Its ability to thrive in absolutely any natural and climatic conditions in Russia, as well as its undemanding nature regarding soil type, cultivation, and care, make common rapeseed the most common green manure crop in Russian gardens. Plant mustard in the fall after the main crops have died down, and it will perform better than any artificial fertilizer.
Operating principle
Mustard has the ability to release heavy phosphates found in the soil in a denatured state. By converting phosphoric acid salts into a more readily available form, it accumulates them in the soil. This helps retain nitrogen, stimulating the abundant growth of green afterglow.
All the nutrients in green manures also accumulate in the root system. When their above-ground portions are incorporated into the soil, the plant parts are mixed. The rhizomes and green mass do not decompose in the soil during the winter, but are preserved. In the spring, when the frozen layer thaws and new seedlings are planted, rapeseed begins to release all its minerals, microelements, and organic fertilizers into the soil.
Rotting green manure attracts insects—earthworms and red worms—whose tunnels improve air circulation in the soil. This prevents the plants' underground parts and rhizomes from becoming starved of oxygen.
What kind of mustard to plant and how to plant it
Mustard belongs to the Cruciferae family, with different varieties growing from 30 to 90 cm in height. White mustard, Sarepta mustard, Sidonian mustard, black mustard, festival mustard, and many other varieties are excellent green manure crops. Mustard is planted either immediately after the bed is cleared of existing crops, or in August-September, to allow the green mass to gain volume before the first frost.
You may be interested in:Mustard is completely unpretentious in terms of care and growing conditions. The seeds are planted 1-2 cm deep in the soil, compacted, and watered with warm water. After emergence, the mustard can be watered once or twice a week and weeded to remove large weeds.
Attention - you can't sow mustard In a place where other cruciferous plants, such as radishes, cabbage, and horseradish, have grown or will be planted. The fact is that they share many common diseases and can infect each other.
What to do with grown rapeseed
Before the after-crop grows, it's important to decide what to do with the green manure. Since the culture of growing biofertilizers hasn't yet fully developed, agronomists' opinions differ. There are several options. solutions to the problem:
- Don't disturb the plant. When cold weather sets in, the greenery will freeze and fall over.
- Mow the aftermath and leave it on the ground.
- Dig up and mix the mustard leaves with roots.
Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, but the result will be the same: the soil will rest over the winter, and the yield of the planted plants will increase.
Will the mustard sprout in the spring?
Stories about green manure sprouting in the spring and suffocating young seedlings in the garden beds are a myth. Due to the prevailing subzero temperatures in winter, rapeseed loses its ability to reproduce—the seed pods freeze, as do the roots. Therefore, neither vegetation nor seedlings are possible.
When will the results be noticeable?
Typically, a single application of green manure doesn't give the soil time to rest. Within 2-4 years, all the phosphorus residues are released and accumulated. Garden plants don't deplete the black soil, and mustard replenishes the vitamin deficiency. After several applications, gardeners notice that the productivity of their garden crops increases even when they stop planting rapeseed.
It's also best to avoid using potassium and sodium fertilizers when planting mustard. Sodium is an antagonist to phosphorus, which is stored by green manure.
Thus, mustard is an easy-to-grow, hardy green manure crop that relieves soil pressure, gives it time to rest, improves plant productivity, preserves the harvest, and promotes the growth of green after-crops. Autumn is the best time to grow mustard.