Green manure when to sow and when to bury phacelia. White mustard or phacelia, which is better? Fertilizing the soil in a greenhouse with green manure in the fall

» Vegetable garden

Annual use of land for cultivation different cultures greatly depletes the soil and significantly reduces its fertility. There are many ways to compensate for the deficiency of nutrients in it; the most popular is sowing green manure. But how and when to sow them, when to bury them? Is it possible to plant them in the fall or is it better in the spring? You will find out the answers to these questions below.

Green manures are plants that have the ability to restore the soil structure, enriching it with valuable microelements, without which normal vegetation of any fruit crop is impossible.

The peculiarity of orderlies’ plants is that in a short period of time it is possible to obtain a unique green fertilizer rich in useful substances:

• nitrogen;
• calcium;
• zinc;
• magnesium;
• iron and many others etc.

In addition to increasing fertility, green manure crops eliminate pathogens and help get rid of larvae and pests.

The benefits of green manure crops can be assessed by their beneficial properties:

In discussions among gardeners, there are also negative reviews regarding the use of green manure plants. For example, when planting sweet clover, germination of shoots is observed over several years. This is explained by the fact that this crop is perennial, so it will not be possible to grow the grass in one year. Some people consider this harmful and prefer annual herbs.

The disadvantages include strict compliance with the deadlines for harvesting green mass.

If you wait until the seeds form, you won’t be able to get high-quality fertilizer.. The stems at this stage become woody. Therefore, it is important not to miss the period of the beginning of flowering, when the plant is filled with the maximum amount of micronutrients and maintains the delicate structure of the stems and foliage.

Types of green manure and rules for planting them

Oilseed radish

The crop is honey-bearing, forage, and is also used as green fertilizer. Grass enriches the soil with humus and organic matter. The presence of essential oils in the composition provides a repellent effect against pests and fungal diseases. Oilseed radish is used in the fight against wireworms and nematodes.

Sowing of green manure is planned from spring to autumn. There are no special requirements for soil, but the crop does not react well to an acidic environment.

You need to cut greens for use as fertilizer at 5-7 weeks of the growing season. Autumn cleaning should be completed 2 weeks before the soil freezes. It is better to embed into the ground with a shovel or cultivator.

Annual rye

One of the popular plants of orderlies on summer cottage is rye. The culture is unpretentious to the type of soil and can withstand dry weather. Simple agricultural technology is complemented by useful green manure properties:

• facilitates dense soils;
• suppresses weeds;
• inhibits fungal spores, helps get rid of nematodes;
• increases soil fertility.

Sowing is planned from the end of August to the 20th of September. The green mass grows quickly, forming dense bushes. When the height of the greenery reaches 15-20 cm, the above-ground part is cut off and embedded in the ground.

Phacelia for good soil

Phacelia not only has an attractive appearance, but also has the ability to lighten heavy soils and enrich them with valuable microelements. A feature of the plant is considered to be good compatibility with almost all garden crops, so after cutting the greenery, you can plant everything.

Sowing work is carried out in the spring or after harvesting (until the end of August). Some gardeners plant phacelia before winter. Any type of soil is suitable for growing green fertilizer; flowers grow even on rocky terrain poor in nutrients.

Features of the plant:

• increases soil fertility;
• prevents the formation of erosion;
• drives away pests;
• clears the environment of harmful bacteria and dispute.

Mow the grass before flowering. If sowing is done before winter (late October - November), mowing is not required.

Winter and spring rape as green manure fertilizer

Among the main advantageous characteristics of rapeseed is the ability to suppress weeds, improve the soil structure, saturating it with useful microelements.

It is advisable to plant the spring variety in late March or early April. The cut is made after 35-45 days. Winter rapeseed is planted from August to the end of October. The above-ground part should be cut off before flowering begins.

When planted with carrots, the vegetable crop has an increase in the yield and quality of root crops.

Rapeseed green manure is often planted in fields. But it must be cut before flowering begins.

Use of mustard in spring and autumn

Green manure does an excellent job of cleaning the soil from scab, late blight, blackleg and other diseases. Due to the content of essential oils, the plant repels pests (nematodes, wireworms, etc.). It grows on almost any soil, quickly forming a green mass.

After incorporation, the soil is enriched with phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and other microelements. You can sow the plant in the beds at any time. It is necessary to cut at the initial stage of flowering before the formation of pods and immediately plow in.

Oats in the garden in winter

The culture improves the soil structure, enriches it with nutrients, and suppresses the growth of weeds. Resistance to cold allows sowing from March to November. Z The green mass grows on average in 5-7 weeks, after which it is cut off and embedded in the ground.

When growing before winter, no digging is required.

When can you sow lupine?

The crop belongs to the legume family and has been used as green manure since ancient times. It is especially effective to use the plant on dense soils.

Lupine makes them fluffy, rich in potassium, nitrogen and other nutrients. After introducing green fertilizer, it is ideal to plant cabbage, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes. The green mass is planted when it reaches 1.5 months of age. A special feature of lupine is its ability to reduce the acidic environment in the soil.

Winter wheat in October

An excellent option for improving soil health is considered to be planting winter wheat at the dacha. Its powerful root system structures dense soils, saturating the green mass with nitrogen, calcium and other nutrients. Due to the drying properties of the soil, it is recommended to sow wheat in combination with other green manures.

Sowing is planned for autumn. In the spring, before planting the main crop (2-4 weeks), the soil needs to be dug up.

Comparison table of green manure with sowing dates

When choosing green manure for the garden, it is very important to take into account its effect on the crops that are planned to be planted on healthy soil.

Green manures are plants that are grown before planting the main crop to enrich the soil with useful elements. They renew humus reserves, improve the structure, and increase the fertility of the top arable layer.

These plants are undemanding and cold-resistant, therefore they can even be planted in early spring and in autumn. In some regions of the country, green manure is planted in early October, and before the onset of cold weather they have time to build up the necessary green mass. There are a great many ways to use this “green fertilizer”. This type of plant reduces soil acidity, helps accumulate useful macroelements in the upper horizons, and accelerates microbiological processes.

Green manure is planted for:

Soil fertilizers
High-quality structuring of the soil layer
Shading young plantings
Clearing the land of weeds
Protecting plants from insect pests
Restoring eroded soil.

Features of using green manure

If you don’t know how to use “green fertilizers” correctly, you can make a number of mistakes that will negate all your efforts.

In order not to be disappointed in this method of enriching the soil with useful substances, it is advisable to adhere to the following rules:

Green manure must be mowed on time, otherwise the stems will become coarse and will rot in the ground for a long time. Half-rotten biomass can become a source of viral and fungal diseases.
There is no point in waiting for the plants to grow to their maximum volume. Excess nitrogen in the soil can cause the roots of the crop planted next to begin to “burn.”
To protect the bed from weeds, green manure must be sown in bulk, not in rows.
The tops of these plants need to be trimmed two weeks before planting the main crop.
Plants belonging to the same family as green manure cannot be planted next to them, as common pests could remain in the ground.
If the goal is to restore the soil, then “green fertilizers” must be cut off with a scythe or a flat cutter without damaging their root system.
Do not mow winter green manure planted in late autumn before frost. Leave them until next spring. In this case, you won’t have to plow the soil; it will already be very loose.

The technology of soil improvement using vermicompost is increasingly used in personal gardens and in large agricultural holdings. It includes many different points, but the main principles of this concept are careful treatment of the land and the use of plant fertilizers.

The most common green manure plants are white mustard, rye, oats, lupine, phacelia, vetch and rapeseed. The specifics of using each of them will be discussed below.

Phacelia

The biggest advantage of this green manure is that After it, you can plant any crop. Phacelia belongs to the gimlet family, to which none of the cultivated plants does not belong to the middle zone. It can be sown before and after any vegetables, grains and herbs. Application rates – 8-10 g/m2. Thanks to its “class affiliation,” this plant is suitable for fertilizing land for cabbage, radishes, and turnips, since they are most often affected by insect pests.

Phacelia sprouts and develops very quickly (45-55 days), forming lush bunches of greenery growing from one root. It got its name from the shape of the aerial part, since in translation from Latin, Phacelia is a bunch. Outwardly she looks very attractive. Purple flowers and carved leaves look decorative and would be appropriate for filling empty spaces in beds, flower beds and raised beds.

Phacelia embedded in the soil increases its fertility no less than cow manure. Adding tops to the soil (about 100 kg/acre) is equivalent to using 1 ton of humus on the same plot of land. But you can prepare plant biomass much faster, and it will cost less than organic fertilizers animal origin.

Another very useful property of this flower, which is not found in other plants belonging to the conventional class of “green fertilizers”, is that its nectar attracts entomophages that destroy insect pests. Codling moths, aphids and leaf rollers disappear from the garden plot. Phacelia is often planted as a protective barrier for potatoes, in order to protect the plantings from pests. The wireworm does not tolerate its proximity, and locusts and soil nematodes simply die when they inhale the fungicides secreted by its flowers. At the same time, this flower does not have a negative effect on bees and is an excellent honey plant. Some beekeepers specially plant whole plantations of phacelia in order to obtain flower honey with excellent taste.

How to grow phacelia seeds?

Phacelia is the best green manure in terms of versatility of use. Therefore, many summer residents want to see it on their site. But its seeds are expensive. And one of the most important advantages of using bio-humus is its low cost of use. If this factor is offset by the high cost of seeds, then there is no point in sowing this plant.

Many summer residents have learned to get around this obstacle by growing seeds themselves. To do this, leave a plot far away from the garden so that ripening seeds do not spill onto the beds. Then they wait until the flowers fall off most of the spikelet. The stems are cut and dried in a closed, well-ventilated area with low humidity. Well-dried phacelia is threshed, and excellent seed material is obtained, in no way inferior to store-bought counterparts.

