems to be no longer in doubt. It has been proven that green fertilizer between rows significantly increases the yield of fruits. In garden plots, you can also cover the area around fruit trees with green manure.

The question is whether it is necessary to leave the near-stem circles clean of plants and, if necessary, at what distance from the trunks.

So, apple trees have a shallow root system, and when the near-stem circles are planted, competition between the roots occurs, which has a particularly negative effect on the yield with insufficient moisture. If the trunk circles are left clear of plants, the turfing of the surrounding area has a positive effect on the yield.

Mulching

It is often customary for our gardeners to dig up the beds after harvesting, remove all weeds, level the surface with a rake and leave everything in this form until next spring. “Let the earth rest,” they say. Organic growers see things differently.

Magda-Helena Schroeder, a gardener from Germany, expressed their point of view very well: “When I ride in a train or in a car and see on the sides of the road, carefully cleaned and dug gardens, where the bare surface of the earth is open to all the vicissitudes of the weather: frost, winds, rains, strong solar radiation, an ancient instinct wakes up in me. I feel like a mother who sees a sleeping child open up in a dream, throwing off a blanket. I want to stop, go out and lovingly cover this land. I want to spread my duvet on this earth - mulch!

For those who do not know this word, we explain: mulch is any decomposable organic material covering the soil surface.

When the soil surface is open, the uppermost, most important for plant nutrition and the most fertile layer is in very unfavorable conditions. Rains wash out nutrients from it, it either dries up or freezes, living organisms go into the depths, and intensive mineralization of humus occurs in it. In general, uncovered soil gradually loses its fertility.

What happens during mulching? Beneath the thick layer of mulch, a variety of soil organisms thrive in a humid, warm atmosphere, for which the mulch also serves as food. Under their action, it gradually decomposes, enriching the soil with humus. So compare: bare soil - mineralization and loss of humus and nutrients; mulched soil - enrichment with humus.

Plants also benefit from mulch, as it retains moisture in the soil and inhibits weed growth. In order for the mulch to fulfill its purpose, its layer must be at least 5-8 cm thick. A 15 cm thick layer of mulch almost completely suppresses the growth of weeds and eliminates the need for weeding.

Under a layer of mulch, excellent conditions are created for the feeding and reproduction of earthworms. It prevents the formation of soil crust after rain and therefore reduces the need for frequent loosening.

Magda-Helena Schroeder advises keeping the entire garden under mulch all year round. She calls it "total mulching." But to this it is necessary to make a reservation that warns against mulching in some conditions.

On heavy, clayey and damp soils, a thick layer of mulch can have a negative effect on plant growth. In the spring, beds covered with thick mulch warm up slowly. This is especially bad during a long cold spring. Therefore, in early spring, it is better to remove the mulch from the beds so that they warm up well in the sun before sowing.

In hot, dry weather, you can cover the aisle with a mulch of cut grass to retain moisture. Aisles can also be mulched with compost, foliage. In wet, cold weather, it is not worth mulching the aisles, as slugs accumulate under the mulch and the risk of fungal diseases increases.

In all cases, the mulch should be placed at some distance from the stem or trunk of the plant, leaving a free and well-ventilated space around them.

Mulching materials fall into two categories: coarser and less coarse. Straw, hay, shavings, ferns, fallen leaves, peat serve as coarse mulch. Straw is very good for mulching garden strawberries, it suppresses weeds and serves as a good bedding for berries. Strawberry's fondness for straw mulch is expressed in its English title, which in exact translation means "straw berry". Strawberries are also recommended to be mulched with pine or spruce needles, which have a good effect on its taste.

Beds are covered with a thick layer of coarse mulch to protect bulbous plants planted before winter from freezing. For winter mulching of rhubarb, it is recommended to use fallen tree leaves.

A bed of rhubarb is fenced with a wire mesh about 30 cm high and filled with densely packed foliage in the fall. When young shoots appear on the surface in spring, the leaves are removed and tender light-colored stems are harvested, which have a pleasant aroma and taste better than those grown under cover from a bucket or box.

For the winter, woody leaves mulch the ground around berry bushes and raspberries, as well as near-stem circles of fruit trees. To do this, an area of ​​\u200b\u200bup to 4 m 2 is enclosed with a grid near the tree and filled with fallen leaves, but not close to the trunk, but at a distance of about 50 cm, so that a ring with an unfilled middle forms around the tree. The outer border of the ring coincides with the border of the crown.

Leaves can be left for three years, they are a good surface top dressing. Since pathogens of these crops can remain on the leaves of fruit and berry crops, it is recommended to use the foliage of other crops under trees or shrubs of some crops.

Chips and sawdust contain a lot of tannins, so they are first composted and used only in a well-rotted state.

The advice to use cardboard for mulching may seem rather unusual. Often we throw away used cardboard boxes, not knowing that they can be used in the garden. It is good to line the paths with cardboard. Topped with a layer of straw or sand, it retards the growth of weeds very well.

Mulch made from fresh plants, such as grass clippings, can also serve as a good top dressing. An excellent material for mulching is provided by alfalfa. Experiments have shown that the introduction of relatively small amounts of freshly cut mass of alfalfa into the soil increases the yield of many crops. If spread evenly and lightly incorporated into the soil, it will improve the soil structure and increase the nitrogen content.

Alfalfa mulch is especially effective when soil nitrogen levels are low. A layer of alfalfa mulch 7-8 cm thick traps rainwater, inhibits weed growth, keeps the soil moist, loose and cool, and enriches with nitrogen.
Alfalfa can be grown in a lawn or a designated, well-drained area. sunny area with neutral soil reaction. The soil should be fertilized with phosphorus and potassium. Alfalfa is a perennial plant and can grow in one place from three to five years. When it begins to degenerate, the sowing of alfalfa is transferred to another place.

English gardeners prefer to use comfrey for mulching, which is their favorite green manure. The green mass of comfrey is very rich in nitrogen and potassium.

Nutrients are concentrated in comfrey leaves, but they are poor in those hardly decomposable organic substances (hemicellulose and lignin), which serve as a source of soil humus. Therefore, it is not suitable for enriching the soil with organic matter, but is used mainly as a potash fertilizer. The balance of minerals in comfrey is ideal for fertilizing potatoes.

Comfrey, like alfalfa, is grown on a separate bed. When the plants reach a height of 45 cm, they are cut and this first cut is used to fertilize early potatoes. To do this, comfrey plants line trenches intended for planting potatoes, the depth of which is 30 cm, the width is 20 cm, the tubers are laid out on top and covered with soil.
Comfrey gives 4-5 cuttings over the summer. The following cuttings are used as a potassium-rich mulch for vegetable crops and for the preparation of liquid fertilizer.

For mulching the soil surface, you can use the mowed mass of any green fertilizer, which for some reason cannot be embedded in the soil.

English gardeners use nettles for mulching. Young nettle plants are laid out along rows of vegetables to repel slugs and snails. In addition, they believe that nettle has a beneficial effect on the growth of vegetable plants.
Remember what organic gardeners say: whoever doesn't respect mulch doesn't know the value of humus.

liquid green manure

In organic farming, liquid fertilizers are mainly made from plants, manure and compost. They contain nutrients in the form of soluble organic compounds.

If you see that your plants are developing poorly and they are clearly lacking something, and especially if there are characteristic signs of nutrient deficiency - pale color, yellowing or reddening of the leaves - you need to urgently correct the situation and do it the easiest way with liquid fertilizers .

