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Green manure for the garden in the fall serves as an excellent alternative to classic fertilizers from the store. Many gardeners use them to improve the quality of the soil in their garden beds, which subsequently results in a rich and high-quality harvest of vegetable, fruit and berry crops. In addition, many green manures are able to disinfect the soil and repel various insect pests. We will talk further about when, how and what crops to plant in the garden in the fall.
Green manure sown in autumn increases soil fertility and improves harvest quality
Why sow green manure in the fall?
Autumn green manure for the garden is ideal for supporters of organic farming. This is a cheap and simple way to restore soil, which does not require special financial or physical costs from the gardener. In autumn, green fertilizer is sown for different purposes. It has long been proven that they are capable of:
- enrich the soil with valuable elements and nourish it;
- loosen the soil;
- protect the garden from all types of rot, insects and scab;
- reduce damage caused by return frosts;
- retain moisture in the beds.
In addition, green manure does not allow weeds to grow on the site; they are also often used as a mulching layer.
Which green manure crops are best sown in autumn for the soil?
Autumn sowing of green manure provides for a number of rules that must be followed to achieve maximum effect. The main requirement is that a crop of the same family cannot be planted in the same place several times in a row. But since the choice of green manure is quite large, there should not be any difficulties in selecting plants.
Most often, crops of the cereal family, legumes, buckwheat, and marigolds are used as green fertilizer in the fall. The most popular among gardeners are:
- Vika;
- lupine;
- phacelia;
- oats;
- rape;
- winter rye;
- radish;
- mustard.
It is advisable to familiarize yourself with the photo and description of each of these green manures before sowing.
Vika
Bean green manure vetch is a frost-resistant crop that rapidly increases its green mass. Typically, it is sowed in the fall and planted in the spring, since with the arrival of warm days it continues to grow and accumulate nitrogen, necessary for the normal development of any crop.
Vetch is an excellent precursor for carrots, beans and beets
Lupine
Lupine is a crop of the legume family. It is unpretentious to care, actively develops and grows even in very depleted soil. Lupine has a powerful root system, thanks to which it successfully removes all useful substances from the lower layer of soil and also loosens it well.In addition, green manure is able to accumulate nitrogen and convert phosphorus compounds into a form that is assimilated by other plant crops.
Lupine perfectly repels cockchafers and mole crickets
Phacelia
Phacelia is considered a universal green manure that is suitable for planting before growing any plants. It grows actively, produces a lot of roots and tops in a short period of time, and after cutting it quickly rots, thanks to which it saturates the soil with macro- and microelements. In addition, phacelia produces a natural antibiotic, which disinfects the area. It is also considered a natural insecticide - it repels locusts, wireworms, aphids and even nematodes.
Phacelia green manure is perfect for an area reserved for zucchini, cucumbers and nightshade crops
Oats
It is preferable to sow oats in autumn on dense and clayey soil, which does not allow air and water to pass through well. Thanks to its deep roots, it perfectly loosens the soil. Green manure is especially rich in potassium and phosphorus, but contains little nitrogen. Thanks to its dense growth, weeds stop growing in the area.
It is preferable to sow green manure oats after zucchini, cucumbers or pumpkin
Rape
Winter rapeseed is best suited for sowing in autumn. It withstands frosts well, produces a lot of biomass enriched with phosphorus, sulfur and other useful substances. Thanks to the essential oils contained in green manure, it serves as reliable protection for garden beds from pests and also disinfects the soil well.It also improves the structure of the soil, makes it looser, and slightly deoxidizes the substrate.
Typically, rapeseed is planted before nightshade crops, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots and beans.
Winter rye
Rye is a cereal that effectively disinfects soil and protects it from many diseases. In addition, like oats, it makes the soil loose. Rye produces a lot of green mass on any land and accumulates potassium and nitrogen. With the arrival of spring, it is cut off and left in the garden for a couple of weeks. This creates more favorable conditions for rotting of its root system.
Winter rye perfectly cleans the area and prepares it for the cultivation of vegetable crops
Radish
Oilseed radish is a honey-bearing forage crop with green manure properties. It helps eliminate soil depletion and increases its fertility. In addition, radish loosens the soil well and saturates it with organic and mineral substances.
Radish belongs to the Brassica family
Mustard
Mustard is a fast-growing and winter-hardy plant. The culture has phytoncidal properties, helps fight fungal diseases, and makes the soil unsuitable for harmful insects. Mustard is planted to saturate the soil with nitrogen and beneficial macroelements. The sowing of this green manure in the fall is often carried out at the place where the potatoes were harvested.
A unique feature of mustard is to extract phosphates from the soil.
When to sow winter green manures
Green manure can be planted at any time of the year, but most often gardeners do this at the end of the season, closer to autumn.As a rule, either these are the last days of August, or the end of September, the beginning of October. But usually the time is chosen when the bulk of the harvest has already been harvested, and weeds have begun to actively grow in empty beds. Some features are taken into account:
- In August, crops that grow quickly are sown - barley or peas.
- In the fall, they plant frost-resistant, winter green manure for the garden - vetch, clover, phacelia.
Experienced gardeners, when choosing a time for planting green manure, rely on the climatic characteristics of the growing region. For example, in the south, work begins in the second half of September; in the middle zone, sowing can be done at the beginning of the month, and in the north - even earlier.
If you choose the wrong time for planting or mowing green manure, the effect may be the opposite.
How to plant green manure in the fall
Planting green manure in the fall is considered an easy task that even an inexperienced gardener can handle. The algorithm for sowing useful crops involves preliminary preparation of the site and after that, carrying out planting work. The first task involves removing all weeds from the garden bed, digging up the soil if necessary to a depth of about 20 cm, moderate soil moisture, the second is sowing the seeds of the selected plant with a depth of 2-4 cm.
The basic principle of the effectiveness of planting green manure in the fall is that the denser the sowing, the better.
What to do with green manure planted in autumn
Green manure plants planted in the fall are harvested at individual times, which depend on the characteristics of the land, as well as personal preferences. Typically, they are mowed when they reach a maximum height of 25cm, before they begin to produce seeds. Otherwise, they will become weeds and grow throughout the garden. The exact harvesting time is determined depending on the region, 1-2 weeks before the onset of cold weather. The plants are cut off at the roots, and after the arrival of spring, the beds are dug up along with their remains.
Another option for using green fertilizers is to leave them uncut until spring. In this case, they will insulate the soil, protect it from extremely low temperatures and, accordingly, will bring even more benefits. In the spring, when the snow melts, the remains of the plants will need to be raked into a heap, then burned, and the ash buried in the ground.
Some gardeners decide to dig up green manure planted in the fall the same year, before the first frost. In this case, the plants are not cut, but left in the soil for composting.
Which green manure processing method is suitable for the site can only be determined experimentally. Due to the different composition of the soil, it is recommended to try all of the above options and choose the best one for your garden.
Rotted green manure can be used as compost or mulch
Conclusion
Green manure for the garden in the fall is an excellent organic fertilizer that can naturally improve the soil on the site. But in order for crops to be beneficial and not turn into an annoying weed, they must be planted and harvested correctly, taking into account all the requirements of agricultural technology. You should also take into account the individual needs of the site and be sure to take into account the rules of crop rotation.