White mustard

This cold-resistant green manure can be grown and planted in the ground several times per season. The last time it is planted is before winter, a few weeks before the onset of cold weather. They do this so that the green mass is “beaten” by the cold, and it remains to rot under a layer of snow. The decay process will continue for some time after the onset of negative temperatures, due to internal heat, released during the decomposition of plant organic matter. It is enough to turn green manure fertilizers into humus, which is very useful for plants in the spring.

Mustard sprouts quickly and quickly gains vegetative mass. It is very important not to “miss” the moment when the stems begin to harden. Greens must be mowed before they turn yellow, before the first flowers appear, as soon as the first buds appear.

The minimum period from sowing to embedding this plant in the soil is five weeks., but, if possible, it is better to wait all eight. When calculating the timing of harvesting, it should be taken into account that in hot weather the stems harden faster, in cold weather - more slowly, so in autumn and spring you can leave greens in the beds for a long time.

Mustard is usually sown scattered, except in cases where it is used to protect plants from pests. Then the row method is used. The seed consumption rate of this fertilizer is 4-7 g per 1 sq.m. If you sow more, the plantings will thicken, and the greenery on the root may begin to rot.

To accelerate the ripening of plant humus, the green mass obtained from mustard plantings can be watered with a biostimulant. Baikal is perfect for this purpose; it is diluted in a ratio of 1:1000 (a drop per liter of water), and the mowed grass is sprayed with the solution using a spray bottle. Under the influence of living bacteria contained in the preparation, the grass rots faster and becomes part of the soil system.

Video: mustard and other green manures - planting and results

Lupine

Common lupine is considered one of the oldest green manures in the history of agriculture. To enrich soil poor in nitrogen, it was used in Greece, more than two thousand years ago. Gardeners buried the whole trunk and leaves without roots in trunk circle fruit tree, and there was enough nitrogen for several months.

This plant belongs to the legume family; therefore, beans, peas and beans cannot be planted after it. these crops have common pests. Tomatoes, cabbage, and peppers will be excellent successors for lupine. And this one is for potatoes beautiful flower will become the best predecessor.

The powerful roots of the plant are an active leavening agent, penetrating deeply into the soil. At the same time, they have another positive effect - they saturate all soil horizons with nitrogenous bacteria. Lupine plantings are capable of accumulating about 200 kg of nitrogen per hectare in the ground.

This green manure is planted in early spring, in a row. Seed consumption (and they are quite large) is 4-5 per sq.m. When the lupine reaches the age of 5-7 weeks, its tops are plowed into the ground. Even if it blooms, it’s not scary, the most important thing is to prevent the formation of seeds, since at this stage of plant development the stem becomes rigid and does not rot well in the soil.

The taproot system can be considered a great advantage of the plant., which goes deep into the ground and receives most of the nutrients from the deep layers without depleting the upper fertile layer. At the same time, vermicompost obtained from the above-ground parts of lupine, per 1 sq.m. replaces 4 kg of manure, or 40-50 g of urea.

In many regions of the country, it is customary to sow the garden with this cereal after digging up potatoes. Rye bushes well and grows a large green mass, reaching 200-300 kg per hundred square meters. This green manure is planted both before winter and in spring; the time of planting does not affect its quality. Special value winter rye is that she actively increases biological mass even at fairly low temperatures, and winter crops survive even in snowless winters, with frosts down to -25°C.

The disadvantage of all cereals grown to enrich the soil, including rye, is the complexity of their subsequent processing and plowing. The stems have a fairly strong structure, take a long time to decompose, and cling to the plowshares, which have to be cleaned all the time. Another disadvantage of this winter green manure is that it dries out the soil greatly, so rye cannot be sown in the garden between the trees.

Otherwise, this cereal crop is an excellent fertilizer, the seeds of which are inexpensive and therefore available to everyone. Rye is undemanding to the quality and thickness of the soil layer, perfectly sods loose soils, and easily tolerates high acidity. Since this plant has a fibrous root system, it easily retains nutrients in the upper soil horizon, preventing them from being washed out with melt water and rain runoff.

The big advantage of this green manure fertilizer is that as it decomposes, it saturates the soil not only with nitrogen, but also with calcium. Microorganisms contained in cereal biomass create conditions for the absorption of difficult-to-digest phosphorus compounds, dissolving them. Accordingly, the full NPK complex of nutrients remains in the soil, which allows any successor crops to fully develop.

The above-ground part of cereals after cutting is used not only for plowing. The resulting straw is used as mulch. She provides excellent protection prevents the soil from drying out and prevents weed seeds from reaching the surface. Subsequently, as it decomposes, fresh straw becomes part of the bed, turning into vermicompost.

Oats

This cereal crop is used as green manure less frequently than rye. But this is more an accident than a pattern. The plant has all the positive qualities of rye, but also outperforms it in some respects. For example, oats are even more unpretentious. It can be sown on acidic podzolic soil, clay, and even peat bog - it will grow anywhere.

Green oats combined with clover

As an element of crop rotation, it is sown after legumes, preparing the land for potatoes. Despite the apparent weakness of the fibrous root system, this plant perfectly loosens the soil to great depths, enriching it with oxygen and creating a structure comfortable for cultivated plants. Oats saturate the top soil layer with nitrogen and potassium, and, like rye, decompose difficult-to-digest phosphorus compounds.

The seeds of this crop are planted, scattering them over the surface of a previously loosened plot of land, in early spring, as soon as it is possible to enter the garden. Don’t be afraid of dirt and cold - oats love them, and these parameters do not affect its germination. On the contrary, at the end of March - beginning of April, optimal conditions are created for the germination of oats, since it will be able to feed on soil moisture from melted snow. The sowing rate is 1.5-2.1 kg per hundred square meters, the seed placement depth is 4-5 cm.

Growing potatoes in oats

Agricultural technologies, like any other, do not stand still. In modern gardening, the technology of growing crops without prior plowing is increasingly being used. It allows you to save not only energy and time, but also get excellent harvests. Green manure, as part of the culture of no-till farming, is actively used in this system.

Oats can be not only a supplier of vermicompost. His can be used for potatoes by growing the tubers in oat straw mulch. Moreover, on the plot that is planned for this crop, you won’t even have to remove the grass; it will disappear on its own, becoming part of the nutrient soil. It only needs to be slightly pulled apart and grooves made in the gaps into which the oats are planted.

When green manure and weeds have grown sufficiently, they are mowed down to the root with a flat cutter, and after making a small depression in the soil, potatoes are planted there, lightly sprinkled with a layer of soil. The emerging sprouts are mulched with straw and grass, and when they become very large, other green waste is gradually added, for example, grass left over after mowing the lawn. Most importantly, it is necessary to block access to the tubers from sunlight, which will “green” them, making the potatoes unsuitable for consumption.

After the autumn harvesting of potatoes, which, by the way, will be a very clean and quick process, the field must be re-sowed with oats, and this must continue to be done every year. In a couple of years, without digging, the soil structure will be completely restored, and this piece of land will produce consistently high yields.

Vika

Vetch (mouse peas) is an early ripening plant and has a short growing season, which allows it to be used as an intermediate crop between plantings of main crops. For example, it can be planted in beds intended for seedlings of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. It can also be sown before melon crops. Pumpkin, zucchini, and squash planted “along the vetch” produce excellent harvests.

Planting of green manure is carried out throughout the growing season, as soon as above-zero temperatures are established. The sowing rate is 1.5 kg per hundred square meters. The seeding depth is 1-3 cm. It is not necessary to go deeper, otherwise the plant will not be able to break through the surface layer of soil. To speed up the emergence of seedlings, the plot can be watered with EM fertilizers; this is cheap and fast.

Vetch is often included in a mixture that includes green manure plants such as rye, oats, rapeseed and ryegrass. This is done to obtain optimal composition vermicompost, which is formed after mowing these crops, since this plant accumulates mainly nitrogen. “Mouse peas” belong to the legume family, and, accordingly, have a similar structure. The same nitrogenous nodules are formed on its roots, which accumulate this element. Peas, beans and beans cannot be planted after it. But potatoes, cabbage, radishes, cucumbers and greens will be excellent subsequent crops.

Sweet clover

This used to be herbaceous plant used as a feed crop for livestock. But then they noticed that when plowing the fields where sweet clover grew, the land produced richer harvests than in the fields that were sown with other herbs. After this, sweet clover began to be used as green manure. It is a biennial plant that is grown as an annual. Sweet clover is unpretentious, hardy and grows quickly. It belongs to the legume family, so it can accumulate nitrogen in the root system. Its roots penetrate deep into the ground and have a large number of branches. Thanks to the powerful root system of this plant, there is no need to dig up the ground after cutting it. It will be loose without additional processing.

The peculiarity of growing sweet clover is that its most useful part is considered to be not the above-ground part, but the underground part. Therefore, you can cut the plant 3-4 weeks after germination. If you let it outgrow, it will become too hard for further processing, and the “pipes” from its stems will stick out from the garden bed for a couple of seasons, not decorating the garden at all.

Radish

Oilseed radish is a unique green manure with fast growing aboveground part. In 6–7 weeks, it can increase its vegetative mass by 4–5 times. It is popular among gardeners as a natural “agrokiller”. Radish suppresses all weeds, even creeping wheatgrass.

This green manure is not only an active supplier of biomass. Radish is a natural doctor and earth cleaner. It successfully fights diseases such as clubroot in cabbage and nematodes. It must be planted on lands that have been affected by various diseases and insect pests over several seasons, and the soil will become healthy again.

It is best to sow radish in fresh plowing; it loves soft soil. Seed consumption – 300 g per hundred square meters. 4 weeks after the emergence of full shoots, the above-ground part of the plant is excised with a shovel and dug up along with the soil. The thickest stems are best composted.

The use of green fertilizers allows you to restore soil balance, save money on purchased fertilizers, and grow environmentally friendly products. The use of green manure helps create a new humus layer, which was destroyed during the use of traditional farming, when all nutrients were removed from the soil with the resulting products. The soil enriched by natural methods will be transformed, and will certainly reward you for all your efforts with abundant harvests of environmentally friendly vegetables and fruits.