Liquid fertilizers are also used during the period most responsible for the future harvest, when it is necessary to obtain rapid and abundant growth, or when the fruits are ripening and filling.

Some gardeners believe that watering the most demanding crops, such as cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, should never be done. clean water, but only with a weak solution of liquid fertilizer. Such top dressing is enough to do every 10-14 days.

Liquid fertilizers can be used for watering under the root, and for spraying the leaves as a foliar top dressing. Foliar top dressing allows you to quickly eliminate the lack of nitrogen or potassium. It works faster than fertilizer applied to the soil.

In intensive cultivation and very dense plantings, foliar spraying is often the only way to fertilize the plants. Spraying the leaves is carried out every 2-3 weeks, using a 2-fold weaker solution than when cultivating the soil.

German gardeners' favorite liquid fertilizer is fermented nettle infusion. For its preparation, fresh nettles are used, which are harvested in spring and summer before the formation of seeds. You can also use dry nettles. Fertilizer is made in a wooden, plastic or clay container. Metal utensils are not recommended as nettle infusion may react with metal. The vessel is filled with finely chopped nettles and poured with water, preferably rain or well-settled, heated in the sun.

They are not filled to the very top, as the volume of liquid will increase during fermentation, and then covered with a net so that small animals do not get in. At least once a day, the mass must be vigorously stirred. When decomposed, it acquires a strong unpleasant odor, the intensity of which can be reduced by throwing a handful of crushed rock on top (or a handful of dust) or adding a little extract of valerian leaves.

When the infusion becomes dark in color and stops foaming, it means that the fermentation is over. Usually one and a half to two weeks is enough for this. In the sun, the fermentation process is accelerated. After that, the vessel can be closed with a lid with holes for air access.

For irrigation under the root, unstrained infusion is used, diluted 10 times (9 parts of water per 1 part of infusion); for spraying the leaves, the infusion is filtered and diluted 20 times (19 parts of water to 1 part of the infusion). Dilute immediately before use.

Nettle infusion is an excellent liquid fertilizer for garden crops. It has a healing effect on plants, stimulates growth and the formation of chlorophyll. The earth watered with nettle infusion is loved earthworms. Most vegetable crops, flowers and fruit crops respond well to this fertilizer; the exceptions are peas, beans, onions, garlic.

In England, they prefer to use liquid fertilizer from comfrey, which is especially recommended for crops that require a lot of potassium and a little nitrogen (tomatoes, cucumbers, beans). In terms of potassium content, comfrey is superior to manure and slightly behind it in terms of phosphorus content.

To prepare an infusion of comfrey, 800 g of fresh chopped plants are poured into 10 liters of water and left for 4 weeks. Used in the same way as nettle infusion. Comfrey fertilizer is suitable for all crops and is especially useful when signs of potassium deficiency appear.

Spraying the leaves with comfrey infusion quickly relieves signs of potassium deficiency: yellowing of the leaves around the edges and the appearance of brown spots. In comfrey infusion, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is 3:1:7.

To feed tomatoes, you can make infusions from tomato shoots. The same infusions are made from a mixture of different plants. Nettle is mixed with comfrey and various weeds: tansy, shepherd's purse, chamomile, snapdragon, horsetail. Shepherd's purse is especially rich in trace elements. To enrich the liquid fertilizer, aromatic herbs, onions, garlic, bird droppings, bone meal, wood ash are added to the mixture in small quantities.

An excellent, well balanced nutrient content can be prepared as follows: a few scoops of manure or compost are placed in a hemp bag. There also add a few tablespoons of phosphorite, wood ash, chopped alfalfa, blood and bone meal and other materials that you consider necessary to add. The bag is tightly tied and immersed in a bucket of water, the bucket is covered with a lid. The liquid is agitated every two days to allow water to enter the bag and carry the nutrients out of it.

After one to two weeks, the extract is a dark brown liquid, suitable for watering adults and young plants. It does not scorch the leaves, so it can be used undiluted or in any desired dilution.
All diseased and lignified plant parts should be burned and the ashes used as a source of potassium.

As a liquid fertilizer, you can use an infusion of compost, manure or bird droppings. To do this, the container is filled with 1/8 - 1/4 of the volume with compost or manure and filled with water. Different authors name different ratios of starting material and water; some think it doesn't matter much.

The infusion is kept for 1-2 days, stirring occasionally, and as a result, a dark-colored liquid is obtained. For watering, it is diluted to a light brown color (weak tea). Diluted compost infusion is very useful for watering seedlings, which take root faster, getting easily accessible nutrition for their still weak roots.

Soaking seeds in a compost infusion improves germination and accelerates initial growth.

Another rather ingenious method has been invented for feeding plants. They take an old bucket, iron or plastic, pierce many holes in the side walls with a nail and bury the bucket in the ground so that the upper edge is at the level of the soil surface.

A bucket is filled with compost and various vegetables are planted around it, for example, tomatoes or cucumbers. At the next watering, all water is poured into a bucket of compost, and it, seeping through the compost layer and holes in the side walls, enters the plants enriched with nutrients that it has taken out of the compost.

"Green manure" refers to green manure plants that are temporarily grown in open, unoccupied areas of the soil or as an adjacent crop. The functions of green manure are improving the structure of the soil, preventing the leaching and weathering of useful substances from it, suppressing the growth of weeds, and also enriching the soil with nitrogen. The process of sowing, growing and preserving "green manure" in the soil is called green manure.

One of important rules organic farming– must not remain unused and open. For a long time (for weeks or longer), open areas of soil are subject to significant deterioration in structure and depletion. Aimlessly abandoned open ground in the garden, over time, it hardens, sticks together and becomes covered with a dense crust, through which moisture hardly penetrates deep into. The organic composition deteriorates, useful substances are washed out and weathered. With a complete lack of control and competition, a massive dominance of weeds begins, which also use useful substances from the soil, without giving it anything in return. Subsequently, the gardener has more work to do, as several weeding, digging and fertilizing will now be required to make the site usable again. Obviously, it was better to take care in the beginning that the soil was not left open.

Here green manure comes to the aid of the gardener - a technology known to farmers from ancient times. According to the results of their impact on the soil, green manure crops can compete with manure, so they are simply irreplaceable for those farmers who fundamentally do not want to use animal waste to fertilize vegetables and fruits.

How siderates work

Green manure crops develop dense, fast-closing foliage that inhibits weed growth. Some of them (for example, rye) have interesting feature delay the germination of other seeds and thus delay the emergence of new weeds for several weeks. Green manure has a well-developed and highly branched root system, which helps to improve the structure and water permeability of the soil: penetrating deep inside, it loosens and enriches heavy clay soils with air and supports light, sandy soils from decay. Developed roots also help bring nutrients from deeper layers of the soil upward, closer to the roots of edible or ornamental crops, between which "green manure" is grown. Green manures have the peculiarity of enhancing the effect of other fertilizers and accelerating microbiological processes in the soil.

Siderates planted among vegetable crops partially take on the blow of garden pests, and partially scare them away from planting, simply confusing. At the same time, the bright and nectar-filled flowers of most green manure crops - excellent honey plants - are able to attract bees and bumblebees to plantings, which simultaneously pollinate fruits and vegetables growing in the neighborhood. The most effective "green manure" are plants from the legume family. Special bacteria that live in their root growths have the ability to accumulate nitrogen, which they receive directly from the air and deposit in the soil.

