Sweet clover green manure: characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, white, yellow, reviews

Content

1 Characteristics and types
2 Advantages and disadvantages of sweet clover as green manure
3 For which crops is it suitable?
4 When to sow sweet clover as green manure
5 Landing technology
6 Care instructions
7 Mowing and embedding into the soil
8 Conclusion
9 Reviews on the use of sweet clover as green manure

Chemical fertilizers are extremely effective, but they cause damage to fauna. Due to frequent use, beneficial insects, worms, and bacteria die. Gradually, agricultural technicians begin to view such means with doubt and pay more and more attention to green manure. This term refers to the saturation of the soil as a result of rotting of agricultural plants. Sweet clover has been used as green manure for a very long time, and its popularity is well deserved.

Characteristics and types

Sweet clover is a biennial plant belonging to the Legume family. Miniature leaves are scattered along its stem. They have a dark green color. During the flowering period, the crop attracts pollinators. The buds are small in size, yellow or white.

Green manure residues decompose within one year

By the end of summer, beans are formed, which are necessary for reproduction. The roots of sweet clover grow up to 150 cm and perfectly loosen the top layers of soil. The root system absorbs nutrients and moisture, making gardener care an optional procedure.

Advice! Green manure is resistant to high temperatures and can go without moisture for a long time. Sweet clover is also adapted to cold weather, which is why it is so popular in Russia.

There are more than five dozen varieties. Among the most common are annual, perennial, yellow and white.

Yellow sweet clover is a biennial variety. In early June, flowers form on the stems. If a gardener wants to catch flowering, the crop is sown in an amount of 120 g per 10 square meters. m.

From 1 hectare of land with the yellow variety you can get more than 300 kg of honey - green manure is honey-bearing

White sweet clover is less common. It is grown for livestock feed. The plant is also not afraid of drought and forms buds in early summer. Flowering lasts an average of 20 days, the aroma attracts bees.

Honey production per 1 hectare of land – 400-500 kg

Attention! Artificial varieties are usually used as green manure, since they have inherited the best properties of their parents.

Advantages and disadvantages of sweet clover as green manure

Yellow clover is good in many ways, for example, as a green manure it saturates the soil with all the necessary elements. Other advantages include the following:

Preventing soil destruction. Powerful roots grow well, preventing erosion.
Disinfection. Sweet clover contains substances that kill harmful bacteria. After green manure, the risk of infection is reduced several times.
Improving the quality of the land. In place of the rotted roots, cavities remain, which serve as ventilation and a drainage system.
Reducing the number of pests. Green manure contains coumarin and other elements that irritate insects. During cultivation, the most annoying pests disappear - aphids and wireworms.
Reduced acidity.Sweet clover is cultivated in acidic soils because it changes the reaction towards neutral.
Preventing salinity. The root system releases carbonic acid - it prevents soil salinization.
Weed control. Green manure grows actively, displacing weeds. The grass has no chance to fight the sweet clover; their roots are not so strong.
Unpretentiousness. The culture grows on loamy, sandy, acidified, saline soils. If the owner feeds it, it will bloom without any problems even in a depleted area.

In addition to the above, sweet clover attracts pollinators, which is good for the vegetable garden

Sweet clover also has disadvantages:

Fast ripening. The shoots become coarse soon after flowering. At the same time, the value of the plant as green manure disappears. If you miss the mowing time, the soil will end up with poor vegetation.
Low immunity. Sweet clover is often affected by powdery mildew. The owner will need to spray the plantings regularly.
Poor growth in humid environments. Over-watering should not be allowed - green manure likes to “drink” in moderate sips.

Advice! If crop growth begins to slow down, it is necessary to reduce watering and also check the bushes for damage.

For which crops is it suitable?

After sweet clover, most agricultural plants are grown: tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, cabbage, zucchini, carrots. This is just a small list. In fact, gardeners increase the yield of many other crops. The nutrients in green manure last for 1-1.5 years. This means that there is no need to fertilize for the first time.

Sweet clover is not suitable for growing legumes, since it itself belongs to them. Peas and beans do not grow well in such soil. Otherwise, yellow sweet clover as a green manure has universal application.

When to sow sweet clover as green manure

Botanists advise starting sowing in the spring. The procedure is also carried out in summer and autumn. The dates are selected depending on the region. In the Moscow region they are planted in March or April. At the same time, there should be no cold at night.