Video: green manure at the dacha - sowing, collecting seeds, efficiency

What types of green manure are better, the best types of green manure - Proposition

Green manure is a cheap, natural, safe for humans and the environment type of green fertilizer that increases the yield of cultivated plants by two to four times or more, accumulates nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, loosens the soil to a depth of 7 m, and cleans it of pathogens of plant diseases. , suppressing the growth of weeds, green manure helps to reduce the colonization of areas by pests, they are quite unpretentious, therefore they germinate even on unproductive soils.

The following types of green manure are distinguished:

The main one is using hay of perennial and annual grasses for green fertilizer and replacing black fallow with green manure. After fallow, crops are sown using all the green mass for fertilizer, and, if necessary, hay

Overseeding - with undersowing green fertilizer seeds along the rows immediately after sowing the cover crop. After harvesting the main crop, a green mass of green manure is grown on a high cut, which is plowed into the next crop

Intermediate (post-mowing and post-harvest): post-mowing - in the first half of the growing season after clearing the field of annual grasses or corn for silage; post-harvest - in the second half of the growing season after harvesting early grain crops - winter crops and barley, early vegetables - radishes, cabbage, cucumbers, etc. .

For green manure, green manure, crops that are capable of producing the greatest increase in green mass in a short period of time are suitable. In addition, it must be taken into account that sowing of green manure crops must be carried out in the autumn months, and this is another feature - resistance to autumn cold and short daylight hours without compromising the growth of green mass. The basic principle of using green fertilizers is this: two to three weeks after sowing, the green mass of green manure crops is mowed and plowed. Thus, a kind of layer of green mass is formed in the soil during the decomposition period, acting as a green fertilizer.

Crops of the following biological groups, as well as their various mixtures, are grown on green manure in accordance with the condition and fertility of the soil:

The most accessible, fast-growing cereals(wheat, rye, triticale, barley, oats) aged increased acidity soil and its low nutrient content, respond well to additional nitrogen. Also good fast-growing green manures are sunflower, corn, buckwheat, and phacelia.

Legumes (clover, alfalfa, sainfoin, peas, chickpeas, peas, beans, soybeans, lentils, vetch, seradella, lupine, beans), unlike cereals, grow better on fertile soils (with the exception of one-year-old lupine) and do not require additional application nitrogen, but react to weedy fields and cannot increase significant biomass in a short growing season.

Brassicas or cruciferous vegetables (canola, canola, radishes, mustard, peppers) grow better on fertile soils (with the exception of oilseed radish), but are suppressed by weeds and react negatively to lack of moisture and nitrogen deficiency. Such plants protect the soil from weathering and mineralization of organic matter, reduce the leaching of nutrients into deep layers and retain them in the upper fertile layer.

The best green manures in autumn

Based on the results of many years of research by the National Scientific Center “Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences”, it has been established that in the fall it is possible to sow plants for green manure (green manure) immediately after harvesting the main agricultural crops and carrying out surface tillage or before winter. In the first case, green manure plants are cut off when they achieve the greatest green mass and lightly go into the ground. In the second case, the stairs are left for the winter. They rot on their own under the snow, and after it melts in the spring, they are dug up to prepare the soil before sowing the main crops. After sowing the seeds, they resort to the method of continuous scattering with obvious thickening. In dry conditions, pre- and post-sowing soil rolling is mandatory. The plant mass of green manure, especially in green form, should not be planted deeply: on light sandy loam and sandy soils - to a depth of 10-15 cm, on soils with a cohesive granulometric composition - 8-10 cm.

Winter green manure is sown for the winter, and in the spring it is pruned with a flat cutter or cultivator; they also loosen the soil to a depth of 5 cm and sow agricultural crops.

The best effect of green fertilizer is achieved when it is sown immediately after harvesting the main crop, without delaying it until another day. The faster the seed germinates, the more green mass is formed before the onset of autumn frosts. In autumn, green manure is crushed and incorporated into the soil. In the spring, after green manure, you can sow any crop.

Based on the results of many years of research by the NSC “Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences”, it was determined that the best results in obtaining vigorous shoots and subsequent growth of green manure are provided by surface cultivation of the soil, which retains moisture and minimizes negative impact soil erosion, reduces clogging and reduces the number of passes of units, that is, it allows you to shorten the processing period. In combination with green manure, surface cultivation ensures effective preservation and increase of fertility. Good results are obtained by rolling green manure after sowing, followed by fine loosening of the soil surface with light harrows.

Winter rye and rapeseed are sown in early autumn so that they have time to come down, take off and grow before winter. In the spring, they are grown and planted to a depth of 6-15 cm. The green mass of green manure decomposes in the soil in three to five weeks. Based on the results of many years of research at the NSC Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences, we believe that putting too much raw biomass into the soil negatively affects the yield of the main crop, because green manure does not rot, but sours. Therefore, its excess is mowed and used for mulching.

Green manure crops are sown for green manure depending on the time remaining until the end of the growing season, since its duration ranges from 35-40 to 70-80 days. If by the end of the growing season there are 70-80 days left, you can confidently sow green manure - angustifolia lupine, seradella, white mustard, pea-oat and vetch-oat mixtures, spring and winter rape, spring and winter rape, oats, white mustard, oilseed radish, phacelia. If there are 50-60 days left before the cold weather, they grow cruciferous crops green manure - spring rape, winter and spring colza, white mustard, oilseed radish, phacelia and other fast-growing green manure crops with a short growing season. Effective legume-cereal mixtures of green manure: peas and oats, vetch and oats, lupine and oats, peas and white mustard, diaper with cabbage or cereal crops and oilseed radish plus rye. You can use winter green manure - rapeseed, rapeseed, rye, wheat or mixtures thereof (rye + vetch, rye or wheat + rapeseed or rapeseed). The seeding rate of green manure is adjusted depending on the moisture supply at the time of sowing. Under dry conditions (productive moisture reserves in the arable layer are less than 20 mm), the seed sowing rate is increased by 10-15%.

It is better to introduce green manure into the soil in late autumn when its temperature drops to 5 ° C, when microbiological processes in it almost stop. As a rule, until the end of October stocks soil moisture(even in the forest-steppe zone) are completely restored within 180 mm and the green manure mass ends up in a humid environment with a low temperature, which continues to decline. Under such conditions, the green manure mass decomposes very slowly. Consequently, the compounds are not washed out into the lower layers of the soil, and the loss of nutrients both from leaching and from the loss of nitrogen gas is minimal. In the spring, when the soil temperature rises, the decomposition of plants - green manure - begins, releasing a significant amount of carbon dioxide, which contributes to soil and air nutrition of plants. During the planting of green manure in the warm period of autumn, they quickly decompose; mineralization compounds are washed out by rain into the lower layers of the soil, where they become inaccessible to plants. This process is especially intense on light sandy soils, where a significant part of organic matter is lost and the effectiveness of green fertilizer is sharply reduced.

During green manure, you need to remember to alternate crops. It is not recommended to sow the same green manure crops year after year and to place green manure crops and main crops belonging to the same family together. For example, you cannot sow cabbage, radishes, watercress or sugar beets after rapeseed, mustard, and butter radish have been grown in this area, because they all belong to the cruciferous family and are affected by the same diseases and pests. In addition, cruciferous vegetables, which are grown in one area for a long time, overwhelm the soil with phosphorus and sulfur, which can make it difficult for plants to absorb other microelements. After harvesting cabbage, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, which deplete the soil too much, it is good to sow lupine or spring vetch, phacelia, and winter rapeseed. After tomatoes and peppers - white mustard. It is necessary to adhere to the recommended period for returning the culture to old place cultivation, which should not be less than three years for legumes, two years for cereals. When choosing a green manure crop, you need to take into account the expected result. To quickly grow raw materials for mulching or composting, it is worth sowing oil radish. It grows quickly and produces a large amount of root and leaf mass. Lupine, alfalfa and other legumes are suitable for enriching the soil with nitrogen. Alfalfa perfectly heals the soil and is the best precursor for all crops, which can grow in one field for five years. It is better to grow it in a separate wedge, and use the grass for mulching. Oilseed radish, white mustard, rapeseed and oats suppress the spread of nematodes, so they should be planted in front of crops that are particularly affected by this pest (for example, potatoes). The above-mentioned crops suppress the development of rot and common scab, and reduce the number of wireworms. There are fewer of them after winter rye. To loosen heavy soils, annual phacelia, horned rockweed, oilseed radish, oats, vetch, rye, white mustard and rapeseed are grown on them. To achieve the effect of loosening and enrichment with minerals, legumes are used - they not only saturate the upper layers of the soil with phosphorus and nitrogen, but also help improve its structure. Broad beans are sown to reduce soil acidity. And strongly aromatic green manure crops (lupine, sweet clover, phacelia, rapeseed and white mustard) - to repel pests. Green manure crops of the cereal family develop a powerful root system, loosen the soil well and suppress the growth of weeds. They are sown if it is necessary to sod flooded areas to prevent the washing out of the fertile layer.

Late mowing of green manure leads to the formation of a powerful woody stem, root system and ripening of seeds, causing difficulties in loosening the soil, clogging the area with seeds and its uncontrolled germination. They need to be cut off during budding before flowering, before they have time to form a hard stem. Young and fresh green manure plants are rich in nitrogen, quickly decompose and release it. Mature green manure crops are rich in carbon and poor in nitrogen. The microorganisms that decompose them lack nitrogen. They compensate for this deficiency by taking soil nitrogen from plants.

Wrap the green mass of green manure in the soil before the onset of a steady cooling and the cessation of its growing season (the third ten days of October) different ways. On soddy-podzolic, non-gleyed soils, green manure crops are plowed under plows with skimmers. On sod-podzolic gley and ogley soils, green manure is disced, and in the spring it is plowed with a plow without shelves or processed with a flat cutter at a depth of 28-30 cm or sowed using no-till technology. When earning green manure, it is recommended to add phosphorus and potassium mineral fertilizers based on 40-60 kg of each active ingredient. It is effective to use green manure with half the dose of organic fertilizers.