Where and when is green manure applied:

• Between other edible or ornamental plants, in voids
• As an adjacent early maturing crop among long maturing crops (eg parsnips, root celery, leeks, etc.).
• Between old harvest and new plantings
• In the off-season, at the end of summer or autumn before winter
• To rest the soil from intensive use for a whole year

The choice of green manure crops

The choice of a particular crop to plant as "green manure" depends on factors such as the composition and structure of the soil in your garden, how long you expect to use green manure, etc. If you use rotation (alternation) of vegetable crops, then each season is near with vegetables, sow green manure from the same family. Thus, "green manure" will partially take on the possible attacks of harmful microorganisms and insects that affect this family, and rid your vegetables of them. The choice of suitable green manure crops also depends on whether the this moment the need to enrich the soil with nitrogen. The table below provides more detailed information about the various green manures and their features.

* Only n and vacant plots of land

** Only after the shoots of the main crop

Recently, very decorative cultivars of meadow and red clover have appeared, which, in addition to being useful as green manure, will serve as an excellent decoration for the garden. With the modern garden fashion for modest meadow, field and forest plants, decorative clovers fit perfectly into the natural design.

Use of "green manure"

When you are ready to use the vacant plot of land again, lightly dig or plow the soil along with green manure to a depth of 15 cm. The "green manure" will grind a little and remain in the soil or on its surface. Decaying faster than conventional crops, siderates serve additional source humus, fertilizer, moisturizing and baking powder for the soil.

If you are growing vegetables in raised beds using the non-digging method, then simply cut or pluck green manure and leave them here, covered with another layer of mulch.

You can further increase the efficiency of green manure crops. In areas where "green manure" will spend several months or even a year, make a few haircuts. Green manure will quickly grow back, and you will have an excellent natural fertilizer in your hands, which can be buried in the soil or spread on the surface elsewhere, or added to garden compost. The role of green manure crops in compost cannot be overestimated: due to their high nitrogen content, they accelerate the composting process, increase the content of nutrients and improve the structure of the finished compost.

The use of "green manure" is an excellent natural, ecological method improving soil quality and increasing the yield of any crops at a low cost and relatively low labor costs. A valuable tool in the organic gardener's arsenal!

In order for the soil to be fertile, it must be “fed” with organic matter, i.e. for it, we must grow special plants, leave plant residues or apply organic fertilizers. The quality of soil fertility depends on the energy of buried organic matter.

Experienced agronomists understand this pattern well, and try not to leave the field without “food”. Organics buried in the soil will be processed by microorganisms, and in subsequent years, new plants will use its energy. Thus, the soil is a kind of energy depot for the future harvest.

In agronomic practice, green manure plants are grown specifically for "feeding" the soil. They are sown in any free intervals of the growing season, when the main crops do not grow on the site.

The soil should not “walk” without plants for a single day: on a bare bed, humus burns out in the sun. To protect against this adverse event experienced gardeners use post-harvest, mowing and stubble crops of green manure.

Green manure, especially perennials (clover, alfalfa, silphium), are sometimes grown in a separate area, where they are mowed, crushed and then delivered to the desired area. So it is recommended to use mowed lawn grass - bring it to the garden and dig in, resulting in green fertilizers.

Green fertilizers include any fresh grass (it can be both young shoots and leaves after cutting bushes), mowed and transferred to the garden. Siderates also belong to green fertilizers, but they are specially sown and dug up at a certain stage of development at the place of their growth.

If we compare green manure with buried green mass and manure, then the effect of them is the highest, since an additional beneficial effect of the root system is manifested.

Pros and cons of green manure

Growing any crop has its pros and cons. This applies to green manures in general and green manures in particular. TO positive properties should include the following:

• the soil becomes a habitat for beneficial microorganisms and earthworms that feed on plant remains;
• permanent cover of the soil surface protects it from degradation;
• erosion protection, especially under perennials and on slopes;
• rye and other plants left for the winter contribute to snow retention;
• many siderats (mustard, oats, annual ryegrass, alfalfa, clover) have a deep root system, which extracts calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and other macro- and microelements from the depth into the upper layers of the soil;
• regulate the ratio of nutrients, and legumes also enrich the soil with nitrogen;
• when green fertilizers rot, a large amount of carbon dioxide is formed, which vegetable plants use for photosynthesis;
• green manure are competitors for weeds that do not withstand their shading and allopathic influence (i.e., do not withstand the influence of chemical emissions);
• some plants (mustard, radish, tagetes) regulate the number of nematodes;
• fertility is eventually restored and increased;
• practically do not require chemical protection against diseases and pests (only in very hot and dry weather, the cruciferous flea attacks the shoots of mustard and radish).

Naturally, in many years of work with green manure, some of them have been noted. negative properties, namely:

• some green manure plants have common pests and pathogens. This is especially true for plants of the cabbage family (for example, cruciferous flea, clubroot, bacteriosis), legumes (weevil, aphid) and oats (nematode species common with root plants);
• if they are late with incorporation into the soil, some siderats manage to become seeded and clog the garden bed;
• in case of delay with the incorporation of green mass and its lignification (for example, rye left before flowering), additional application of nitrogen fertilizers is required;
• there are no universal siderates in relation to acidity and granulometric (sandy or clayey) soil composition;
• there are no universal siderates in terms of sowing, care and terms of incorporation into the soil;
• siderates are also plants and require watering and additional fertilization;
• additional costs for soil preparation, purchase of seeds and their incorporation into the soil;
• the visible positive effect does not manifest itself clearly, but often stretches over several years.

General secrets of green manure technologies

The use of green manure in the garden has general agrotechnical principles, regardless of the type of plants and soil. It should be noted that the technological methods recommended in the scientific and industrial literature for use in large farms are not always suitable for the gardener and gardener.

The use of green manure should begin with careful planning of the alternation of vegetable plants in the garden, so that after digging them, 2-3 weeks remain until the next sowing. If the weather is dry, then watering is carried out before sowing, and after sowing, the soil is rolled.

Seed sowing rates are regulated according to the following principle: if green manure is planned to be dug up at a younger age, then the sowing rate should be higher. Apply different ways sowing: manually and with a manual seeder, in rows or scattered. Tagetes is advisable to grow seedlings.

It is advisable to grow perennial green manure plants (alfalfa, clover, sweet clover, silphium) for green fertilizers in a perennial crop, and transfer the cut green mass to the garden, but in this case, the effect of additional loosening of the upper soil layer by the root system and the transfer of nutrients from the lower soil layers is eliminated .

Perennials become green manure in Last year after aftergrowth regrowth Green manure plants do not require special seed preparation, except for the treatment of legumes with nitragin. The rotting of green mass is facilitated by its treatment before digging with preparations of beneficial microorganisms (for example, Baikal EM).

Siderates do not require chemical protection against pathogens and pests, except for the cruciferous flea, against which watering and spraying with cold water are effective. The instillation of green manure is carried out manually or with a walk-behind tractor.

If the plants are low, then it is convenient to work manually with a pitchfork. Tall plants are first bent down, crushed and added dropwise with a sharp shovel. When using a walk-behind tractor, it is advisable to first lay tall plants by rolling.

Bean green manure

A very valuable group of siderates, which gives a large green mass and, thanks to nodule bacteria, absorbs atmospheric nitrogen. This large group plants that differ from each other in biological characteristics.

