It is possible to increase the fertility of the soil depleted by frequent plantings with complexes of mineral fertilizers or use an alternative option - to sow the beds with green manure. The most important thing in this matter is to choose the right type of plant. How to choose and sow to get an excellent result, we will tell you in order.
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What are siderates for?
Siderata are a separate group of plants that are sown before the main crops are planted or on vacated beds to improve the properties of the soil.
The main benefits of green manure:
- Saturation of the soil with nitrogen and other minerals.
- Rapid formation of humus in soil layers.
- Aeration of the soil.
- They prevent the washing out of nutrients.
- Promotes better water permeability - the earth does not dry out.
- Protection against soil erosion.
- Do not allow weeds to germinate.
- Some species help to get rid of pests.
The most effective helpers
In practical application in agriculture and in summer cottages, the highest efficiency was shown by:
- Siderata of the legume family, such as peas, both field and garden peas, clover, lupine and broad beans.
- Cereals such as buckwheat, phacelia, rye and oats.
- Representatives of the cruciferous family are winter rapeseed, mustard, oil radish.
How to choose the right siderates
The selection of green manure should be carried out taking into account the initial quality of the soil:
- For clayey soil, legumes, mustard, lupine or oil radish are suitable - they will make the soil softer and easier to process.
- Cruciferous plants will help to avoid the leaching of nutrients in soils prone to erosion, on slopes.
- To quickly enrich the soil with nitrogen, legumes are usually planted - one of the most commonly used types of green manure. And if you add phacelia or sunflower to the legumes, then the pests will cease to annoy garden crops.
- Rape and rapeseed will help fill depleted soils qualitatively and quickly with organic matter.
Sowing rules and tips for growing
The standard rule for sowing siderates is autumn sowing after harvest, as well as in the spring as a preparation of the beds for planting fruit-bearing crops. Also, each species has its own characteristics that need to be considered:
- For winter vetch, the best sowing period is from July in the northern regions to August in the southern regions. Like all legumes, it is better to plant it together with other green manures, for example, with winter rye, so that the climbing plant has a support. The soil is loosened, seeds of legumes are scattered, and after a few days cereals are sown. In the spring, after digging, the beds are ready for sowing other crops.
- For the northern regions, spring vetch is more suitable, which can be dug up before winter, planting after early maturing vegetables. You can also plant it in the spring and dig it up before flowering, and then plant later varieties of other crops.
- Broad beans go well with field peas or vetch. The seeds are buried in the ground 5 cm in the fall, and the greens are cut off in the spring for compost.
- Mustard grows quickly even in cold weather, so you can have time to sow it in the spring and dig it up before planting vegetable seedlings on the beds, and also embed it in the soil in the fall, if sown in August. Plant mustard between the beds to keep pests out of your plants.
- Lupines are sown in late summer and mowed before flowering in September.
- Winter rye is sown at the end of August, and mowed and dug up in spring.
- You can choose any time for phacelia. A mixture of seeds and sand is scattered and then the soil is shallowly loosened.
- The rape is sown in September and dug up in early spring.
- Spring rape is planted in August and cut before flowers appear. Winter rape is sown later, closer to the middle of autumn and left until spring.
- Oil-bearing radish, not demanding to the conditions, is sown from the beginning of summer to the end of autumn.
Special recommendations:
- Do not overexpose green manure in the beds - plant only young plants that are better in the soil accumulate useful substances and quickly rot so that after a couple of weeks you can plant the main culture. Mature plants rot better in compost heaps.
- Observe the rules of crop rotation - it is unacceptable to sow green manures belonging to the same genus as the future crop.
- If you urgently need to plant vegetables, then do not leave all the greens of the siderates, but cut off some and take them to the compost, and dig up the rest.
- Don't let the seeds ripen.
As you can see, there is nothing difficult in sowing green manure instead of using chemical fertilizers, and the benefits of "green fertilizers" can bring no less. Be sure to try green manure on your site, and you will definitely get a rich and healthy harvest.
Do you know how to enrich soil without chemicals?
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