When growing green manure, you do not need to plow them, but cut them correctly with a flat cutter or cultivator. The cut tops of green manure should be left on the garden bed as mulch or, if desired, placed in a compost pit. The root system cannot be dug up, since in this case the soil structure is destroyed and the point of sowing green manure is lost. To restore humus and porous soil structure as a result of decomposition of the roots of green manure crops, they are wrapped in disk aggregates.

It is worth considering the difficulties of incorporating biomass into the soil. It is difficult to plow a large above-ground mass (20 t/ha or more) into the soil; the quality of plowing will be unsatisfactory. When the mass yield is high, the field is cultivated with disc implements in one or two tracks. Three to four days after drying of the green manure, peeling is performed again, and then plowing is carried out using generally accepted technology. Green manures with little biomass are plowed in immediately. We can also recommend the following technology: green manure is rolled, after which plowing is carried out in the direction of the rollers.

At the NSC “Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences”, effective crop rotation with green manure crops has been established for implementation in farms of various soil and climatic zones of Ukraine.

- The best green manure for the Polesie zone:

1. 1. Lupine for green manure, 2 - winter rye, 3 - potatoes, 4 - corn for early silage or green fodder, 5 - winter rye, 6 - lupine for grain with straw plowing, 7 - winter rye.
2. 1. Clover (green manure), 2 - winter rye + stubble for green manure, 3 - potatoes, 4 - corn for silage, 5 - oats + clover.
3. 1. Lupine with oats for green fodder, 2 - winter rye + stubble for green manure (non-legumes), 3 - early potatoes, corn for green fodder, 4 - winter rye + stubble for green manure, 5 - fiber flax (0, 5), potatoes (0.5).
4. 1. Lupine for green fodder and silage (green manure), 2 - winter wheat + stubble (non-legumes) for green manure, 3 - potatoes, 4 - fiber flax, 5 - winter rye + stubble for green manure (non-legume), 6 - oats for grain.
%u0A2 For conditions of sufficient moisture in the Forest-Steppe zone:
1. 1. Meadow clover (green manure), 2 - winter wheat + crops (non-legumes or mixtures), 3 - sugar beets, 4 - corn for silage, 5 - barley + clover.
2. 1. - meadow clover, 2 - winter wheat + stubble for green manure (non-legumes or mixtures), 3 - corn for grain, 4 - barley, oats + clover.

3. 1. - peas, 2 - winter wheat + stubble for green manure (non-legumes or mixtures), 3 - oats + stubble for green manure, 4 - corn for grain, 5 - barley + stubble (non-legume) for green manure.

- The best green manures for the Steppe zone on irrigated lands:

Field crop rotations of green manure:
1. 1 - alfalfa, 2 - alfalfa, 3 - winter wheat. 4 - winter wheat + stubble, 5 - fodder beet, 6 - corn for grain, 7 - corn for green fodder, 8 - corn for green fodder with alfalfa undersowing.

2. 1 - alfalfa, 2 - alfalfa, 3 - winter wheat + stubble, 4 - soybeans, 5 - winter wheat + stubble, 6 - corn for grain, 7 - spring barley or legume-cereal mixture with alfalfa undersowing.

Forage crop rotations of green manure:
1. 1 - alfalfa, 2 - alfalfa, 3 - winter wheat + stubble, 4 - fodder root crops, 5 - corn for silage, 6 - winter cereal-legume mixtures + post-cut corn for silage, 7 - cereal-legume mixtures with alfalfa overseeding

2. 1 - alfalfa, 2 - alfalfa, 3 - alfalfa, 4 - winter cereal-legume mixtures + post-harvest corn for silage, 5 - corn for silage, 6 - cereal-legume mixtures with alfalfa undersowing.

- Prifarm crop rotation of green manure:

1 - alfalfa, 2 - alfalfa, 3 - alfalfa, 4 - winter cereal-legume mixtures + post-harvest corn for green fodder, 5 - cereal-legume mixtures + post-harvest corn for silage, 6 - corn for green fodder + post-harvest cereal-legume mixture for green fodder, 7 - cereal-legume mixtures with alfalfa undersowing.

When deciding to grow crops using green manure, you need to know that the maximum effect from their use does not appear immediately - but in the second or third year, and lasts up to five years.

P. Boyko, Doctor of Agriculture sciences, professor,
NSC "Institute of Agriculture NAAS"

N. Kovalenko, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Art. Sci. employee, NNSGB NAAN

Citation information

How to choose and use green manure correctly / P. Boyko, N. Kovalenko // Proposition. — 2017. — No. 1. — P. 104-106

Using white mustard as green manure - timing and methods of planting, tips for beginners

Home > Homemade fertilizers > Using white mustard as green manure - timing and methods of planting, tips for beginners

For agriculture, mustard cultivation is important. The crop is grown for fodder purposes; white mustard oil is used in Food Industry, for soap production and for technical purposes. This plant is an excellent honey plant. In addition, white mustard can improve the mechanical composition and structure of the soil in a short time.

It is these qualities that interest gardeners. The use of mustard as green manure eliminates the need for organic and chemical fertilizers, allows you to grow high-quality and healthy vegetable products. And the low cost of seeds, compared to the cost of fertilizers, helps save the family budget.

Sinapis alba (white mustard) belongs to the cruciferous family and is an annual oil plant. Its closest relatives are black radish and cabbage.

Mustard is unpretentious to growing conditions and differs short terms ripening, resistant to seed shedding and lodging, practically not damaged by pests and almost not sick.

The root has a rod shape, has high assimilation qualities, and can grow to a depth of 1.5 meters. Lateral roots are located in the top layer of soil, growing horizontally 50 cm - 70 cm away from the main rod.

The stem is erect, ribbed, with multiple branches, covered with hairs. The height of the plant usually reaches 80 cm - 140 cm, depending on the structure of the soil and the intensity of watering during the growing season.

The leaves are bright green in color, have a dissected shape at the bottom of the stem, and are whole at the top. The inflorescences are yellow, have a pronounced honey aroma; one inflorescence can contain 25–100 flowers. The flowers are formed in racemes, of which there are 3–5 on one plant. The fruit is in the form of a multi-chambered, tuberous pod Brown with 4 – 6 seeds. Seeds are round with smooth surface light yellow color.

Stages of biological development:

Shoots
Leaf formation
Shooting
Formation of buds
Bloom
Ripeness.

In turn, ripeness is divided into green, waxy and full. White mustard shoots under normal humidity conditions appear already on the 5th – 7th day. The plant does not have a rosette phase, since the beginning of stem growth coincides with the development of leaves.

The flowering period is observed approximately 30 days after emergence. Seeds ripen in the last ten days of July until mid-August.

Compared to other green manure crops, such as rapeseed, blue mustard or phacelia, white mustard is more cold-resistant. Seed germination occurs already at a temperature of +1°C – +3°C, optimal temperature for mustard development +16°C – +22°C. Nevertheless, white mustard is moisture-loving, and in the first stages of development it needs regular watering.

Ecological significance

White mustard belongs to a number of green manure crops that restore and improve the structure of the fertile soil layer. The vegetative mass of mustard is rich in:

Vitamins
Proteins
Essential oils
Microelements.

Even one incorporation of green mass into the soil improves its composition, saturates poor soils with humus, and makes the soil looser.

Thanks to its powerful rhizome, mustard consumes phosphorus and potassium from deep soil layers and saturates depleted soils with nitrogen necessary for normal plant growth.

In addition, mustard successfully fights the appearance of late blight, scab, fusarium, all types of rot and other fungal infections.

Regular sowing of this green manure allows you to permanently get rid of slugs, wireworms on potatoes and aphids on fruit and berry crops.

Mustard becomes the best precursor for grains, as well as for nightshade crops. Green manure is used when growing seedlings of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in unprotected soil.

Sowing dates

You can use mustard as green manure in the spring, throughout the summer and in the fall. In spring, green manure is sown when the soil temperature stabilizes to +7°C – +10°C, approximately a month before planting the main crop.

Earlier sowing will not harm mustard, which has high qualities frost resistance.

The seeds will not freeze and will sprout when the ground warms up to required temperature. But later sowing of seeds can lead to accelerated growth of mustard, and this will negatively affect the amount of its above-ground part, and there is also a possibility of damage by the cruciferous flea beetle.

Mustard is effective against codling moths on beans, beans and peas, expels wireworms in beet and potato fields, successfully fights gooseberry moth, late blight on carrots and tomatoes, and prevents fungi from developing on grapes.

To protect the plantings, next to vegetable crops mustard is sown; in potato fields, green manure is sown between rows.

In autumn, mustard is sown to prepare the soil for the next season:

As a prevention of infections and pests
To replenish nutrients
To improve the structure when there is a deficiency of humus in the soil.

To understand when to sow mustard, determine the main purposes of using green manure. For example, to enrich the soil, planting in the fall will be the least labor-intensive. For the same purpose, mustard is planted in the spring, but in this case timely sowing and incorporation of mustard into the soil is important.

More often, spring sowing is used in order to then plant vegetable crops. For example, by the time tomatoes are planted in open ground, holes are dug in a bed with green manure. The remaining mustard will shade the young plants, repel pests and help prevent fungal infections.

Please note that mustard, unlike phacelia, grows back, although each time in smaller quantities.

Often gardeners set aside special beds for mustard so that they can then cut off the stems for mulch. Green manure is also used as a barrier for incompatible crops.

Beds with green manure between tomatoes, carrots and potatoes would be appropriate, since these plants have the same diseases. As a barrier, you can plant mustard between tomatoes and zucchini.

How to sow mustard?

The process of sowing mustard does not require digging up the soil; it is enough to loosen the soil to a depth of 8 cm - 10 cm and level it. In the beds, mustard is sown in bulk on the surface, followed by seeding with a rake.