Among them there are annuals and perennials, demanding for heat and cold-resistant, with a different range of requirements for soil acidity and its moisture. Before sowing, it is desirable to treat legume seeds with bacterial preparations of nodule bacteria, which are developed for each species.

Bean green manure is not used before growing vegetable varieties of peas, beans, cowpeas, tetragonolobus, soybeans and other legumes.

Lupine . For green manure, various annual types of lupine are used: narrow-leaved, or blue, yellow and white. For green manure, you can also use mowed young plants of perennial lupine.

Different types of lupine show unequal demands on heat: the most demanding is white, and the least narrow-leaved. Withstand frosts down to minus 5-6 ° C, and perennial winters well. All species are demanding on moisture and easily tolerate high acidity of the soil, but react poorly to salinization, high calcium content and waterlogging.

The sowing method is narrow row. Seeding rate: yellow up to 1.75 kg/100 m2, narrow-leaved - up to 2.0 and white - up to 2.3 kg/100 m2. Lupins are leguminous plants that bring cotyledons to the soil surface, and therefore the depth of seed placement, despite their size, should be up to 5 cm.

Dropped in during the beginning of the formation of beans. Productivity of green mass is up to 3-4 kg/m2.

Peas . Annual. To obtain green manure, varieties of grain and fodder, or pelushki, are used. An excellent green fertilizer is the post-harvest residues of vegetable and sugar varieties. While grain, vegetable, and sugar peas have white flowers, pelyushka has red-violet flowers and mottled, angular seeds.

Pea is a cold-resistant plant with a short growing season. Demanding on moisture, but does not tolerate waterlogging and acidic soils. In the initial phases of development, it is weakly competitive with weeds.

Sow from early spring to early September. The sowing method is narrow-row, with a row spacing of 15 cm. Sometimes it is sown together with oats, barley or mustard. The seeding rate in pure sowing is up to 3 kg/100 m2. The seeding depth is 6-7 cm, and on dry soils it can withstand a deepening of up to 8-9 cm.

They are added dropwise in the phase of mass formation of beans or after harvesting vegetable and sugar shoulder beans. The yield of green mass - up to 2 kg / m2, and tall varieties - even up to 3 kg / m2.

fodder beans. Annual. To obtain green manure, small-seeded fodder varieties are used. The green mass of vegetable varieties with large seeds is also used in the same way, i. crushed and added dropwise only after harvesting the shoulder beans.

Beans are cold-resistant and moisture-demanding plants. They react negatively to soil acidity. Sowing dates are from early spring to early September. Wide-row sowing method - up to 40-45 cm. Seeding depth - 6-8 cm. The seeding rate strongly depends on the size of the seeds, so 40-50 seeds are sown. / m2.

Care consists in loosening row spacing and watering. Close up in the soil after the formation of beans on the first tier. The yield of green mass is up to 3-4 kg/m2. In addition to pure crops, it works well in mixed crops with peas, vetch and corn.

Vegetable beans . Demanding to heat and moisture an annual plant. As green manure, the green mass of plants is usually used after harvesting the beans on a shoulder blade. In vegetable gardens, beans are grown on a shoulder blade, after harvesting which the green mass is crushed and added dropwise. The yield of green mass is up to 1.5 kg/m2.

Vigna , or cowpeas. For green manure, grain varieties with small seeds are used. Vegetable varieties are also used after harvesting shoulder beans. Requires warmth. Drought-resistant annual, which allows it to be successfully used in southern gardening. Techniques for growing cowpeas, like beans. Sow from early May to mid-July. Seeding rate - up to 0.5 kg / 100 m2. The yield of green mass is up to 2 kg/m2.

Spring vetch and winter , or furry. In order to enrich green manure crops (barley, oats and rye), experienced gardeners always sow vetch with them. Spring vetch is sown from early spring to the end of August, and winter vetch is sown together with winter rye. Vico-oat mixture is added dropwise at the beginning of flowering. Nodule bacteria develop well on vetch roots, which enrich the soil with nitrogen.

Depending on the availability of seeds, they are selected different ratios seeding rates. Usually, 1 kg of spring vetch and 0.5 kg of oats are used per 100 m2. An excellent yield, up to 5 kg / m2, is given by a vetch-oat-ryegrass green manure mixture (1.4 kg of vetch, 0.7 kg of oats and 0.3 kg of annual ryegrass per 100 m2).

The peculiarities of joint crops of winter vetch and rye include some discrepancy between the phases of development of these plants. Therefore, winter vetch is sown 15 days earlier than rye (seeding rate - 1 kg / 100 m2), with a seeding depth of 3-4 cm. . The vetch-rye mixture winters well, and it is added dropwise to green manure in the first half of May, before the beginning of rye heading.

Seradella , or birdie. On light sandy soils, this annual, very valuable leguminous plant is perfect for green manure. The advantages of seradella include the ability to withstand shading, which allows it to be sown between the rows of sweet corn and the garden. After mowing, it grows back quickly.

It is not exacting to heat and maintains frosts to minus 8 °C. Excellent honey plant, giving bribes until late autumn. Flowering begins 40 days after germination. Sowing method narrow-row (spacing - 15-20 cm) at a seeding rate of 0.5 kg / 100 m2. The yield of green mass is up to 2.5 kg/m2.

Mushroom grass, fenugreek . Two species are used - hay fenugreek and blue. The first species is undersized, with long beans (up to 15 cm) and large seeds, and the second is tall (up to 70 cm), with small beans (only up to 0.5 cm) and small seeds.

These two annual species are grown for mushroom grass spice, medicinal raw materials and feed. In the garden, they can be successfully used to obtain green manure. These species are relatively drought tolerant. They do not tolerate acidic soils.

Sow in April-July. The sowing method for blue fenugreek is wide-row, with row spacing up to 40 cm, and for hay fenugreek it is somewhat narrower, up to 30 cm. The depth of seed placement is up to 2 cm. The yield of green mass is higher in blue fenugreek and is up to 2 kg / m2, and in hay - up to 1 kg / m2.

Alfalfa . Like other perennial species, it is advisable to grow alfalfa in a plot of 2-3 years. In the first years, it is mowed, and the green mass is transferred to another area for green fertilizer, and at the end of use it is dug up like green manure.

High heat and drought resistance allows it to form a high yield of green mass without irrigation. Salt-tolerant and desalinates saline soils. It is demanding of light and does not withstand shading. Does not tolerate waterlogged and acidic soils.

The seeding rate in conditions of moderate moisture is up to 150 g/100 m2, and in the steppe zone - up to 120 g/100 m2. The seeding depth is not more than 3 cm. The sowing method is scattered or wide-row, with a row spacing of 25-30 cm. It will grow back perfectly after mowing. Gives up to five cuttings during the growing season. The total yield of green mass for all cuttings is up to 7 kg/m2.

Different types clover . Usually, perennial red clover is used, although annual species for southern gardening are also quite suitable: Shabdar, Alexandrian and incarnate. Red clover is used, like alfalfa, and annual species are dug up in the year of sowing.

All types of clover require moderate moisture. More shade tolerant than alfalfa. The optimal soil reaction is neutral and slightly acidic. Clover gets sick when re-grown in the same place. Sowing is repeated after 4-5 years.

