Content
Growing green manure on the site in between main crops allows you to rationally use the soil and obtain environmentally friendly products as a result. In addition, they help clear the soil of weeds, which simplifies maintenance in the future. Therefore, many gardeners use clover as green manure, because it is unpretentious and is a worthy replacement for organic matter. But in order to achieve maximum results from its use, you need to know how to sow, when to incorporate it into the soil and for what crops such fertilizer is suitable.
Clover helps to successfully fight wireworms on the site
Does clover crowd out weeds?
The root system of this plant consists of a main taproot and lateral shoots extending from it. Therefore, clover kills the weeds growing next to it.
This is also facilitated by the formation of dense turf on the soil surface as green manure grows. In this case, the weeds are not able to compete with it for moisture, nutrition and light, so they gradually die.It also prevents the plant from getting seeds of harmful grasses onto the soil, which prevents them from regenerating.
Therefore, it is allowed to use clover to control weeds in the garden. However, this rule does not apply to perennial harmful crops such as nettle and burdock.
Types of clover
Experts identify several types of clover that can be used as green manure. However, each of them has its own application features that need to be paid attention to. Otherwise, it will not be possible to achieve the desired effect.
Types of culture:
- White clover. A perennial plant that develops a strong core system. This species spreads along the ground, so there is no need to mow it. Excellent for protecting crop areas from blowing out and washing away the top fertile layer of soil and securing slopes. White clover is also used to control weeds and create lawns, but it is not in demand as a nutrient raw material, since it produces four times less organic matter than red clover, but is significantly superior to it in winter hardiness. The plant grows quickly due to the roots of branches in places where they come into contact with the ground. In one place, this crop grows for up to 19 years. In the first year it needs weeding until it gains strength. This species prefers moist, drained soil without making any special demands on its fertility.
Other names for white clover are repens amoria, white clover
- Red clover. This species is also called meadow. It is excellent for annual green manure. During the season it can be mowed twice, and with good watering, four times. The height of red clover stems reaches 50 cm. When cut, its branches quickly turn into humus in the soil. Red clover leaves have a trifoliate shape.Inflorescences are loose. In one place, the crop can grow for up to six years. Prefers slightly acidic moist loams, does not grow well on sandy, acidic and saline soils.
Red clover should be mowed for the last time during the season in August-September.
- Pink clover. Hybrid perennial crop species. The height of the plant reaches 30-80 cm, depending on growing conditions. The shoots are tubular, ascending. Leaves are obovate or oval. The inflorescences are dense, spherical. At the beginning of summer they are pinkish, and closer to autumn they acquire a brown tint. Blooms in the year of sowing. The plant reaches its maximum development in the second year. Unlike red clover, pink clover grows well as green manure in heavy clay soils, swampy areas and cold soil. This species tolerates high acidity well, is moisture-loving, and can withstand flooding by melt water.
Pink clover can grow in one place for up to six years.
The benefits and harms of clover as green manure
Clover belongs to the legume family. This means that its roots are inhabited by special bacteria that can produce nitrogen from the air and accumulate it in the upper part of the soil. Therefore, this green fertilizer is significantly superior to manure and humus in producing this component. Moreover, when the vegetative part of clover is embedded in the soil in the first year, green manure releases half as much nitrogen as when digging up the site in the second season. This ensures a prolonged effect of green fertilizer.
Clover, as a green manure, enriches the soil with a large amount of potassium in an accessible form for plants. It is also capable of extracting scarce phosphorus from the ground, concentrating it in the upper nutrient layer.The advantage of clover as a green manure is that its branched root system loosens the soil well. It forms peculiar channels in it, providing access to air and moisture. In such conditions, beneficial bacteria multiply quickly and the activity of earthworms is activated.
This culture tolerates shade well, which is also an advantage as a green manure. Therefore, the plant can be planted in poorly lit places and thus improve their fertility.
The use of clover as green manure has certain disadvantages. Therefore, they need to be studied in advance so that they do not become an unpleasant surprise in the future.