In large areas, seeds are planted in rows to a depth of 3 cm - 5 cm.
Usually 15 cm is left between rows, but the type of soil and planting purpose must be taken into account.

IN late boarding in the spring, when the vegetative mass of green manure grows less actively, the distance between rows can be reduced to 10 cm.

A similar distance is left between the rows when the purpose of planting is to reduce the number of weeds or in cases of sowing mustard on very depleted or sandy soils. But it is still not worthwhile to thicken the plantings too much, since mustard can be affected by pests.

For planting mustard to actually bring benefits, you need to know how to properly incorporate this green manure into the soil.

The embedding procedure is carried out before flowering begins, when the vegetative mass retains its rich color and the stem has not begun to turn into a tube.

The basic rule for using green manure is that the green mass must remain in the top layer of soil, otherwise the beneficial effect will be lost.

Therefore, the mustard is not dug up, but most often cut or mowed, leaving it on the surface. However, in the case of a dry spring, the cut mass will take longer to rot, and the soil will not receive the full amount of nutrients.

Experienced gardeners recommend not mowing mustard, but using the hoe method. The plant is tapped at the root and sprinkled with a little soil. In this case, it will take only 7–10 days for the mustard to begin releasing microelements and replenish the soil with humus.

Please note that such sealing will only be needed in spring time. If mustard is planted before winter, you don’t need to do anything with it. The green mass should go under the snow. At the beginning of winter, decomposition processes will begin due to the internal heat of the plants and soil, and in the spring, along with the melting of the snow, the mustard will completely rot and release all its beneficial substances naturally.

The best green manures as fertilizer: right choice and sowing dates

Choosing organic fertilizers for the soil

Choosing mineral fertilizers for the soil.

What to choose - mustard or phacelia?

The question of which is better, phacelia or mustard, causes controversy among farmers. In fact, both green manures have advantages and you need to choose a crop taking into account the planting goals, location of the site and soil type.

The benefits of phacelia include:

Versatility - phacelia can serve as a predecessor to any plant
Phacelia nectar attracts entomophages that destroy pests
Decorative – phacelia blooms with beautiful blue-violet flowers.

Phacelia belongs to the gimlet family. Other plants of this species do not grow in the middle zone, and therefore phacelia can be planted in front of any vegetable, ornamental or berry crop.

Phacelia nectar is a natural fungicide; it attracts entomophages, which, in turn, destroy codling moths, aphids and leaf rollers. Wireworms, locusts, and nematodes do not tolerate the aroma of phacelia.

If we compare this green manure with mustard, we can confidently say that the repellent effect of phacelia is more intense.

At the same time, phacelia is a good honey plant, and beekeepers often sow entire fields of phacelia for bees to work with.

The decorative nature of phacelia flowering allows you to plant this flower in empty spaces or plant it in flower beds, which make it look even more attractive.

The disadvantages of phacelia include:

High cost of seeds
Higher consumption of planting material compared to the mustard sowing rate.

For 1 m%u0B2 you will need up to 10 g of phacelia seeds and no more than 7 g of mustard. In large areas, planting mustard will become a more economical activity.

If we talk about the advantages of mustard over phacelia, we need to remind you that mustard better tolerates short-term frosts down to -7°C, and it can be planted in the spring much earlier than phacelia.

The period from germination to the beginning of flowering in phacelia is 10–12 days longer, and after cutting, this flower does not grow back, unlike mustard.

Which green manure to choose must be decided taking into account the characteristics of the site and soil structure. The goals and timing of planting are of no small importance when choosing green fertilizers.

Proper agricultural technology for green manure crops will in any case bring positive results. The soil on which green fertilizers were used will be transformed and will thank its owners with environmentally friendly fruits and a bountiful harvest.

Attention! Only today!

• White mustard as green manure for strawberries in spring

Green manure (green manure)- plants that quickly form green mass, grown for the purpose of their subsequent plowing into the soil as a source of organic matter and nitrogen for plants and soil microorganisms. The term was proposed by the French scientist J. Ville (1824-97).

The purpose of sowing green manure

Enriching the soil with organic matter and nitrogen, green manure can completely eliminate the use of manure on the site as fertilizer (3 kg of green mass can replace 1-1.5 kg of manure);
- enrichment of soil with phosphorus, potassium, calcium;
- improvement of soil structure, physical and physicochemical characteristics soil (acidity decreases, buffering capacity, absorption capacity, moisture capacity, etc. increase), overheating, green fertilizers make the soil looser, moisture-absorbing, and alive;
- the activity of beneficial microflora increases;
- shading the surface of the earth, protection from overheating;
- protection of soil from erosion and blowing away with green manure;
- suppression of weed growth;
- phytosanitary effects, sowing some green manures can be a prevention of diseases of the main crop;
- reducing the impact of pests on the main crop; in mixed plantings, some of the pests are diverted to green manure;
- green manure with bright flowers attracts beneficial insects;
- use of green manure for compost heaps, because they are accelerators of the composting process, increase the content of useful substances and improve the structure of the finished compost.

The most commonly used green manure plants

Primarily Legumes (lupine, beans, soybeans, lentils, field and field peas, alfalfa, sweet clover, spring and winter vetch, seradella, clover, sainfoin, broad beans, wildflower and others)
- Cruciferous vegetables (Rapeseed rape, rapeseed, oilseed radish, Mustard)
- Cereals (wheat, rye, oats, barley)
- Buckwheat (buckwheat)
- Compositae (sunflower)
- Hydrophiles (Phacelia).

Basic principles of sowing green manure.

Green manure can be sown both in spring and autumn: before planting the main crop and after harvesting. In spring - thickly so that they stand like a wall, in autumn less often. In general, green manure crops can be grown throughout the season. During early spring planting, when the snow has just melted, early ripening cold-resistant plants are selected - mustard, fodder peas, oats.

Cultivated green manures are usually plowed one to two weeks before planting the main crop. Or simply cut the plants with a hoe or flat cutter and leave them in the bed at a depth of 2 - 3 cm, while the structural work of the green manure roots is preserved, and leaf compost is formed on the surface over time.

The effectiveness of green fertilizer greatly depends on the age of the plants. Young and fresh plants are very rich in nitrogen and quickly decompose in the soil, so after planting them, the main crop can be planted within 2-4 weeks, but you cannot plant too much raw plant mass, as it will not decompose, but will turn sour. Older plants decompose more slowly, but they add more organic matter to the soil.

It is recommended to plant green manure during the budding period before flowering to a depth of 6-8 cm on heavy soils and 12-15 cm on light soils. The soil for green manure crops must be well prepared, since on compacted or roughly dug soil the plants will not develop enough green mass and will not give the desired effect. (My addition. Zamyatkin I.P., Kuznetsov N.I., Telepov O.A. do not consider it necessary to incorporate green manure into the soil. Rhizomes remain in the soil, and all the green mass is used for mulching)

Some crops (alfalfa, sweet clover, clover, vetch, winter rye) give good results if left on the field for more than a year. Short-season crops (barley, beans, peas, oats) can be plowed into the soil 6-8 weeks after sowing. Plants should not be allowed to overstay with green fertilizer. They are plowed into the soil until seeds form.

Preparing the soil for sowing green manure.

The easiest way is to sow or plant early-ripening crops in different parts of the garden every year in early May: peas, lettuce, dill, early potatoes, cauliflower, radishes, kohlrabi. After the crop is harvested, incorporate plant residues into the soil, carefully level the surface with a rake and sow green fertilizer, having previously applied a ten-liter bucket of nitroammophoska per hundred square meters. On acidic soils apply lime 0.3-0.5 kg per 1 m2 and rake it to a depth of 5-7 cm. If the soil is dry, be sure to water it with a hose with a shower nozzle. Seeds are sown scattered, covered with a rake, sprinkled with earth or dug in. In just two weeks, shoots will appear.

Green manure can be grown both in unoccupied areas of soil and as an adjacent crop:

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

Effects of planting green manures of various families:

Nitrogen fixation from air: All legumes

Fixing nitrogen in the soil, preventing mineralization and leaching: All cruciferous and cereal grains

Erosion protection, weed suppression:
a) Early sowing before the beginning of August - Broad beans, clover, lupine, oilseed radish, annual ryegrass, spring rape, sunflower
b) Late sowing until early September - Mustard, phacelia
Formation of a large amount of organic matter during autumn sowing: Winter rapeseed, winter rapeseed

Release of sparingly soluble phosphate: Legumes, mustard

Reducing the leaching of mineral elements: All cruciferous vegetables, especially rapeseed and oilseed radish.

Loosening the lower layers of soil with roots: Lupine, broad beans, oilseed radish, mustard

Nematode suppression: All legumes, annual ryegrass, phacelia, sunflower

For late collection of honey by bees: Phacelia, mustard, clover, sunflower, broad beans.

Characteristics of some green manures.

Lupine (lat. Lupinus) lupine, wolf bean, is a genus of plants from the Legume family, grown in green manure fallows (for green manure). Thanks to symbiosis with nodule bacteria, lupine is capable of accumulating up to 200 kg of nitrogen per hectare in the soil and is an excellent green manure. The lupine root reaches a depth of 2 m and from there lifts nutrients into the top layer of soil. After lupine, you can grow almost all crops, especially those that require nitrogen.

Based on the content of alkaloids in the green mass, lupins are divided into alkaloid (bitter) and non-alkaloid (sweet). Alkaloid
lupins are used only for fertilizer, alkaloid-free lupins - the above-ground mass - for livestock feed, root and crop residues - for fertilizer. Lupine grows well in poor acidic soils and can consume forms of phosphates that are inaccessible to other crops as a source of phosphorus. Possessing a high ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, lupine provides this element not only for itself, but also for the crop that follows it. Lupines contain alkaloids, they are a kind of soil orderlies. The most common are annual and perennial lupins.