Growing techniques are the same as for alfalfa. The yield of green mass in the second year of cultivation is up to 4 kg/m2. For southern irrigated areas, annual clover species are perfect shabdar And bersim, and for the northern and western - incarnate clover, but the latter grows poorly and gives one cut.

white clover, or creeping, which is used to decorate some types of lawns, is not used specifically for green fertilizers, but the grass cut on the lawns is transferred to the beds for green fertilizer.

Sweet clover white and yellow . Biennial plants that are frost, drought and salt tolerance. They do not withstand waterlogging and acidic soils. The stem becomes woody quickly, so mow at the beginning of flowering.

Donnik is an excellent meliorator. Its roots penetrate up to 3 m, loosening the subsoil layers and moving useful nutrients from the lower layer to the upper one. Seeding rate - up to 250 g/100 m2.

In the first year of life and from the first mowing to the second, the green mass is used for green fertilizer, and the aftermath is dug up for green manure. The yield of fresh non-lignified green mass suitable for green manure is high and amounts to 4 kg/m2.

Cereal green manure

Winter rye . Favorite plant of gardeners for late autumn and early spring sideration. A cold and frost-resistant plant with a well-developed superficial root system, which perfectly loosens the upper layers of heavy soils. Excellent bushiness, which contributes to the suppression of weeds.

Features that gardeners should consider: very rapid growth in height in spring, which can cause the green mass to grow. An excellent predecessor for all vegetable crops. For green manure, rye begins to be sown in August and continues until mid-October.

Summer crops of rye are used for autumn digging, and autumn for spring. Seeding rate for green manure up to 2.5 kg/100 m2. Seeding depth on heavy and moist soils is up to 4-5 cm, and on sandy and drying soils - up to 5-6 cm. Deeper seed placement weakens young rye plants.

The yield of green mass fluctuates up to 1.0 kg/m2 in autumn and up to 3 kg/m2 during heading. Rye is an excellent predecessor for all vegetable plants, but if planting is late in spring, the green mass quickly coarsens, which requires additional application of nitrogen fertilizers when digging.

Barley . Usually, spring varieties are used for spring sideration, and winter varieties are used for autumn and spring, like rye. It is cold-resistant, but spring varieties freeze out. Compared to other crops, it is drought tolerant. It does not tolerate acidic and sandy soils. The root system is not well developed and poorly uses scarce reserves of phosphorus and potassium, so phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are desirable for it.

Growing fast. Perfectly loosens the topsoil. Spring barley is sown in early spring. Dig up at the end of May. The beds are used for summer crops of root crops, green crops, sweet corn, zucchini, summer plantings of potatoes, various types of cabbage. Sometimes sown in August to obtain autumn green manure.

It also bushes well during autumn sowings, but due to the long day, it does not proceed to heading. Can be left in the garden for the winter. In this case, spring varieties freeze out, but they perfectly retain snow.

The seeding rate for green manure is 2-3 kg/100 m2. Sowing method - narrow row. The depth of seeding on heavy soils is up to 3-4 cm, and on sandy soils - up to 6 cm. The yield of green mass depends on the phase of plant development: in the tillering phase - up to 1.0 kg / m2, in the heading phase - up to 2.5 kg/m2.

oats . It is cold-resistant and exacting to moisture, but does not tolerate high summer temperatures. Sow in early spring. Often used in mixtures with peas and spring vetch, this approach contributes to the enrichment of the soil with nitrogen.

It is distinguished by a very rapid development of the root system, which extracts nutrients from sparingly soluble forms and deep soil layers. It is insensitive to the acidity of the soil solution.

The technology of growing and using is close to the technology of growing barley, but it should not be sown either before or after the root crops with which it has general views harmful nematodes. In addition, the sowing depth should be slightly less.

Westerwold annual ryegrass . Excellent green manure for different types of soil with a wide range of acidity, except for very light and quickly drying sandy ones. In terms of growth rate, it has no analogues among cereals. The best sowing time is early spring.

Seeding rate - 0.3 kg / 100 m2. Sowing method - narrow row. The seeding depth is up to 3 cm. It grows well after mowing, which allows it to be grown in a separate area with subsequent transportation of green mass to the right place. Productivity - up to 3 kg / m2. An excellent predecessor for all vegetable plants. Plant seeding should not be allowed, otherwise clogging self-seeding is possible.

Cabbage and other green manure plants

Mustard . To obtain green manure, two types of mustard are used: gray and white. Their biological features are very close. White mustard has small pale yellow seeds (weight of 1000 seeds is 5-6 g), and gray mustard has large dark brown seeds (weight of 1000 seeds is up to 25 g).

The root system is deep and has a strong digestibility. Does not tolerate very acidic, heavy and waterlogged soils. Gray mustard, due to increased drought resistance, we recommend growing green manure in more southern regions, and white mustard in sufficiently moist northern and western regions.

Sowing time: from early spring to mid-September. Seeding rate for white mustard is 200 g/100 m2, and for gray mustard is up to 150 g/100 m2. Seeding depth - 2-4 cm. After sowing, the soil is rolled. In dry and hot weather, young plants are severely damaged by the cruciferous flea.

The yield of green mass during the period of mass flowering is up to 4-5 kg/m2. Due to common diseases and pests, mustard cannot be a precursor for all types of cabbage, radish and radish.

Buckwheat . Excellent siderat. Seeds germinate quickly and suppress weeds. After 25-30 days, it begins to bloom and attracts pollinators to the garden. Demanding to heat and moisture. It develops a deep root system and extracts sparingly soluble nutrients from deep soil layers, but does not tolerate high acidity of the soil solution.

Does not fix nitrogen, but converts insoluble phosphorus compounds in soil and fertilizers into readily available forms for subsequent vegetable plants. Sowing dates for green manure: from late April to early September.

Dropped in different phases of growth, but preferably before mass flowering, when the stem has not yet become woody. After digging, it inhibits the germination of seeds of carrots, parsley and parsnips, but does not affect the planted seedlings of other vegetable plants.

The seeding rate is 1 kg/100 m2. The depth of seed placement is up to 5 cm, and on light and dry soils it is increased to 6-7 cm. The yield of green mass at the beginning of flowering is up to 2.0 kg/m2, subsequently it increases, but the buried green mass decomposes more slowly.

Phacelia tansy . Requires warmth. Plant height during the period of mass flowering - up to 80-90 cm. Excellent honey plant. Seeding rate - 100 g / 100 m2. Seeding depth - 2-3 cm. Sowing method - narrow-row (15-20 cm) or wide-row (30-45 cm).

Crush and dig up during the period of mass flowering. The last date for sowing is 60 days before the first autumn frosts. Decays quickly in soil. The yield of green mass is up to 2 kg/m2. An excellent predecessor for all vegetable plants.

Tagetes , or Chernobrivtsy. Demanding to heat and moisture. Requires neutral soils. An excellent phytosanitary agent that cleans the soil from nematodes. The only green manure that requires planting through seedlings. Usually tall varieties are used, which give a large green mass.

Seedlings are grown in a separate bed, in a seedling box or a greenhouse and planted in a permanent place of the vacated beds. With a sufficient number of seeds, tagetes can also be grown in a seedless way.

The seeding depth is no more than 1.5-2.0 cm. The seedling planting pattern depends on the height of adult plants and is usually 45x30 cm. They are crushed and dug up as needed or in late autumn. An excellent predecessor for all vegetable plants.

Sylphia pierata . Frost-resistant perennial from the Asteraceae family, which is sown in the background of the plot with a row spacing of 70-90 cm. It grows well on different types of soil, incl. and salted. Plant height - up to 2 m. It blooms beautifully with yellow large baskets.

