Green manure for the garden: which ones and when to plant?

The life of planet Earth began with plants and continues to this day thanks to them. Plants live to create new life. With their leaves they cover the ground from the scorching rays of the sun and form a shadow for their smaller counterparts. Plant roots protect the soil from erosion and displacement. Dead residues transform even the most depleted soil into fertile soil, feeding worms and microorganisms that accumulate nitrogen in the soil.

Thus, plants not only provide us with oxygen, but also create soil for the growth of other plants. Without them, our picturesque planet could not survive even a day. The main task of agriculture is to give more to the land than is taken from it. Otherwise, the soil will retain its fertility for only a short time. Plants are the main assistant in accomplishing this task. To improve the composition of the soil, restore its structure and enrich it with nutrients, farmers use green manure. In this article we will learn what green manure for the garden is, as well as how and when to use them.

Definition

Green manures are green fertilizers that are grown specifically to restore the soil after the growing season, enrich it with essential microelements and suppress weeds. The name of these plants comes from the Latin word sidera, which translates as “star feeding on the power of the sky.” Green manure is the most important component of organic farming. Green manures are plants that quickly gain green mass. They are often called green manures. When green manure grows, they are mowed and embedded in the soil or left on its surface. Mown plants protect the top layer of soil from solar radiation, and the roots remaining in it rot, enriching it with nutrients.

Due to the fact that most green manures have a powerful above-ground part, they suppress the development of weeds and prevent the soil from drying out. Well, their strong roots do not allow weeds to feed. In addition, the roots loosen the soil well, and after they die, its water permeability, water-holding capacity and aeration improve.

Most often, annual plants are used as green manure. Perennials and leguminous plants are less commonly used. In addition, excellent green manure for the garden is obtained from cold-resistant cereal crops. Compositae and cruciferous plants are used as early green manures.

Spring green manure

Sowing of green manure is carried out throughout the warm season. It can be produced both before and after planting the main crop. Therefore, the answer to the question: “When to sow green manure?” depends on the culture they precede. Let's start with spring green fertilizers.

Spring green manures such as mustard and phacelia require the earliest planting. They are not afraid of the last frosts and germinate as soon as the temperature reaches above zero. A little later, spring rape, rapeseed and spring vetch are sown. The latter plant performs especially well as a green manure for tomatoes and peppers. Spring green manure grows on the site until the time comes to plant the main crop. When this moment comes, the gardener has three options for further action:

1. Very simple, but not very effective: dig up the area. In this case, green manure is embedded in the soil, and the main crop is planted on top.
2. A more labor-intensive option: cut the stems of green manure a few centimeters below the soil level. This procedure is carried out using a tool such as a flat cutter. When the stems are cut, the vegetable crop is planted. Then the bed is mulched with cut green manure. The above-ground part first retains moisture in the ground, and then, when it rots, it serves as a good organic fertilizer. It is worth noting that not all spring green fertilizers stop growing after being cut with a flat cutter. For example, phacelia no longer grows, but mustard continues to grow.
3. The most labor-intensive method: vegetable seedlings are planted directly in a bed with growing green fertilizer. Within 2-3 weeks it grows along with green manure. Then the fertilizer stalks are cut off at a height of about 5 centimeters and left on the ground. When green manure grows again, they are cut off in the same way. The procedure is repeated until it is time to harvest the main vegetable crop.

Summer green manure

Planting green manure for the garden in the summer is no less useful than in the spring. They are usually sown in July and August in the space that was vacated after harvesting early vegetables. This is done in order not to leave the ground bare. After all, if the soil is left without plants, it either dries out quickly under the influence of solar radiation or becomes overgrown with weeds. There are three types of planting summer green manure:

1. Joint cultivation of vegetables and green fertilizers, in the form of separate beds. In this case, it is worth making sure that the green manure does not outstrip the cultivated plant in development.
2. Planting green manure in places not occupied by cultivated plants. These could be areas under trees, row spacing, and so on. For example, phacelia is often grown between rows of strawberries, and orchards are sown with annual green manures such as lupine, peas, buckwheat and others.
3. An entire area is allocated for green manure, which is not planned to be used throughout the entire season. For example, radishes are planted in the spring, legumes in the summer, and mustard in the fall. Before sowing a new crop, the old one is plowed up. And at the end of autumn, the last crop is mowed down and left for the winter. After such a chain, soil fertility increases significantly. The soil becomes soft and suitable for sowing without digging.

