Mustard (green manure) dig in?

[Pete]

Hi

I have grown mustard as a green manure over about half of my plot and cut it back before it flowered.
Now, I thought I read somewhere that instead of digging it in, it can be left on the top to rot and get taken down naturally as you can with a layer of manure or compost.
Or am I just trying to get out of digging

Pete

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'd leave it where it is and dig the whole lot over in spring, Pete -tho' others may have better advice.

[Protea]

Monty Don (on GW) missed a trick the other week as he chopped his mustard green manure but didn't dig it in immediately. You've left it too late now to get the additional benefits of the natural fumigant gas that mustard gives off when its chopped, but by incorporating it now, while its still green will still give the soil micro-organisms something to eat and will iprove soil structure much better than waiting for it to rot down by itself on the surface.

I personally would dig it in now.

I've used Caliente Mustard as a green manure quite a bit on my plot - weed suppression the following year was amazing, more info here: http://www.plantsolutionsltd.com/caliente.htm

[Two_Sheds]

Its been found that worms prefer their food on the surface of the soil rather than 'dug in'. that might be a consideration. It will encourage slugs too though.