Gives an exceptionally large green mass, the yield of which reaches up to 7 kg / m2. Mowed during mass flowering, crushed and applied to the required areas. In one place grows up to five years. Grows well. To obtain high yields in the spring, fertilizing and watering are carried out annually. Very decorative. Green mass is a good fertilizer for most vegetable plants, except for the aster family (lettuce, chicory, scorzonera, oat root).

weeds . All crushed and buried fresh weeds are excellent green manure. Two immutable rules apply to them. Firstly, they are crushed and dug up only before flowering begins (they quickly form seeds), and secondly, they avoid using perennials (wheatgrass, sow thistle, bindweed), the remains of rhizomes, which will clog the garden even more.

Post-harvest residue cultivated plants as an addition to green manure fertilizers. Each vegetable plant after harvesting leaves a certain amount of valuable organic matter in the form of roots, stems, leaves. Of all vegetable plants, broccoli (7-9 kg/m2) and sugar corn (4-5 kg/m2) give the highest yield of green mass.

No matter how many plant residues, and whatever they are - dry or fresh, but they must be returned to the soil. The soil hard and long "digests" dry and lignified residues. When they are introduced into the soil, it lacks its own energy for the development of beneficial microflora.

Therefore, if chopped straw, sawdust, chopped bark, high-moor peat are added dropwise, then 30 kg of ammonium nitrate is added for each ton of organic matter, which can be replaced with an equivalent amount of fermented mullein or bird droppings.

Thus, having mastered the basic elements of the "magic" of fertilizing the beds with green manure, begin to actively maintain fertility on high level and get pure organic products, vegetables and fruits, in any conditions. Help the soil to renew its strength.

One of the important rules of organic farming is that the soil should not be left unused and open.

For a long time (for weeks or longer), open areas of soil are subject to significant deterioration in structure and depletion. With a complete lack of control and competition, a massive colonization of weeds begins, which also use useful substances from the soil, without giving it anything in return. Therefore, from ancient times, farmers have known the technology of using green manure plants. So, Pliny the Elder, who lived at the very beginning of our era, wrote: “If lupine plants are buried in the soil before the formation of fruits, then the benefits of such an event will be no less than from manure.”

Planting green manure plants produced in temporarily open, unoccupied areas of soil or as an adjacent crop. Green manure with a strong and well-developed root system penetrate deep into the soil, helping to improve its structure and water permeability. The root system of green manure loosens and enriches heavy clay soils with air and supports light, sandy soils from decay. Helps to deliver nutrients from deeper soil layers up, closer to the roots of edible or ornamental crops.

green manure plants develop dense, fast-closing foliage that inhibits weed growth. Some of them (for example, rye) have the interesting property of delaying the germination of other seeds and thus delay the emergence of new weeds for several weeks, enhance the effect of other fertilizers and accelerate microbiological processes in the soil. Green manure, suppressing weeds, restore the structure, increase soil fertility, protect soil from wind and water erosion, have a multilateral positive effect on soil properties and crop yields.

Green manure, or as they are also called, green manure, enrich the soil with nitrogen and organic matter. Often, 35-45 tons of organic matter containing 150-200 kg of nitrogen are plowed on a hectare of arable land. When green manure is applied, not only nitrogen but also other nutrients accumulate in the soil. It is important that when plowing green manure, the loss of nitrogen accumulated in it is completely excluded. Green manure in the soil decomposes much faster than other organic fertilizers rich in fiber.

Green manures reduce soil acidity, reduce aluminum mobility, increase buffering capacity, absorption capacity. When the green mass of plants is plowed, the structure of the soil improves, the volumetric mass of the arable layer and the density of the soil composition decrease. This is very important, since in this case the negative consequences of the compaction of the arable soil layer by heavy agricultural machinery are eliminated. As a result of plowing, the water permeability and moisture capacity of the soil significantly increase, as a result of which the surface runoff of precipitation decreases and the moisture content in the soil increases sharply. As a result, the vital activity of soil microorganisms improves dramatically. Microbiological processes in the soil are significantly enhanced even during the growth and development of green manure, and even Better conditions for soil microflora are created after the plowing of green manure.

The best green manures are lupine and sweet clover. If sweet clover is grown as a biennial crop, then 22-24 mg of nitrogen accumulates in 1 kg of soil - this is more than 200 kg per hectare. As you know, if nitrogen in the soil is 17 mg / kg or more, then mineral nitrogen fertilizers are no longer required, it will be enough for the highest yield of any crop.

Sowing green manure

There are green manure crops: independent (in pure form) and compacted (or mixed), solid and rocker, undersowing and stubble.

Independent crops of green manure occupy a separate field of crop rotation for one season. Independent crops of green manure can occupy a field or part of a field (plot) and more a short time. For example, one-year-old lupine is placed after harvesting the main crop of the crop rotation, fallow before sowing the winter crop. Such sowing of green manure is called intermediate or intercalary.

Compacted crops of green manure are a joint cultivation on the site (field) of the main crop and green manure.

Green manure stubble crops are cultivated in areas with warm, humid and long autumns. They are used to fertilize sugar beet, fodder root crops, corn, and wheat.

Winter (autumn) green manure crops are used in the humid subtropics of the Black Sea coast. They are also widespread in Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Crimea, i.e. in regions with mild winters. Sow them in September - October, and plow in the spring of next year.

Rock sowing. Siderates may not occupy the entire area, but only part of it in the form of stripes. With such a rock culture, strips of various widths, occupied and not occupied by green manure, alternate on the site. Moreover, the green mass of green manure is used as fertilizer in the neighboring lane. The rocker cultivation of green manure is usually used in the aisles of orchards, tea and citrus plantations. The same technique is used on slopes, placing wings across the slope to prevent water erosion. In this case, perennial lupins, astragalus, alfalfa, clover, etc. are used. Sometimes they combine a continuous and coulisse culture of green manure. For example, when cultivating sandy massifs in the non-chernozem zone, the site is occupied by a continuous culture of perennial lupine for the first few years. Then they plow up so that the plowed strips alternate with the unplowed ones. The plowed strips are then used for food or fodder crops and fertilized with cutting mass from the strips where lupins continue to be grown.

Types of green manure

* legumes (lupins, beans, soybeans, lentils, sowing and field peas, alfalfa, sweet clover, spring and winter vetch, seradella, clover, sainfoin, fodder beans, sap grass and others);
* cruciferous (rapeseed, colza, oilseed radish, white mustard);
* cereals (wheat, rye, oats, barley);
* buckwheat (buckwheat);
* Compositae (sunflower);
* hydrophiles (phacelia).

Grasses of the legume family enrich the soil with nitrogen, as they have the ability to absorb atmospheric nitrogen. At high yields (100 kg/ha of hay), for example, alfalfa fixes up to 300 kg/ha of nitrogen, and at even higher yields, up to 500–600 kg/ha annually (Yeretevskaya, 1974). About 1/3 of this amount directly enters the soil during alfalfa cultivation, i.e. from 100 to 200 kg/ha. It is also important that in the year of application, the coefficient of use of green manure nitrogen by plants is almost twice as high as that of manure nitrogen. Contain green fertilizers and other nutrients. Insufficient amount of phosphorus is compensated by the application of mineral phosphorus fertilizers directly under green manure or during their plowing. At the same time, the positive effect of legumes on the diet can be traced for 3 years.

