Forage Rye/Forage Pea Green Manure - Anyone tried it?

[GreaterMarrow]

I've been considering planting forage rye or forage pea in the empty beds on the plot over winter, mainly because these are suitable for my heavy soil and can be planted around Sept/Oct and dug in around April (so the internet tells me).

Does anybody have any experience using either of these?

My main concerns are how difficult it will be to dig in come spring and whether it will be sufficient to suppress the weeds.

I'm just coming to the end of my first growing season and I'm not sure where to start when it comes to preparing the plot for the colder months.

Any advice welcome!

[Duvy]

Hi GM, Its coming to the end of my first year on my allotment. I have clay soil and I hope to plant field beans over the winter, the fields beans are meant to be really good at breaking up the soil and adding organic manure. From what I have read it can be grown with Rye, and the combination of both will restrict any weed growth.
Plan is in spring to use a strimmer, to chop them down, leave for two weeks then use a Rotavator to dig it in

[Bill Door]

Hi GreaterMarrow.

I suggest rough digging now and then sow your seeds after a few days and just walk over the ground "kicking" the lumps into bits. The seeds will them be covered to germinate and grow.

If you add rye grass you might find that the roots are a bit "thick" to dig in. The hungarian grazing rye grass is very "rooty" but it does improve the soil. I don't think you will have a problem with the field beans. That is provided your soil isn't too heavy. You will get weeds growing but if you cut them down before they flower/ seed you should be ok. I would suggest taking up roots of nasties like docks, bindweed and dandelions as you dig the ground over. For this reason I do not recommend using a rotavator to dig the ground as this might help the "nasty" roots re-grow and cause loads of problems over the following years.

I would also suggest considering cutting the green manure down early March and leave it to rot a bit for two weeks. In addition digging by hand gives you a chance to see what the soil is like over the plot.

I like to use buckwheat and sow mustard seeds around the cabbages. Don't sow mustard seeds on any other part of the plot (potential club root problems).

Good luck and enjoy your gardening

Bill