Disadvantages of clover as green manure:
- If cultivation technology is violated, the plant quickly turns into a malicious weed.
- The positive result from using clover as green manure becomes noticeable only from the second year.
- If the turf grows excessively, it can inhibit the development of main crops.
- Needs regular watering for rapid growth of vegetative mass and root system.
- Provokes the appearance of slugs and snails in the area against a background of high humidity.
- Needs periodic feeding.
All types of clover are excellent honey plants.
For which crops is it suitable?
This perennial brings maximum benefit as green manure when planting cereal crops after it. But it is also recommended to grow nightshades, cucumbers, pumpkins, and zucchini in the area after the clover.
Improves the productivity of clover and fruit bushes and trees.After all, it is able to tolerate a lack of light, which means that it can be grown in the root circle, providing crops with nutrition and protecting their root system from overheating and freezing.
When to sow clover as green manure
This green manure can be planted on the site throughout the season. Moreover, sowing can be done in early spring, without waiting for stable heat. The main thing is that the soil warms up to a depth of 5 cm and is moist and loose.
When planting clover late as green manure in October-November, sowing must be done so that seedlings do not appear before the onset of permanent frosts. Otherwise they will freeze. After all, a perennial acquires frost resistance as it matures.
Landing technology
Before planting green manure, the site must be prepared. To do this, you will need to clear it of plant debris, remove weeds, dig it with a shovel or loosen the top layer of soil with a cultivator. In case of increased acidity of the soil, it is necessary to additionally liming it, and also fertilize the soil with humus at the rate of 5 kg per square meter. m, superphosphate 30 g and potassium salt 20 g for the same area size.
Before sowing, clover seeds should be soaked for 12 hours in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate. After this, it is recommended to dry them until characteristic flowability appears. It is recommended to mix planting material with river sand for uniform sowing in a ratio of 1:3. There are two ways to plant clover as green manure: randomly scatter the mixture on the site or pour it into the furrows at a distance of 15 cm.After planting, it is recommended to compact the soil surface with a roller and then water it well using sprinkling.
Clover sprouts on the fifth day after planting
Care instructions
Caring for this perennial is not difficult. In the year of sowing, it is necessary to control the growth of weeds on the site and remove them in a timely manner for the full development of clover. It is also recommended to regularly water the crops using a hose with a fine-mesh nozzle. These care rules are suitable for red and pink types of crops when used as green fertilizer, as well as when planting white clover to control weeds.
At the initial stage of growth, the perennial needs constant loosening of the soil in the area. This allows it to form a well-developed root system. The plant needs periodic feeding 2-3 times per season. To do this, it is recommended to alternate organic and mineral complex fertilizers. At the beginning of growth, the perennial needs nitrogen, and from the second half of summer it requires phosphorus and potassium.
How to use clover as green manure
When growing red and pink clover as green manure, it is recommended to mow the grass at the budding stage, but before the flowers begin to open. During this period, the vegetative part of the plant contains the maximum amount of nutritional components.
However, it is worth considering that clover as a green manure is beneficial only when it is grown on the site for at least four months. Therefore, if it was sown at the end of summer, then it makes no sense to mow it for the winter and it is better to postpone it until spring. It is recommended to plant main crops on the site three weeks after mowing the green manure.At the same time, the roots remaining in the ground will not prevent them from developing, but will only improve its structure.
Using a perennial as green manure involves embedding its stems and leaves in the top layer of soil to a depth of 8-15 cm. But it is recommended to do this after they have been pre-dried. Also, the green mass of clover can be used to create compost and mulch cultural plantings. During the process of rotting, the stems and leaves of the plant are converted into high-quality nitrogen fertilizer.
It is recommended to chop the perennial stems before putting them into compost.
Conclusion
Clover as a green manure gives good results only if the technology for its cultivation is followed. When choosing this plant, you also need to take into account that it is suitable for long-term cultivation and does not show high performance as quickly as other crops. It is also necessary to observe the recommended crop rotation, since such a predecessor is not suitable for all crops.
Reviews of the use of clover against weeds