White mustard - Sinapis alba
One of the important advantages of white mustard is its role in crop rotation. Excretions of the mustard root system contain organic acids, which, when interacting with the soil, release sparingly soluble phosphates, convert a number of nutrients from a previously inaccessible form into a form easily absorbed by plants, and enrich the soil with potassium. Using carbon dioxide from the air, mustard enriches the soil with organic matter, while improving its friability, water and air permeability, especially on heavy clay and loamy soils. In addition, these plants themselves are able to absorb macro- and microelements from the soil that are inaccessible to other plants, and root secretions also have a powerful phytosanitary effect against the accumulation in the soil, for example, of such common potato diseases as late blight, rhizoctoniosis, scab tubers, Fusarium rot. The defeat of potato tubers by these diseases is reduced. In addition, a decrease in the number of wireworms in the soil was established. The plowing of mustard in late autumn also contributes to the death of this pest due to violation of the conditions for its overwintering. Mustard ripens quickly, develops rapidly and, even with a lack of heat, in short term can form a significant yield of green mass, which can be used as a green fertilizer, which is a source of organic matter for plants and soil microorganisms.

Sweet clover, burkun - Melilotus
Sweet clover is a plant that requires neutral soils. They have annual and biennial forms. Due to the powerful development of the root system, the moisture of the subsoil layer is well used. Due to the large weight of the roots, the fertilizer value of sweet clover, even with a relatively low yield of aboveground mass, is very significant.

Lupine - Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl
Emphasizing the great importance of lupins in agriculture, Academician D. Pryanishnikov wrote back in 1924: “Lupin undoubtedly has a great future in improving our sandy soils: here lupine will replace both the superphosphate plant, decomposing phosphorite with acidic secretions, and the plant of air nitrate or synthetic ammonia, binding the nitrogen of the air with the bacterial tissue of its nodules, moreover, all this is due to solar energy. Lupins, unlike other legumes, grow well in acidic soils. Least of all care is required for perennial lupine. Due to cold resistance, this plant ripens even in the north. In one place, perennial lupine can grow for 8-10 years or more. In the first year of life, the plant does not bloom, but forms a basal rosette with 10-15 blades of palmate leaves. Mass flowering and fruiting begins from the second year of life. Slopes of plots, wastelands, open fields, etc. are allotted for sowing perennial lupine, after which its mass is crushed and plowed (digged up). The sowing rate of lupine with a continuous row method is 30-40 kg/ha, with a wide-row method - 5-10 kg/ha.

The time of plowing the mass of lupine - the flowering phase - the beginning of the formation of beans. One-year-old fodder lupine is also used as green manure in busy fallows: the cutting mass is used for green fodder or silage, and the aftermath is used as fertilizer for winter crops.

According to the content of alkaloids in the green mass, annual and perennial lupins distinguish between alkaloid (bitter) and alkaloid-free (sweet) lupins. The former are used only for fertilizer, the latter - above-ground mass - for livestock feed, root and crop residues - for fertilizer. Possessing high ability fix atmospheric nitrogen, lupine provides this element not only for itself, but also for the culture following it.

Seradella sativus - Ornithopus sativus
A genus of plants in the legume family. Seradella is a moisture-loving plant that grows well on light, slightly acidic soils. With sufficient moisture, Seradella grows well even on poor sandy and sandy loamy soils. Seradella is sown in early spring as an independent crop or sown to winter or spring cereal crops (oats, rye).

Oil radish - Raphanus sativus
Radish is an annual plant of the Cruciferous family, a highly branched and sprawling plant 1.5 - 2.0 m high with white-violet flowers, cold-resistant, moisture-loving, shade-tolerant and productive.

The height of her shoots is 1.5 - 1.8 m, the flowers are yellow. The period from the beginning of sunrise to flowering is about 40 days. In one season, you can get 2-3 crop rotations. You can sow oil radish at any time from early spring to late autumn, the best time is June-July. If it is sown in late July - early August, then until late autumn it will have time to build up a lot of green mass. For sowing, mix a package of seeds (50 gr.) With a glass of dry sand, scatter over the area and harrow. The optimal seeding depth is 2-3 cm. Seed consumption is 30-40 g per 10 sq.m. Digging the soil with the turnover of the layer to produce as the accumulation of green mass during the flowering period.

Oilseed radish binds nitrogen well, in a mixture with spring vetch and other legumes it accumulates up to 200 kilograms of biological nitrogen per hectare.

Sowing oilseed radish in vineyards stimulates the growth and development of the vine.

Oil radish also has phytosanitary properties - it destroys pathogens of some plants, actively suppresses nematodes. Thanks to its rapid growth, it clogs weeds, even wheatgrass.

Rape - Brassica napus
Enriches the soil with organic matter, phosphorus and sulfur. Rapeseed does not tolerate damp soils, heavy clay areas and waterlogged soils. When growing rapeseed, the use of mineral supplements is required. The best soils for growing rapeseed are deep structural loamy and clayey soils with a large supply of trace elements and nutrients, with a permeable subsoil. Rapeseed is good at preventing weed growth when planted between perennial fruit and berry crops, and also improves soil fertility. Withstands frosts down to -2-5°C.

Buckwheat - Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (F. sagittatum Gilib.)
The length of the roots reaches 80-150 cm, it is characterized by rapid growth, it absorbs organic phosphates well and enriches the soil with organic matter, phosphorus and potassium. Due to the ability to loosen the soil well, it can be recommended for planting on heavy soils, especially between fruit crops. Buckwheat is a wonderful honey plant. The best siderat under fruit trees and bushes, does not dry out the soil. Especially recommended on poor, heavy, acidic soils, as its deep branched root system greatly improves the soil structure.

Phacelia - Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth
An annual of the Waterfoil family, a valuable honey plant. Characterized by rapid growth, the accumulation of a large amount of green mass. The Phacelia root covers the soil depth up to 20 cm during the period of green mass growth, while the soil structure improves, it becomes loose and breathable. Phacelia can grow on any type of soil. Phacelia is unpretentious, cold-resistant, can endure frosts down to -7 -9 ° C in autumn, so it can be sown immediately after the soil has thawed.

Sunflower annual or oilseed - Helianthus annuus
An annual plant, the root system is deep, 150-200 cm and produces a lot of compost mass. But if you use a sunflower as a green fertilizer, you will have to abandon its sunny flower - do not let the culture grow much, cut it when it rises by about half a meter. It can grow in any soil with a pH ranging from very acidic to alkaline.

Rye, oats and peas
Winter rye and oats are less demanding on soils than other crops; these crops grow on almost all types of soil. The root system of these crops penetrates to a great depth, has an increased assimilation ability, which allows plants to extract nutrients from sparingly soluble compounds. Winter rye and oats are less demanding on their predecessors, both crops are characterized by rapid growth. Peas, like any legume, enrich the soil with nitrogen due to the activity of nodule bacteria.

The crops mentioned above are capable of forming a significant crop of green mass in a very short time, in just one and a half to two months.

Of course, winter rye, oats, and peas are inferior to lupine in their fertilizer properties. But it is difficult to compare with them according to the advantages listed above.

I sow winter rye at the end of August, sometimes in the first decade of September. (The optimal time for sowing winter rye is August 15-25.) By this time, areas are freed from potatoes and other previously harvested crops. Therefore, winter rye is sown in any free area, if only to meet the optimal time. In autumn, no further work is carried out on this site. The green mass is plowed into the soil, as a rule, on May 5-15, at which time the optimal dates for planting (sowing) many vegetable crops come.

