Green manure question.

[Bill HH]

Using green manure is something I have never done, I have a question about it that i am sure someone can help me with.

Today I recieved an E-mail from Marshalls seeds about green manure, it listed the advantages of certain plants ie: rich in calcium etc. But the particular element each plant is rich in can only have come from the soil in the first place so why cant the next crop use it direct without needing the green manure in the first place?

[simon12]

I am no expert but my understanding is, if you leave the ground bare some nutrients are washed out by rain also the green manure is very good at drawing out the nutrients other plants may miss and when they die they bring this to where they can get at them.
I planted some 3 weeks ago though and nothing has germinated at all.

[rustylady]

Basically Simon yes. Green manures protect the soil and add the nutrients back.

However, you don't let them die. You cut them while still green and either leave on the surface or dig them in.

[alldigging]

What is Green Manure? - Sow Green Manure

This is a useful site to look at. They have lots of different types - and lots of info.
All the major seed sellers sell a few different sorts.

[Bill HH]

Thank you, I can see things a bit more clearly now, but doesnt spreading grass seeds mean you will be having loads of grass weeds in future?

[WPG]

I'm a bit wary about the grazing rye green manure too, though Monty Dons video is reassuring (thanks for the link alldigging). I planted a patch around 30 foot x 10 foot with grazing rye a couple of weeks ago, and it's germinated very well and seems to be growing rather quickly. But over the past few days I've noticed quite a few posters here warning that the rye is hard to dig in and that it keeps reappearing. I'm not sure whether to just dig all mine out now and replace it with another green manure (I've used phacelia, lupin, clovers and mustard without any problems) or take my chances and leave it in. Monty's video says its very effective for heavy clay (like mine), so maybe it's less invasive on clay? Hmm, I'll maybe leave it in and see what happens.

Bill HH - I'd definitely recommend green manures - as well as the benefits to the soil, it's so handy for suppressing weeds. My two favourites are mustard and phacelia, but next year I'm going to try limnanthes, as recommended by Twosheds.

[Snadger]

Caliente mustard is supposed to have an sterilising effect as well as adding organic matter. I have club root on my plot and Mustards are brassicas so not sure whether its a good thing to do or not?

[kathyd]

I've heard rye grass is hard to dig in too... I love phacelia though . I think you're supposed to use caliente mustard as part of a rotation Snadger, treating them as brassicas, so I don't suppose you'd plant it directly after other brassicas? Whether it'd be susceptible to club root would be really interesting to know - maybe you can experiment and let us all know!!

[Two_Sheds]

the particular element each plant is rich in can only have come from the soil in the first place so why cant the next crop use it direct without needing the green manure ?

Deep rooted GMs like alfalfa & comfrey can reach nutrients that other plants can't, and/or they grow when the crop plant doesn't, eg over the winter, or they grow in a place that isn't suitable for the crop plants. I grow the school's green manures in the poorest shadiest spots of the garden, where crops won't grow. I chop the GM leaves up before they flower and spread them on the surface around the crops (not digging in, just leaving it as a mulch).

The roots mine the nutrients, transporting them to the surface in the form of (cut) leaves. They rot down and then release those nutrients to the crop plants

[Inastate]

Using green manure is something I have never done, I have a question about it that i am sure someone can help me with.

Today I recieved an E-mail from Marshalls seeds about green manure, it listed the advantages of certain plants ie: rich in calcium etc. But the particular element each plant is rich in can only have come from the soil in the first place so why cant the next crop use it direct without needing the green manure in the first place?

I've had some thoughts about this recently and I think the best way to think about it is this:

Before nature, the Earth didn't have any soil. Soil was created by various successions of plant life, and other physical processes (erosion, pressure etc) 'fixing' certain chemicals from the air, rocks etc etc

This process is still going on to this day, to some degree, pretty much every time we plant something. Hence, green manure is simply the product of natures way of continually improving the soil.

Plus, with certain plants the roots travel deep, and can bring otherwise inaccessible nutrients to the surface.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

https://www.cotswoldseeds.com/files/...ures_final.pdf

A little long winded, but some nice info!


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[Bill HH]

https://www.cotswoldseeds.com/files/...ures_final.pdf

A little long winded, but some nice info!


Sent from my iPad using Grow Your Own Forum mobile app

Thak you for that link, it is a really comprehensive article.

[wbmkk]

Is it too late to sew some green manure.

I am on Tyneside, near Newcastle

[WilliamD]

I sowed some mustard green manure a week ago here in Liverpool and it's sprouted fine. There's cold weather predicted for the coming week, but it's definitely worth a shot IMHO.

[polc1410]

Sewed Phacelia in Durham 2 weeks ago and its germenating well. Whats the worst that can happen?