Lupine can be sown in late July - mid-August, after harvesting potatoes, cabbage, and green crops, but better in early spring, on well-moistened soil. As a result, a lot of vegetative mass is obtained, which is mowed, crushed and applied to the soil.

The optimal effect when feeding lupine with green mass is obtained if it is mowed at the beginning of flowering. In this case, the nitrogen contained in the leaves and stems is not yet converted into seed proteins.

Lupine grows the most greenery during the period of flower formation and flowering. And the maximum amount of nitrogen accumulates when the pods are set. At this moment, the lupine must be mowed, chopped and buried in the soil to a depth of 15-20 cm (the more green mass, the deeper). If this is not done in time, the stems will harden and will rot more slowly.

Some perennial lupins are used as ornamental plants.

Seradella sativa(Ornythopus sativus) is a genus of plants in the legume family. Seradella is a moisture-loving plant that grows well in light, slightly acidic soils. With sufficient moisture, Seradella grows well even on poor sandy and sandy loam soils; it produces high yields when applying manure or phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and treating the seeds with nitragine. Seradella is sown in early spring as an independent crop or sown with winter or spring cereal crops (oats, rye).

Sweet clover, burkun (Melilotus), a genus of biennial, less often annual, plants of the legume family. In cultivation, the most widespread are D. white (M. albus) and D. yellow, or medicinal (M. officinalis). It is sown in spring, summer or autumn (preferably in early spring). In crop rotation, they are often sown under the cover of grain crops, and in the second year they are used as a fallow crop. Sweet clover are plants that require neutral soils. Due to the large weight of the roots, the fertilizing value of sweet clover, even with a relatively low yield of above-ground mass, is very significant.

White mustard (Sinapis alba)

The annual oilseed plant, similar to the legumes described above, releases sparingly soluble phosphates. Can grow in any soil with a pH ranging from very acidic to alkaline.

Mustard sprouts quickly and grows quickly. The green mass is mowed when the leaves of the plant are fresh and juicy. It’s better to embed it in the soil or dig it in a little, and by autumn everything will have rotted. Optimal time cultivation - 8-10 weeks. Mustard is a honey plant.

And more information. White mustard (Sinapis alba) -an annual oilseed plant of the Cruciferous family, has the ability to release sparingly soluble phosphates. Can grow in any soil with a pH ranging from very acidic to alkaline. Seeds germinate at a temperature of - 3°C. The seedlings can withstand short-term frosts down to -5°C. Mustard is a honey plant.

Mustard sprouts quickly and grows quickly. The green mass is mowed when the leaves of the plant are fresh and juicy, preferably before mass flowering, because when harvesting at a later date, the leaves will begin to die off and the organic mass will decrease, and the ripened seeds will clog the bed. On average, the period from sowing to planting mustard in the soil is 55-70 days (8-10 weeks). It is better to plant it in the soil or dig it in a little, and by the fall everything will have rotted. The seed sowing rate is 2.5 - 4 g/m2. The depth of embedding in the soil is from 8-15 cm, sow lightly with a rake into the soil.The next crop is planted no earlier than 3-4 weeks after planting the green mass.

It is also important phytosanitary effects of mustard, after its planting, the incidence of plants with such common diseases as late blight, rhizoctonia, tuber scab, fusarium rot, incl. and potatoes. Sowing mustard reduces the number of wireworms in the soil; plowing white mustard in late autumn is also recommended; as a result of disruption of the wireworm's wintering, its death occurs.To increase the effectiveness of wireworm control, the seeding rate of mustard is increased to 5g/m2.

One of technologies for growing mustard as green manure using the drug"Baikal EM-1":

Mustard is sowed in the fall after harvesting or in the spring a month before planting potatoes and other vegetables. Seeds are planted to a depth of 1.5 - 2 cm completely or in rows. Shoots appear on 3-4 days. For feeding, it is good to use a solution of the drug "Baikal EM1" with a concentration of 1: 1000.

After 1 - 1.5 months, the mustard grows to 15-20 cm. It is cut and embedded in the soil with a Fokin flat cutter or a Strizh cultivator, after watering with a solution of the Baikal EM1 preparation at a concentration of 1:500. Treatment with the drug accelerates the fermentation process and creates favorable microbiological conditions, which leads to the enrichment of the soil with nutrients and microelements. After this, potatoes or other vegetables are planted.

Mustard is sown, grown and incorporated into the soil 2-3 times per season, the last time in the fall 1.5 months before frost, using a solution of the drug "Baikal EM1" concentration 1:100.

Packaging of 250 g is the seeding rate per 1 hectare. Mustard greens, lightly incorporated into the soil with a flat cutter, are 2 times more effective than manure.

Crops of green manure from the Cruciferous family cannot be alternated with other cruciferous vegetable crops (cabbage, turnips, radishes, radishes, mustard, etc.), since they have common diseases and pests.

Often a mixture of spring vetch or peas with mustard is used for green fertilizer. Mustard and oilseed radish (2:1), grown together, produce a large green mass and root mass.

Additionally, mustard powder can be used to protect plants. Dry mustard powder is used to pollinate the soil to protect against slugs, and mustard infusion is sprayed on fruit trees 15-20 days after flowering to combat leaf-eating insects and codling moth caterpillars. Gooseberries are sprayed in the first half of summer against moth and sawfly. The same infusion can be used to treat cabbage and root vegetables against aphids, bedbugs, and thrips. Preparation of infusion: 100 g of dry mustard per 10 liters of water, infuse for 2 days, filter. Dilute twice before use.

Oilseed radish(Raphanus sativus var. oleifera)

An annual plant of the Cruciferous family, a highly branched and spreading plant 1.5 - 2.0 m high with white-violet flowers, cold-resistant, moisture-loving, shade-tolerant and productive.

The height of its 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 oilseed radish at any time from early spring to late autumn, best timing- June July. If it is sown at the end of July - beginning of August, then by late autumn it will have time to grow a lot of green mass. To sow, mix a packet of seeds (50 grams) with a glass of dry sand, scatter over the area and harrow. Optimal depth seed placement is 2-3 cm. Seed consumption is 30-40 g per 10 sq.m. Digging of the soil and turnover of the layer is carried out as green mass accumulates during the flowering period.

Oilseed radish binds nitrogen well; when mixed 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 grapevine.

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

Rapeseed (lat. Brassica napus, also Brassica napus ssp. oleifera)

Enriches the soil with organic matter, phosphorus and sulfur. Rapeseed does not tolerate soggy soils, heavy clay areas and waterlogged soils. When growing rapeseed, the use of mineral fertilizers is required. The best soils for growing rapeseed are deep, structural loamy and clayey soils with a large supply of microelements and nutrients, and permeable subsoil. Rapeseed effectively prevents the growth of weeds when planted between perennial fruit and berry crops, and also increases soil fertility. Withstands frosts down to -2-5°C.

An annual winter or spring plant of the Cruciferous family, about 1.2 - 1.5 m high. The flowers are light yellow in color. There are spring and winter forms, which can transform into each other. After the seeds ripen, the pods of spring rape can open, then self-seeding occurs, and after overwintering, in the spring, some of the young plants grow back in the form of a winter form. 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 rapeseed at any time from early spring to late autumn, the best time is June-July. To sow, mix a bag of seeds with a glass of dry sand, scatter it over the area and harrow it. The optimal seeding depth is 2-3 cm. Seed consumption is 30-40 g per 10 sq.m. Digging of the soil and turnover of the layer is carried out as green mass accumulates during the flowering period.

One of the technologies for growing rapeseed as green manure using the preparation "Baikal EM-1":

Rapeseed seeds are sown evenly over the entire area of ​​land, followed by seeding with a rake. In autumn - after harvesting, in spring - 1 month before planting late vegetables. Seeding rate - 150 gr. per hundred. Shoots appear on 4-5 days. For feeding, use a solution of the drug "Baikal EM 1" at a concentration of 1:1000.

In 1-1.5 months, rapeseed grows to 20-30 cm. After which it is cut and embedded in the soil with a Strizh cultivator or a Fokina flat cutter, watering it with a solution of the Baikal EM 1 preparation in a concentration of 1:500 to speed up the fermentation process and create favorable microbiological background. In the fall, before the onset of frost, rapeseed is embedded in the soil, watered with a solution of the drug "Baikal EM 1" at a concentration of 1:100.

During a season, you can grow and plant rapeseed into the soil 2-3 times and, thereby, provide the soil with nutrients and microelements, as well as create high microbiological activity of the soil.

Crops of green manure from the cruciferous family cannot be interspersed with other cruciferous vegetable crops (cabbage, turnips, radishes, radishes, mustard, etc.), since they have common diseases and pests.

Annual or oilseed sunflower(lat. Heliаnthus аnuus)

Annual plant, deep root system, 150-200 cm and
produces a lot of compost mass. But if you use sunflower as a green fertilizer, you will have to give it up
sunny flower - do not let the crop grow too much, prune it when it rises by about half a meter. Can grow in any soil with a pH ranging from very acidic to alkaline.

Buckwheat (lat. Fagopyrum)

- root length reaches 80-150, is characterized by rapid growth, 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 an excellent honey plant. The best green manure for fruit trees and bushes, it does not dry out the soil. Especially recommended on poor, heavy, acidic soils, because... its deep branched root system greatly improves the soil structure. Excellent honey plant.

Cereals

Oats and rye enrich the soil with potassium using carbon dioxide from the air, enrich the soil with organic matter, while simultaneously improving its looseness, water and air permeability, especially on heavy clay and loamy soils. Moreover, everything that is taken from the soil comes back again. Due to the enrichment of organic matter, the water-holding capacity (moisture capacity) of light soils increases. grain crops improve the physical properties of the soil, enriching it with organic matter, nitrogen and potassium.

Winter rye is not used before sorrel and rhubarb. Rye has unique phytosanitary properties: it clears the area of ​​weeds (even perennial ones - wheatgrass, sow thistle, buttercup), because prevents weed seedlings from growing. Rye heals the soil well after potatoes (nematode infestation).