The most common summer green manures are: white mustard, peas, clover, phacelia, buckwheat, alfalfa, oats, lupine, oilseed radish, vetch, and rapeseed. All of these plants have a beneficial effect on the soil. For example, white mustard as a green manure acts as a suppressor of pathogenic microflora. Clover, peas and alfalfa saturate the soil with nitrogen, and buckwheat - with potassium and phosphorus. Phacelia heals the earth by suppressing the development of pathogenic bacteria. It does not compete with cultivated plants, so it can be sown directly between the rows.

Autumn green manure

In autumn, the most common green fertilizers are rye and green manure such as mustard. “When to sow autumn green manure?” - a question to which there are several answers. As a rule, planting green manure begins immediately after harvesting the last vegetables. It usually occurs from late summer to early autumn. However, there is another option, when green fertilizer is grown together with the target crop. In this case, sowing occurs a little earlier.

The time for harvesting autumn green manure depends on its type. Mustard grows until winter and disappears under the snow. In the spring, it is cut off with a flat cutter and left on the ground for additional nutrition. The main crop is planted directly on top. But rye needs to be harvested at the end of autumn, before it starts to spike. The rye is cut at the tillering node, which protrudes slightly from the ground. The above-ground part is left on the site or used as compost.

Burying (plowing) green manure

It is generally accepted that by plowing green manure into the soil, it is possible to improve its structure, neutralize the effects of compaction of the arable layer, increase the water permeability and moisture capacity of the soil, and also activate microbiological processes in it. Green manure is buried or plowed into the ground 1-2 weeks before planting the target crop. However, according to practitioners, when green manure is dug up, the microorganisms necessary for good plant growth are destroyed and the soil structure is disrupted, so it is better not to plow the cut green manure, but to leave it on the ground, covered with a small layer of mulch to prevent it from drying out. The following can be used as mulch: sawdust, grass, straw, leaves, bark and other organic materials.

Gradually, organic residues will turn into compost and release a large amount of nitrogen, and the roots remaining in the ground will turn into humus under the influence of microorganisms and earthworms. It is especially not recommended to plow winter green manure, which can significantly (up to 80%) reduce the efficiency of their use. It is much better to leave the mowed green manure on the ground. In the spring there will be no trace of them left, and the soil will be very fertile.

Which green manures are better?

It is impossible to say unequivocally which type of green fertilizer is better, since each of them is good under certain conditions. Each green manure has its own specific purpose, and each cultivated plant has its own green manure. For example, green fertilizers such as oil radish, lupine, oats, phacelia and rye are excellent green manures for soil. For strawberries, good green manures are rapeseed, buckwheat, mustard and butter radish. Before winter, as a rule, oats, rapeseed, winter rye, rapeseed and vetch are planted. And so on. To understand which plant is best to use in certain conditions, let’s consider the main groups of green manure for the garden.

Legumes

This group includes the following crops: sweet clover, vetch, clover, alfalfa, nomad grass, lentils, peas, soybeans, beans, seradella and lupine. In this case, lupine and clover are most often used as green manure.

Lupine How green manure contributes to the accumulation of nitrogen in the soil. After it, you can grow any crops that require a lot of this substance. Lupines begin to be sown at the end of July, and finish in mid-August, after harvesting potatoes and cabbage. However, the most favorable period for planting lupine is the beginning of spring.

