Crimson Clover.

[di]

Not sure whether it was a coincidence or not but thought worth sharing.
Last year I sowed a large bed with crimson clover and planted my brassicas amongst it...later found out I was meant to dig it in first but it was a bit late once I'd planted my sprouts and PSB.
Anyway,not only did I get my best crop of sprouts and PSB ever but had another pleasant surprise yesterday....it was time to dig the bed and I suspected it would be much like the rest of that plot...rock hard clay like soil.....instead it was a really easy dig,the ground had retained it's moisture and literally crumbled into rich loveliness as I turned it.

Like I say,don't know if it was mere coincidence but the rest of the plot really has got to the stage where you can't even get a fork/spade into the ground,so maybe the clover worked some miracles?

It looked very pretty too

[zazen999]

It is absolutely gorgeous - is crimson clover. I sow it just for the flowers.

Also, phacelia - gorgeous and the bees go bonkers for it.

[dirtgirl]

Did you have any problems with cabbage root fly? I'm pretty sure that I've read somewhere about a trial using Red Clover with brassicas

[zazen999]

Red clover is part of the pea family, there should be no problems with it and brassicas.

Plus you can make wine from the flowers.

[di]

Touch wood we've never had any of the nasty brassica problems...definately didn't last/this year.

Someone at the lottie told me I was supposed to dig in the clover before it flowered...what a waste of a beautiful plant that would have been.

[Two_Sheds]

You can always dig in most of it, and leave a patch to flower. It is gorgeous

[hamster]

Think I once read that red clover fixes nitrogen, so would it have fed your brassicas? I would like to sow some as a green manure when is the best time to do that now or the end of the summer?

[di]

You can always dig in most of it, and leave a patch to flower. It is gorgeous

....or just a little tiny bit

I think it does feed your brassicas Hamster...my sprouts were almost obese.
I think I must have sown it late Spring early Summer but can't be sure....it was definately after the enthusiasm of writing everything in my journal had worn off

[hamster]

Ive got some PSB to grow (havent put the seeds in yet) but will plant them may for a july in the garden, going to have a shop on ebay to get some crimson clover.

[Luvspuds]

First post so please bare with me.

I've got some pretty sizeable gaps this year on the lotty and due to time constraints i don't plan to fill them with anything edible now. As such i'm looking at the idea of green manuring these areas to one get some goodness into the soil and two act as a bit of weedcover.

My main concern though is making sure that i get them in the right spot in the rotation. i know that mustard is a brassica and so i'd pencilled that in in the brassica bed.

Reading the thread above i think that i'll go for Crimson clover on the pea/legume bed.

Looking for something to go on the roots bed now, is there anything that fits in this or am i better looking at a neutral one?

Any and all thoughts are appreciated.

[taff]

put the clover in the brassica-to-be bed, not another brassica.

[oldie]

Agree with taff and the peas/beans fix their own nitrogen so don't need the help from the clover.

[roitelet]

I use Phacalie which is neutral and improves the soil structure also if you let it flower it attracts bees.

[Luvspuds]

thanks for the advice - all taken on board.


one last quick one, how do you sow green manure? is it a matter of scattering it in a grass seed stylee?