Winter rye is usually sown from August 25 to September 15, i.e. from mid-August to early September, so that before the onset persistent frosts it managed to reach a height of 20-25 cm. If you sow later than September, the plants will not yet be ready for winter and may freeze out. Approximate seed consumption per acre: 1.5-2.5 kg, you can sow in rows or evenly scattering the seeds.

In spring, rye grows well. close it up in the spring, when the stems are about 60 cm high, to a depth of 3-5 cm. Young and tender plants quickly decompose and enrich the soil with organic matter, nitrogen and potassium. The mass of buried greenery will be approximately 3-5 kg/m2, which is equivalent to applying an average dose of manure. Rye is mowed a week or two before planting the main crop. If the weather is dry, water the bed well to speed up the process of processing green mass into fertilizer.

The disadvantage of using rye as a green fertilizer is its strong drying effect on the soil, so it is better to use it in conditions of sufficient moisture.

Sometimes green manures with different properties are sown together; an example is “vegetable-oat mixture” - green manure from legumes and cereal crop, enriches the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, prevents the leaching of humus, and loosens the soil well. Plants can withstand frosts down to 5-7°C. Not demanding on soil, tolerates cold, drought, and shading well. A good precursor for crops that require a lot of nitrogen. Oats enrich the soil with potassium, loosen and structure the soil well.

Technology for growing "vico-oat mixture" using the preparation "Baikal EM-1":

Seeds are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm with a distance between rows of 7-12 cm, or sown randomly over the entire planting area. Optimal time Sowing seeds is the end of April, the beginning of May, or a month and a half before the onset of cold weather. The sowing rate is 1.8-2.0 kg per 1 hectare. After the emergence of seedlings, it is good to use a solution of the drug “Baikal EM 1” at a concentration of 1:1000 for feeding.

Plants are pruned during the budding period and embedded in the soil with a Strizh cultivator or a Fokina flat cutter, watered with a solution of the Baikal EM1 preparation at a concentration of 1:100 to accelerate fermentation and create a favorable microbiological background.

Incorporation of vetch-oat mixture into the soil, carried out 1-2 times per season with watering with a solution of the Baikal EM1 preparation, ensures high microbiological activity of the soil, supplying it with nutrients and microelements.

Often a mixture of spring vetch or peas with mustard is used for green fertilizer.

Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.)

An annual plant of the Waterfolia family, a valuable honey plant. Characterized by rapid growth and accumulation of large amounts of green mass. The Phacelia root covers a soil depth of 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 not fussy, it is cold-resistant, and can withstand frosts down to -7 -9 ° C in the fall, so it can be sown immediately after the soil thaws.

By sowing phacelia in the spring in the beds and then planting seedlings of vegetables (zucchini, cabbage, etc.) on it, you can thus protect the seedlings from temperature changes at night, and during the day there will be shade and protection from the wind. Seedlings are planted in phacelia beds by making holes and then sprinkle them with compost. After 5-7 days, the phacelia is cut off and the soil in the same beds is mulched with it.

You can sow phacelia at any time from early spring to late autumn, the best time is June-July. To sow, mix a bag of seeds with a glass of dry sand, scatter it over the area and harrow it. The optimal seeding depth is 2-3 cm. Seed consumption is 150-200 g. per hundred. Digging of the soil and turnover of the layer is carried out as green mass accumulates during the flowering period.

In one season you can get 2-3 crop rotations. the period from sowing to the beginning of flowering is 40-45 days.
After three weeks of flowering, mow the grass and dig up the area, burying the green mass. The thicker you sow the grass, the more green mass there is and the more it is processed by the roots of the soil. After the first digging, the processed soil is lowered down onto the bayonet of the shovel, and the unprocessed soil rises to the surface from below. To efficiently process the soil using a spade, you need to once again sow phacelia seeds on the newly raised soil. After such soil processing in the fall, you will receive a high-quality layer of light, fertile soil.

Autumn and winter sowings are also highly effective, making it possible to obtain enriched soil in early spring even before planting the main crops.
crops To improve the quality of the land (if the area is already sown), in the fall after harvesting, sow the area with phacelia. 1-2 months before frost, the phacelia will grow and improve the quality of the soil.

Vegetable crops do not get sick, grow faster, and there are no barren flowers. Sow phacelia around beds, bushes, trees to disinfect the area and pollinate.

To increase the potato yield, after hilling, sow phacelia in strips between the rows - it will help the top layer of soil not to compact, retain moisture, and provide additional oxygen access to the tubers. Promotes growth and quality ripening of tubers.

Phytosanitary properties of Phacelia:

Phacelia is good at displacing weeds from its site. Planting phacelia in acidic soils helps change the acidity of the soil from acidic to neutral, which can be used to control weeds that prefer acidic soils, such as woodlice.

Green manures are plants that you cannot do without on your site. They restore soil fertility, suppress weed growth and perform other important functions. That's why every gardener should know everything about them.

The best types of green manure

The ancient Greeks already knew about green manure plants, or green manure. Greek gardeners actively used them to protect plantings from hypothermia and overheating, cleanse the soil of pests and enrich the soil with organic matter. When ready-made mineral supplements appeared, they were undeservedly forgotten, but today “green fertilizers” are again at the peak of popularity. How could it be otherwise if they are so useful?

What are green manures and what are they for?

Green manure is a group of plants planted on a plot of land not for harvest. Why plant something that doesn't bear fruit? - beginning gardeners will ask. And then, thanks to clover, alfalfa or phacelia, you get a unique opportunity to reap a rich harvest every year and get rid of many problems at once. For example, you won’t have to fight weeds from season to season and spend money on ready-made fertilizers. So, what can green manure “do”? What are they needed for?

Green manure is a valuable source of potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and other substances necessary for effective growth. Conclusion: do you want rich harvests? Sow green helpers on your plot!

What plants are green manure plants?

The green manure class includes representatives of legumes, cruciferous crops, buckwheat, grains and some other crops. Let's get acquainted with the most common of them.

Lupine

This plant enriches the earth with phosphorus and potassium. Its nutritional value is equal to that of manure. In a short period of time, it forms dense greenery, which, growing by leaps and bounds, saturates the soil with valuable microelements. Particularly useful for sandy areas with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Easily processes complexly soluble components, turning them into easily digestible ones. garden plantings substances. An excellent phytosanitary. Effective against nematodes, potato scab, root rot. A good neighbor for cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums. It is noteworthy that the “work” of this green manure is noticeable over several seasons.

Clover

White or red meadow clover - perennial with branched stems, curly leaves and spherical flowers. Roots lying deep in the soil provide moisture and air exchange. Enriches the composition of the earth, saturates it with potassium and nitrogen. Easy to care for, grows well in the shade. A good product for protecting soil from erosion. Phytosanitary. Combines the properties of green manure and an effective decorative element. A beautiful lawn is not only an excellent fertilizer, but also a noticeable decoration of a cottage or garden.

Oilseed radish

A member of the cruciferous family is valued for its resistance to low temperatures, drought and rapid adaptation to environmental conditions. Best time for sowing - from early June to early September. There are 3 crop rotations per season. Oilseed radish is indispensable on clayey, compacted soils. Effectively loosens the soil, saturates it with sulfur and phosphorus, normalizes structure and reaction, and destroys pathogenic microorganisms. It has been noted that planting this green manure helps to significantly reduce the spread of wheatgrass.

Phacelia

Can act as a precursor for any garden crops. Actively suppresses the proliferation of weeds, easily tolerates shade, drought and temperatures down to -9 degrees. An excellent honey plant that accelerates pollination and fruit appearance. The fragrant nectar attracts insects that eat pests - leaf rollers and apple blossom beetle. The proximity to phacelia destroys soil nematodes and wireworms. Universal green manure enriches the soil with phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen and organic matter. By influencing the acidity and structure of the soil, it fights tenacious weeds and increases the yield of vegetables and fruits.

Buckwheat

This cereal crop is one of the best among green manure crops. It grows at lightning speed not only upwards, but also deeper. The developed root system perfectly loosens and structures the soil. The formic, oxalic and citric acids released by it dissolve heavy phosphorus compounds and make them easily digestible for garden plants. Shades the soil with branched shoots, increases fertility and actively suppresses the growth of weeds. Buckwheat is the best predecessor for vegetables and fruit trees. Grows on any soil, even poor, acidic and heavy.

Oats

A well-deserved favorite of summer residents and gardeners. It is undemanding to the soil, but experts advise planting it on peat and sour lands. Contains substances that kill the causative agent of root rot. Oats are valued for their excellent ability to drain, loosen, structure and lighten the soil. It is with the sowing of this fodder crop that the development of the swamp begins. Due to intensive tillering, it inhibits the growth of weeds. It is rich in potassium, which means there is no better precursor for tomatoes, eggplants, peppers (vegetables that are demanding of this element).

Rye

Frost-resistant crop, often used for winter sowing. It suppresses well not only the growth of weeds, but also its closest neighbors - do not grow this cereal in joint plantings. Cut it 3 weeks before planting pumpkins, zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers. But if you want to “bring to life” lands where nothing but thistle, wheatgrass, bindweed and woodlice grows, then rye will cope with such a difficult task “excellently”. will become quick fix improvement of waterlogged, clayey and heavy soils. It will saturate the soil with useful microelements, loosen it, destroy pests, and increase moisture capacity and air permeability.

White mustard

Valuable green manure and excellent honey plant. It has been noted that crushed mustard greens embedded in the ground are 2 times more effective than manure. Quickly clears the soil malicious pest carrots and potatoes - wireworms. The essential oils contained in the plant will also help against rhizoctonia, scab, slugs, and pea codling moth. When planted between rows of berry bushes and fruit trees, it reduces the rate of weed spread. Mustard grows quickly in any conditions. Seed germination is observed even at sub-zero temperatures. Young seedlings easily tolerate frosts down to -5 degrees. Converts hard-to-find nutrients into easily accessible ones. Contains a large amount of protein. Reliably protects the soil from erosion, dehydration and freezing.