Clover- perennial plant. Consequently, as a green manure, clover is used in those areas where it is not planned to grow vegetables in the coming years. It is often planted in gardens between fruit trees or in shaded areas. The plant enriches the soil with nitrogen, structures it and strengthens it. Clover is very good as a green manure, but it is also used for a number of secondary tasks: making hay, strengthening slopes, and as a honey plant.

Cruciferous

This group includes: mustard, oilseed radish, rapeseed and rapeseed. Most often, the already mentioned white mustard and oilseed radish are used as green manure. However, rapeseed and rapeseed are gaining more and more recognition among gardeners every year.

White mustard as green manure it is of great importance in crop rotation. The roots of this plant secrete organic acids, which, when interacting with the soil, release sparingly soluble phosphates and replenish potassium reserves. In addition, they transform elements that are unavailable for plant nutrition into easily digestible ones.

Oilseed radish It is also a very useful green manure for the garden. It binds nitrogen and rids the area of ​​all kinds of pathogens, including nematodes. As a rule, it is planted together with vetch and other legumes.

Rape protects the soil from diseases and pests, enriches it with sulfur and phosphorus, and also inhibits the growth of weeds. It is a good green manure for tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. Rapeseed should be planted no later than August. It is not recommended to use it on clay or waterlogged soils.

Surepitsa restores soil structure and is a good precursor for potatoes, corn and grains. It is also sown in August.

Winter crops

If in the spring, when green manure is sown, special furrows are made for them, then in the fall their seeds can simply be scattered over the area and covered with mulch. Of course, you can plant winter green manure in furrows, but the planting depth should be less than in spring, and no more than 4 centimeters. Rye and oats are most often used as winter green fertilizers.

Rye inhibits weeds and nematodes, and also destroys pathogens of fungal diseases. In addition, its roots are excellent at loosening the soil. It can be a successful green manure for potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers. Since rye is practically resistant to flat cutting, it is usually cut above the ground, and the remaining roots in the soil are dug up or left to decompose.

Oats It loosens clay soils well, eliminating root rot. As a previous crop, it interacts most successfully with cucumbers.

Other popular crops

Let's look at a few more crops that are the only common green manure in their class.

Buckwheat represents the buckwheat class. It is distinguished by a short growing season and a developed root system, the length of which in some areas can reach one and a half meters. As a green fertilizer, buckwheat loosens the soil well, reduces its acidity and saturates it with useful substances: phosphorus, potassium and a number of organic components.

Sunflower represents the class Asteraceae, or Asteraceae. As a green manure, it is good because its root system can go into the ground to a depth of two meters. Sunflower produces a lot of green mass and is not picky about acidity and soil composition.

Phacelia is a prominent representative of hydrophiles. It represents the waterfolia family and is a valuable honey plant. Phacelia has a short growing season, a powerful unearthly part and a developed root system. The plant is not picky about soil quality, lighting levels and weather conditions. It increases the breathability of the soil and improves its structure.

In most gardens, the bulk of the land is devoted to potatoes, so green manure for potatoes is worth considering separately. If you plant this crop in the same place year after year, then the use of green fertilizers is simply necessary. After harvesting the potatoes, the area can be sown with oats, peas, white mustard, or a mixture of these green manures. In the spring, the seedlings are cut off with a flat cutter, a couple of weeks before planting the potatoes. There is another option - to sow green manure in the spring, as soon as the top layer of soil warms up. What green manure is better in this case? The answer is simple: phacelia, oats and white mustard. After a few weeks, these crops will produce a decent amount of green mass, which needs to be cut out with a flat cutter before planting the potatoes.

Finally, let’s look at the main points that we recommend paying attention to when using green fertilizers:

1. You should not grow vegetables and green manures belonging to the same family in the same area.
2. Green fertilizers need to be mowed on time so that their roots and stems do not become lignified and the seeds do not ripen.
3. It makes no sense to grow the same green manure in one area year after year.
4. The choice of green manure should be given special attention, since each of them has its own preferences in the soil.