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Sowing green manure in spring and autumn helps to significantly improve the condition of the soil, saturate it with useful elements.
Siderata plants are planted before planting vegetables or in empty areas, then the seedlings will need to be cut with a pruner or flat cutter and left in the garden. The second option involves digging the green mass together with the soil. As a result of decomposition of stems and roots, the earth is saturated with nitrogenous compounds, becomes breathable and light. The activity of pathogenic microorganisms and fungi is suspended in the soil.
To get the most out of siderates, you need to know which crops to sow in the greenhouse and in the open field at what time.
The group of plants used for green manure includes a variety of crops, each of which has its own effect, changing the quality, composition and acidity of the soil. Typically, green manures are sown after the crop has moved from the garden to storage in order to prepare the soil for growing a new crop as permitted by the crop rotation rules.
Some of the siderates are sown mainly in spring, others can be planted throughout the season, some crops are more suitable for autumn planting. In addition, it is taken into account what vegetables will be planted after soil greening. Several major crops are considered the best among the green manure.
Sowing mustard seeds is carried out as soon as the earth is saturated with melt water. After 7-9 weeks, the seedlings can be mowed and plowed (preventing the plants from blooming), and after another 2 weeks, planting a vegetable crop. Mustard successfully copes with scab and late blight in the garden, for this reason it is often sown in beds with nightshade crops (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, pepper). In autumn, green manure can be sown in September after harvest. In this case, crops are mown in the spring.
Unpretentious green manure, the use of which allows you to get high yields. The plant is not afraid of frost, grows on soils of any type, easily withstands drought. Phacelia greens grow rapidly, the plant looks very decorative. Phacelia is sown in early spring. Its seedlings contain many phytoncides, which are harmful to pathogenic soil microflora.
The powerful roots of green manure loosen the dense soil, and the loose soil, on the contrary, strengthens it. Mowing and digging greens with the ground begins 40 days after planting. The plant is considered one of the best green manure for the garden. When using it, the soil is enriched with several macro- and microelements at once.
The crop gains green mass very quickly and serves as an excellent fertilizer for other plants. In particular, rapeseed enriches the soil with organic matter, phosphorus and sulfur, and very quickly restores soil fertility. Due to the high content of essential oils, rapeseed destroys pathogens of fungal and bacterial infections, repels harmful insects. The long roots of the plant loosen the soil well, prevent soil erosion and weed growth. The culture does not grow very well on clay soils, as it can hardly tolerate stagnant water.
The plant saturates the soil well with nitrogen, loosens the soil, improves the composition of the soil microflora. The culture loves moisture, but stagnant water should not be allowed. Sow clover as soon as the snow melts. Mow the green mass before flowering. After culture, you can plant potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, nightshade plants. Clover is not planted after legumes due to its vulnerability to the same diseases.
Oat seedlings contain a lot of phosphorus, potassium, vegetable protein. The culture is planted on dense soils to loosen them and on loose soils to strengthen them. When planted tightly, oats prevent weeds from growing. The culture can replace manure, as it contains large doses of nitrogen. It is recommended to sow green manure together with peas and vetch. Sowing is carried out in mid-spring, summer and early autumn.
Siderata are good because they have a short growing season. They can be sown and mowed several times in one season.
In the spring, greening takes place at an accelerated pace. During this period, usually sown:
Siderata fill free areas, where it was decided to give the land a rest and recover. Sideration successfully helps in solving this problem. Sowing is also carried out in the beds before planting seedlings. Different siderates are suitable for each culture.
The main goal of potato greening is to avoid various diseases and pest attacks. In this regard, several green manure plants help the culture at once:
Better to use a seed mixture. For example, peas are often sown under potatoes along with barley or oats. By sowing phacelia and mustard at the same time, you can scare away the wireworm. Alfalfa, sweet clover and vetch will supply the crop with a large amount of nitrogen, completely replacing manure.
Before planting potatoes, they never sided the ground with cereals, since they do not scare away the wireworm, but, on the contrary, attract it.
Cabbage requires a lot of nitrogen to grow leaves and form heads. If the soil is depleted, it is imperative to carry out green manure in order to increase the fertility of the soil.
It is best to enrich the soil with nitrogenous compounds:
When sowing a mixture of clover, lupine and phacelia, cabbage pests will be expelled from the garden and pathogenic bacteria will be destroyed. The main thing is not to sow plants from the cruciferous family (radish, mustard, rapeseed).These crops suffer from the same diseases as cabbage and can contribute to their spread.
Cucumbers have a superficial root system, therefore, for good crop development, it is necessary that nutrients are concentrated in the upper layers of the soil. Tomatoes like loose and fertile soil, rich in potassium and nitrogen. The soil in the greenhouse especially needs improvement. To meet the needs of the crop and to weed less often the plantings, you can plant green manures in the tomato garden after the tomato seedlings take root and grow.
It is best to saturate the soil with minerals before planting cucumbers and tomatoes:
Siderat crops can grow simultaneously with cucumbers. In this case, sowing is carried out between rows. The taste of the harvested fruit is significantly improved with this growing method.
In the greenhouse, the siderates are sown as soon as a slight positive temperature is established. It should be borne in mind that seedlings are mowed at least 14 days before planting the main crop, since the decomposition process of the resulting organic matter can inhibit the growth of the planted seedlings. In unprotected soil, the timing is shifted forward by about 2 weeks, since the sowing of vegetables and planting of seedlings here occur later.
Seeds are sown into grooves 7–8 cm deep, trying to spread them evenly. The second method involves sowing siderates randomly: seeds or grains are scattered over the surface of the garden bed, sprinkled with dry earth on top. Then the soil is compacted with a shovel or mulch.
The seed consumption rate should be such that the crops are dense (about 2 kg per 1 hundred square meters).
The soil greening is started in autumn when the beds have already been cleared of plant residues after harvesting. Sowing dates depend on the region, it is also necessary to take into account how resistant the selected crop is to low temperatures.
Features of autumn greening:
If time is lost, you can plant winter cereals (rye, oats). They are sown in late autumn; entrances will appear with the arrival of heat in spring. To protect against frost, cereals are mulched with straw.
Not all summer residents know how to do the right thing with autumn green manure - to mow them or leave them until spring. The solution to this question depends mainly on when the crops were sown:
Digging allows you to deliver green fertilizers to deeper layers of the soil, loosens the soil well, contributing to its aeration and water permeability. For these works, you can use a shovel or use a cultivator.
Siderata are best planted every year without interruption, alternating cultures with each other. This method of growing vegetables allows you to abandon the use of manure and chemical fertilizers. The quality of the crop when using green manure is always pleasing. Fruits are large, juicy and abundant.
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