Experienced summer residents grow siderates on their plots, knowing about their benefits. For those who are not in the know, I will explain: green manure crops, along with organic and mineral fertilizers, improve the structure of the soil, enrich it with nutrients, and inhibit the growth of weeds. In the fall, after harvesting, they are sown in the vacated beds, and then the resulting green mass is mowed and embedded in the soil to enrich its composition.
Many will ask when it is necessary to mow green fertilizers - in autumn or spring? Both options are correct. Most often, siderates need to be mowed in the fall, but in some cases, when they are sown late, it is better to wait for the arrival of spring. I will share with you my personal experience and knowledge on how to determine when it is time to mow green manure crops.
Autumn siderates
Green fertilizers, sown in late summer or early autumn, immediately after harvesting from the crop beds, manage to build up the green mass before the onset of cold weather. In order to prevent seeding, it is necessary to clean them as the greenery grows. Otherwise, plant seeds may fall into the ground and not only germinate in the beds, but also spread throughout the site. This is especially true for plants such as clover, lupine, alfalfa.
I advise you to water the remains of the cut green manure crops with a solution of the EM-preparation for their better ripening.
Sowing on vacated beds of the following green manure plants: lupine, vetch, clover, radish, buckwheat, mustard, phacelia, rapeseed, etc.
Podzimnye green manure
Green fertilizers sown at the very end of autumn will not have time to build up the green mass before the beginning of winter. But this is not a reason to abandon the winter sowing of green manure. They successfully overwinter in the beds. This is especially true for winter crops: rye, oats, barley and other cereals. Sowing of the aforementioned legumes (clover, lupine, etc.) and cruciferous plants (mustard, rapeseed, etc.) is also allowed.
Almost all of these plants have time to form a root system during the winter, but they will increase the aboveground mass with the arrival of spring. Harvesting of crops overwintered in the ground, as a rule, is carried out closer to planting or sowing of the main cultivated crops.
I do not advise to carry out the autumn mowing of green manure, which before the onset of winter managed to only partially increase the above-ground shoots.
Feel free to leave green fertilizers in the beds until spring arrives - nothing will happen to their roots in the soil, and the lodged tops will provide the earth with protection from freezing.
I hope that my advice on when is the best time to mow green manure will be useful to you. Of course, there are exceptions to the rules, but in any case, first of all, be guided by the time of sowing green fertilizers and the functions assigned to them.
Read also: Planting onions before winter: rules and tricks
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