Oats and peas can be cultivated in a garden plot or vegetable garden during the entire growing season. These crops can be grown separately, but better in a mixture. In early spring peas and oats are sown in areas where the cultivation of the main garden crops is not planned, or under fruit trees. After 1.5-2 months, when the peas bloom and the oats throw out the panicle, the green mass is embedded in the soil. During the growing season, oats and peas can be grown as green manure in all areas freed from the main crops. The deadline for sowing peas and oats is the first decade of August. In this case, the green mass will be planted in late September - early October, that is, before the onset of frost.

Sainfoin - Onobrychis viciifolia Scop
Esparcet is a genus of plants from the legume family. Up to 80 species are known, growing wild in central and southern Europe, in North Africa and in western Asia. These are herbs, semi-shrubs or small shrubs, planted with abundant thorns. Of all the species, Onobrychis viciifolia Scop is the most common. (otherwise Onobrychis sativa Lam.), growing wild in fields, hills, meadows. This perennial herb (up to 60 cm tall) is glabrous or appressed-fluffy, and sometimes even shaggy-fluffy. The most common varieties of sainfoin in the Russian Federation are: Sandy 1251, Sandy improved, North Caucasian bi-cutting. Esparcet is grown in field, fodder and soil-protective crop rotations, so various crops can be its predecessors. In fodder crop rotations, sainfoin is placed after grain crops and fodder root crops. When the slopes are tinned, it is sown without a cover mixed with bluegrass herbs.

Esparcet is fairly drought tolerant. The plant has good stability in herbage, can be kept in the field for 3-5 years. The best components for sainfoin in herbage are awnless bonfire, meadow fescue, in arid conditions - wheatgrass and rootless couch grass, in irrigation conditions - cocksfoot. Esparcet is sensitive to low temperatures, with little snow cover it does not tolerate severe frosts. It is not demanding on soils, it grows well on gravelly and sandy soils, but chernozems and soils rich in lime are considered the best for it. Sainfoin does not tolerate close standing groundwater.

The word "green manure" has recently been increasingly heard in the conversations of gardeners. This is not surprising. Many owners of summer cottages, who have received for their use a garden, which had been a garden for twenty years before, are thinking about restoring the fertility of depleted soil. And green manure or green manure plants are one of the best helpers in this difficult task.

Behind the name "green manure" are hidden plants that can quickly sprout and gain green mass. It is this ability of theirs that gardeners use to get “green manure” in a short period of time.

As a rule, green manure plants are planted before or after the main crop. Although supporters of natural farming advise some vegetables (for example, cabbage and tomatoes) to be grown in joint plantings with green manure.

early spring sideration most often used in beds for heat-loving crops with a planting date from mid or late May, for example, cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini, late cabbage, etc. In order not to leave the ground bare, fast-growing cover plants (say, mustard) are sown immediately after the snow melts or watercress). Before planting the main crop, siderates will have time to gain enough green mass, which is mowed and used for mulching or compost. The roots of green manure plants are left in the ground. So that soil microorganisms have time to at least partially decompose plant residues, it is recommended to plant the main crop 2-3 weeks after mowing green manure. To speed up bio-processes during spring sideration, they are often used.

Autumn sideration- a great way to improve the soil and prepare it for cold weather. In this case, cover plants are sown immediately after harvesting the main crops. Due to the fact that the earth is still warm in autumn, and the air is already cool, plants try to make the most of favorable conditions. So for the period from August to October, green manure grows on average 20-40 centimeters of greenery and 30 centimeters of roots. With the onset of cold weather, plants die, and worms, bacteria and other underground inhabitants come into play. During the winter, all organic matter overheats, which means you can safely sow even the earliest vegetables like radishes and salads.

Rules for successful seeding

In order for the use of green manure as a green fertilizer on your site to give the maximum effect, and all your efforts are not in vain, you need to adhere to a few simple rules successful seeding:

1. Sow seeds in loose, moist soil.

2. Plants will sprout faster if the seeds are rolled a little, increasing the area of ​​​​their contact with the ground.

3. Protect the seeds from birds, put scarecrows on the sown areas. Birds can easily peck at the seeds scattered on the surface and nullify all the work.

4. Do not use plants from the same family as the main crop you plan to plant for green manure. Plants of the same family suffer from the same diseases and consume the same substances from the soil.

5. Do not dig, do not embed the green mass in the soil. Digging breaks the soil structure and destroys beneficial microflora. It is better to mow or cut off the green "tops" and put them on mulching, compost or.

6. For spring sideration or joint plantings, cut green manure greens before flowering, until a hard stem has formed. Such a stem slowly decomposes.

Useful properties of green manure

Why is sideration so useful? Why make so much effort, buy seeds, water, drive away birds? Maybe it's better to scatter a bag of mineral fertilizers around the site and you're done?

Soil fertilization using green manure is the use of a natural mechanism for creating a fertile layer. Plants have been providing for themselves for centuries. They germinate, develop, die off and decompose, enriching the soil with nutrients for the next generations.

Therefore, subject to proper green manure, the soil on your suburban area quickly "come to life" and turn into a full-fledged ecosystem. Well, no matter how much mineral fertilizer you pour into it, dead soil will remain dead - overdried, clayey, hard and depleted.

Green manure plants enrich the soil with organic matter, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and calcium in the usual form for microorganisms.

Green fertilizer plants stimulate the development of beneficial inhabitants of the garden, creating favorable conditions for the life of small insects, worms, bacteria, etc.

Green manures perfectly suppress weeds. In full seeding, the above ground cover crops completely block the sun's rays from accessing the soil, preventing weed competitors from germinating.

The roots of green manure plants loosen the soil, improve its structure, increase moisture permeability, reduce acidity and deliver nutrients from the depths to the upper soil layer.

Cover plants form a continuous carpet on the bed, shade the soil, thereby protecting it from overheating in the heat. In addition, green manure prevents the evaporation of excess moisture from the soil.

Autumn sideration protects the earth from erosion by rains and blowing away, contributes to less freezing of the soil in winter and retains snow on the beds for better saturation with moisture in the spring.

Some green manure plants contribute to the improvement of the soil, adversely affect pathogens and pests. When planted together with garden crops, they repel harmful insects with their phytoncides.

List of green manure plants

It seems that it is time to finally find out which, in fact, plants are classified as green manure. Here is a list of the main ones:

• Legumes (annual lupine, beans, sainfoin, soybeans, lentils, seradella, peas, chickpeas, alfalfa, nocturnus, sweet clover, spring vetch, clover),
• hydrophiles (phacelia),
• Cruciferous (mustard, colza, oilseed radish, rapeseed),
• Cereals (oats, barley, rye, wheat),
• Buckwheat (buckwheat),
• Asteraceae (sunflower, calendula),
• Amaranth (amaranth).

In addition, special mixtures of green manure seeds are sometimes found in garden stores. For example, vetch-oat mixture. And as green manure, you can use some flowers and even weeds. For example, nettle, nasturtium or calendula. If you grow your own seeds and every year you find expired dill, carrot, parsley, lettuce, etc. seeds, use them for green manure. Everything is in business!

In the following articles of Country Councils, we will take a closer look at the properties of green manure plants and learn how to do it right.

We wish you success and great harvests!