With late sowing, sweet clover will enter the growth phase in early spring

In summer they are sown after harvesting, in autumn - in September and the first half of October. If the weather remains warm, the green manure will have time to take root and survive the winter.

Attention! You cannot sow sweet clover after plants affected by powdery mildew. Even if the previous crop is no longer there, fungal spores may remain in the soil.

Landing technology

Before starting work, you need to treat the beds. In clay soils, deep furrows are dug, but if the soil is light, a depth of 11-13 cm is sufficient. Fertilizer containing mineral and organic additives is laid. You can use store-bought compost or freshly prepared compost.

Planting material should be soaked in warm water and left in a glass for 4-5 hours. The fluid is changed several times. After the procedure, the seeds are immersed in a solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes. The processed raw materials are washed and dried again.

Advice! It is better to place the grains separately so that they do not stick to each other.

Sweet clover as green manure is sown together with sand. This is not necessary when planting in rows. A distance of 30 cm is maintained between the furrows. As soon as the seeds are scattered, the area is leveled with a rake. If the owner has a large garden, you can use a roller.

In the case when sweet clover is grown as green manure, per 100 sq. m enough 2 kg of grains.

Care instructions

The culture is unpretentious - it does not need much watering or additives. This distinguishes sweet clover from other green manures.The plant tolerates heat calmly and is not afraid of cold. But the moisture level needs to be adjusted. As mentioned above, sweet clover does not like large amounts of liquid.

After sweet clover, it is better to plant green manure that is resistant to powdery mildew.

To improve aeration, the space free from the beds is loosened (when grown in rows). When seedlings appear, it is recommended to remove weeds every week. The procedure is carried out until the sweet clover reaches 10 cm.

Advice! Green manure does not need fertilizers, the exception being poor habitats. Such soils are fed with saltpeter before planting; the substance is applied in granules after rain.

Mowing and embedding into the soil

If some of the plantings begin to become rough, this is a signal. Lignified shoots lose their green manure power. The optimal mowing period occurs when the sweet clover grows to 50 cm and begins to produce buds. Green manure is cut with a scythe or other tool.

The grass is not immediately buried in the soil - the grass is left to lie in an even layer. The next day they are crushed with a shovel. Deep underground, sweet clover decomposes more slowly, so it is buried near the surface.

The harvest residues are used in the preparation of organic fertilizers. If there are few raw materials, you can add shoots of trees and bushes.

The material is finely chopped, placed in a bucket and filled with warm water. For 1 kg of green mass, 2 liters of liquid are needed. Cover the bucket tightly with a lid and leave it outside in the sun. In order for the fertilizer to quickly acquire the desired properties, it is stirred several times a day. After seven days, the liquid is used as a complete supplement.

Attention! The plant contains a lot of minerals, which can cause numerous burns. Therefore, before use, sweet clover is diluted with water, the additive is added once a month.

Experienced gardeners save their harvest for mulching. Green manure protects crops from heat, retains moisture, and repels snails.

Many people advise using EM preparations before bevelling.

When used annually, sweet clover improves the health of the soil and fills it with nutrients. However, botanists recommend alternating green manure with rye, phacelia, and buckwheat. This way the soil will receive the necessary micro- and macroelements and increase the productivity of fruit and berry crops.

Conclusion

Sweet clover as a green manure is resistant to drought, frost, and heavy rainfall. It improves the composition of the soil, loosens it, and gets rid of salt. However, the plant is resistant to fungal infections. To prevent an “epidemic” from breaking out in the area, the bushes are regularly treated with fungicides.

Reviews on the use of sweet clover as green manure

Sergey Posadsky, Vladikavkaz

Sweet clover and rye grow well in the garden. I combine them to increase potato yield. For 10 acres I use 2.5 kg of sweet clover seeds and about the same amount of rye. Plants respond well to the soil, and the soil responds to them.

Yana Kalinina, Yaroslavl

I learned about green manure two years ago. My plot was poor and could not squeeze out a single large tomato. I gave up chemicals right away - I didn’t want to turn my garden into a factory. I planted sweet clover, it sprouted quickly and almost even bloomed, but I mowed it down. The tomatoes have become larger, like in the picture.