Alfalfa

A cold-resistant and drought-resistant plant with many undeniable advantages. After decomposition, the green mass becomes an easily digestible fertilizer containing a whole range of nutritional components. Powerful roots deeply loosen the soil, significantly improve its quality, and increase moisture and air permeability. Alfalfa retains atmospheric nitrogen and kills weeds. Reduces plant disease and increases productivity. The honey and fodder crop grows quickly in any conditions. Ideal for improving heavily neglected, depleted areas.

Rape

An annual plant known for its ability to quickly grow green mass and replenish the soil with organic matter. Prevents the leaching of useful substances from the soil. Deep roots loosen the soil and increase its moisture and air capacity. Rapeseed has high phytosanitary properties. Suitable for the prevention of diseases (scab, rhizoctonia) and pests (wireworms). Improves the feeding conditions of worms, which in turn increases productivity. Do not plant it in swampy, waterlogged areas.

Some flowers also act as green manure. Marigold will save you from aphids and the Colorado potato beetle. Nasturtium - a useful mulching material and an effective “cure” against caterpillars and whiteflies. Calendula will help get rid of ticks and butterflies.

When can you sow?

Green manure is sown in spring, summer and autumn. In the spring, planting green fertilizers will improve soil fertility and provide seedlings with favorable conditions for growth. Here it is important to choose the time so that the green manure grows a little before transferring the seedlings to the beds. Experienced gardeners It is recommended to plant seedlings directly into the thickets of green orderlies. This way they will be reliably protected from the heat of the day and the cold in the evening.

When buds form on the defenders or they provide too much shade, prune them with a cultivator. Use the resulting mass as mulch. In spring, phacelia, mustard, rapeseed, and rapeseed are usually sown. Before planting seedlings, green manure is trimmed, and the green mass is left as mulching material. If the green fertilizers are not too high, do not cut them off, but place the seedlings directly into their holes.

Green manure is also planted in summer and autumn. There is a rule: if you have collected potatoes, onions, cabbage, garlic, immediately sow green manure. After a couple of weeks, cut to a depth of 4 cm and water with Vostok (effective microorganisms). This will significantly speed up the formation of the fertile layer. To improve the effect, cover with film.

Plant this way: lightly loosen the ground, form furrows, cover with seeds and cover with soil. Some summer residents scatter seeds on loose soil and “comb” the plantings with a rake. Could be so.

When and how to clean?

Many novice gardeners dig up green manure. And they make a big mistake. You can't do this. Digging reduces efforts to improve the soil to zero. After all, it is the rotting of the roots that improves the physical properties of the earth.

What and how to remove green fertilizers? Green manure should be cut with a cultivator or flat cutter. Pruning is done during budding or after flowering. Overgrown plants take longer to rot, produce little nitrogen and sometimes turn sour.

The tool must be well sharpened. Trim at a distance of 2-3 cm from the surface. The roots must remain in the soil. Then the area is treated with a solution of “Vostok”, “Baikal” or “Siyanie”. The listed EM preparations promote faster decomposition of plant residues.

The cut tops can be used for mulching, or can be put into compost or added to liquid root dressing.

Remember the important rules

There are several important rules to follow when planting green manures.

• plant seeds in loose, moist soil;
• green manure and main crops must be from different families - related plants consume the same nutrients from the soil and suffer from the same diseases;
• sow as densely as possible;
• at least 14 days must pass between planting garden plants and pruning green manure;
• do not plant the same green manures - alternate and combine them;
• take care that the seeds are not eaten by birds;
• do not leave the soil empty: once you have harvested the crop, immediately sow green manure. This way you won’t give weeds a chance and get the maximum benefit from your green helpers.

As you can see, green manure is truly indispensable in a country house or garden plot. Don't neglect opportunities natural fertilizers and then your lands will be fertile and your harvests will be truly rich.

Video: Green manure in the garden.

Mustard is a favorite green manure among adherents of eco-farming. It can replace fungicides, insecticides, free you from labor-intensive digging of the earth, and free your site from many weeds. And all because mustard has unique properties that many gardeners have already discovered.

Mustard is a healthy green manure

There are many types of mustard in nature. The most popular of them: Sarepta (Russian, gray), black (French, real) and white (English). The latter is precisely used as green manure.

Yellow mustard is a common name for white mustard. Its seeds are white and its flowers are yellow.

Mustard is called white because of the color of the seeds; in other species they are black or brown.

All types of mustard have similar properties, are used in cooking and medicine, have a burning taste and pungent aroma, and have antiseptic and antifungal effects. Apparently, white mustard is more widespread and inexpensive in Russia, which is why its seeds are sold as green manure in large volumes.

Mustard has a beneficial effect not only on human body, but also on the soil. It also fights viruses and fungi and repels many pests. That is why it is often alternated with potatoes. The earth is freed from late blight and wireworm. In addition, crop rotation is carried out.

Mustard belongs to the Brassica family, so it attracts cruciferous flea beetles. Do not sow it in front of cabbage, turnips, radishes and other cruciferous vegetables. And do not alternate these crops in one area. In addition to common pests, they have the same diseases.

Video: mustard has grown

The early maturity and frost resistance of mustard allow it to be grown in the spring, before heat-loving crops, and at the end of summer - in the fall, after harvesting early vegetables. Seeds are sown before winter. Young plants do not have coarse fibers. Mowed before flowering, they quickly rot and turn into humus - food for plants. The roots are fibrous and thin; they are left in the ground. Penetrating the upper layer like capillaries, they make the soil breathable and loose.

Mustard roots penetrate the soil, making it loose

Mustard, sown thickly and very early in the spring, is a strong competitor for weeds that are just beginning to emerge from the ground. It suppresses them with its large leaves and succulent stems, preventing them from reaching the sun, taking away food and water.

Even in a whole field of mustard you will not find a single weed.

Mustard is the first green manure that I tested on my site and was incredibly pleased. My potatoes stopped hurting. Two years with mustard, and the worst weed, the loach, which entwined everything it came across, is leaving my garden. Nowadays only rare specimens are found. And also: my acquaintance with mustard was the beginning of a heavenly life. I haven’t dug the soil for two years, and everything is growing great!
In addition to mustard, I grow phacelia, vetch, rye, oats, and clover. Cereals have powerful roots; I sow them along the fence so as not to introduce weeds into the garden. Vetch and clover use nodules on their roots to concentrate nitrogen in the arable layer. I sow phacelia in front of cabbage; it does not attract flea beetles, grows in lush, low bushes and serves as a living mulch, retaining moisture. Each green manure is good in its own way. It's impossible to say that one is better. And you can’t grow mustard in one place every year. Green manure also needs crop rotation.

Video: mustard and phacelia in one area

Application technology

As soon as the soil thaws and dries, I loosen the top layer with a flat cutter and use it to cut rows 2–3 cm deep. I sprinkle the seeds thickly and level the area. None return frosts they are not afraid of mustard, even here in Siberia. If it’s really cold, it will wait in the ground and emerge later. I don’t water it, I don’t take care of it in any way. The time has come to plant the main crop, the mustard is still low, so I make holes right in its rows. I cut it when the green manure gains color, and immediately leave it as mulch. All! As you can see: there was no need to dig the ground. I plant potatoes for mustard, they grow beautifully: the bushes are healthy, the tubers are large.

Rules for sowing and using mustard:

• Sowing time: early spring, after harvesting early vegetables and before winter.
• Sowing scheme: scattered or in rows every 10–15 cm.
• Seed consumption: 150–300 g per hundred square meters.
• Mowing time: when the plants grow to 20–30 cm. You need to do it before the mustard greens become coarse and seeds form.

If you wait until the pods form, the mustard will turn into a weed: the seeds will spread throughout the area with tops or the wind

How to use:

• Cut it with a flat cutter, burying it 2-3 cm into the ground, and leave the mustard greens in place. In hot weather it will dry out and replace mulch for a while, and in damp weather it will rot immediately and enrich the soil with organic matter.

  Green manure is cut with a flat cutter just below ground level

• Sow mustard 1.5–2 months before the onset of cold weather and leave unmown. In winter it will serve as snow retention, and in spring it will protect against the formation of crust on the ground and erosion. Before planting the main crop, rake and compost or use as mulch.

  If you leave the mustard until spring, it will, of course, freeze and dry out, and in the spring it will lie on the ground like hay

• Cut it and use it together with other grass to prepare green fertilizer.

  Mustard continues to play the role of phytosanitary even as part of green fertilizer

• Place the green mass under warm beds.

  Green manure is placed in warm beds

• Mow with a trimmer, which will chop up the greens, and embed into the soil with a shovel, flat cutter or motor cultivator.

  Mechanisms such as trimmers and cultivators are often used for mowing and cultivating mustard.

However, supporters natural farming I am categorically against digging up the earth, and therefore putting green manure into it.

When growing green manure, the main thing is not to dig up the soil and not to get carried away with one type of plant. Green manure needs to be changed every season, then the soil will become more fertile.

http://sadovymir.ru/article/?ELEMENT_ID=1622

I know from my own experience that mustard roots make the soil loose, and this frees them from digging. But if you dig up the ground anyway, and think that without this agricultural technique nothing will grow, then in the fall you can bury the green manure. One day, when all the crops were harvested, I conducted an experiment. I decided to improve small area land. To do this, I dug trenches bayonet deep and placed tops, weeds and green manure there. Nearby, in parallel, she was digging the next one. The excavated soil was used to cover the previous one, already filled with grass. As a result, the area became higher. In the spring I leveled it with a rake and planted potatoes. It was there that it turned out to be the most fruitful. So this method of planting green manure has already been tested, but it is too labor-intensive, just like plowing greenery into the ground. That’s why I no longer lay trenches, I don’t dig the ground, and I don’t cover green manure, I just cut it off. They improve the soil without any digging.