What green manure crops are planted in the fall before winter?

A common problem for gardeners is declining soil fertility. With intensive cultivation, carrots, beets, and potatoes become small and tasteless within just a few years, while peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes often become diseased and experience reduced yields. To replenish chemical elements in the soil, gardeners apply mineral fertilizers and manure, thereby increasing the nitrate and phosphate content of their crops. Green manure is a natural fertilizer that can be used to grow environmentally friendly crops. Let's explore how green manure can preserve and enhance the fertility of arable land.

What are green manure crops?

Green manure crops are plants grown in arable land after the main garden crops have been harvested or before planting. These plants are characterized by high seed germination, rapid growth of the aboveground portion, and a well-developed root system with numerous offshoots. During growth, the roots penetrate the soil, loosening it, and after death, the plants decompose, enriching the soil with organic fertilizer. The aboveground portions retain snow during the winter and are buried after mowing.

Various plants are planted to fertilize the soil. Using various agricultural techniques, gardeners achieve different results:

• loosening of compacted soil layer;
• repelling insect pests;
• cleaning the soil from diseases;
• increasing soil fertility;
• protection of the top layer of soil from spring drying out;
• protection of microflora from recurrent spring frosts.

Why are green manure crops planted?

Under the influence of gravity, the soil constantly compacts. Heavy harvests deplete the humus layer and reduce its nutrient and microbial content. Air and water slowly penetrate the compacted, caked soil, plant roots dry out, plants don't receive the necessary nutrition, and begin to suffer. By using green manure cultivation techniques, gardeners achieve the following results:

• rotting roots and tops enrich the soil with nutrients;
• organic plant residues increase the humus layer;
• fast-growing plants displace weeds from the garden bed;
• reducing the number of pests, ridding the soil of various diseases;
• sown plants loosen the soil;
• Tall stems that grow in autumn retain snow during the winter, reducing soil weathering.

When to plant green manure to improve the soil

To enrich the soil with organic matter, plants can be sown at any convenient time of year, from spring to late fall. The maximum effect from agricultural practices is achieved by planting green manure in the fall before winter.

Advantages of winter sowing:

• It is better to sow green manure in the fall because planting plants in the fall allows some gardening work to be moved to the fall, thereby freeing up valuable spring time for field work;
• The growing season of plants is extended. Consequently, the volume and number of growing stems, leaves, and roots increases;
• If you sow green manure before winter, the quickly emerging young shoots in the spring will protect the top layer of soil from the scorching rays of the spring sun and a sharp drop in temperature.

Planting technology

Planting green manure crops is similar to planting regular crops. The following algorithm is used for cultivation:

• green manure crops are planted immediately after harvesting the previous plants;
• Before sowing green manure for the winter, the bed is cleared of the remains of the previous crop and weeds;
• For rapid growth of green mass, 40 grams of nitroammophoska and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are added to each square meter of the garden bed;
• the top layer of arable land is dug up or cultivated;
• in dry weather, to improve seed germination, the soil is generously watered before planting;
• Seeds are sown either solidly or in furrows. Furrow planting is planned for intercropping;
• seeding depth – 2-4 cm, between seeds in a row 1-2 cm;
• If the previous crop was harvested in the summer, green manure is planted twice for fertilizer. The first time, short-season crops are planted, such as legumes or grains. After the stems reach twenty centimeters in height, the plants are mowed, chopped, and mixed with the soil. The chopped stems and leaves quickly decompose in the soil, releasing accumulated organic matter into the soil.
• The second planting of green manure crops occurs in the fall, in mid-September or early October. Sweet clover, vetch, or grain crops are planted at this time. Before frost, the plants have time to develop a branched root system up to ten centimeters above ground. The plant stems help accumulate snow cover on the site during the winter, and the root system protects the soil from wind blowing. After the onset of warm weather, the green manure, quickly awakened from hibernation, protects the soil surface from drying out.
• In the spring, before planting the main garden crops, solid-seeded green manure crops are plowed into the soil. The row-planted plants are cut, the stems are piled between the rows, and covered with soil. After 15-20 days, the main crop is planted in this spot.

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A common question among gardeners: should they dig up green manure crops? To answer this, it's important to consider the soil's pH level. In acidic soils, decomposition occurs very slowly, so the mown stems are left in the field for mulch or composted. In alkaline or neutral soils, digging up the field yields excellent results.

Sowing procedure

Sowing is done with seeds. Before starting, pour the prepared seeds into a deep container and mix them. Small mustard or phacelia seeds are scattered fanwise over the bed. 200 grams of phacelia seeds or 500 grams of mustard seeds are required per 100 square meters. Cereal seeds are usually spread along pre-dug furrows. Up to 2 kilograms of seeds are planted per 100 square meters. Then, using a hand cultivator or rake, the seeds are covered with soil. To ensure uniform germination, the area is watered several times before germination.

What green manure crops to sow in the fall

Agronomists cultivate over three hundred plant species to improve arable land fertility. Among them, the following families stand out.

Legumes

The legume family includes clover, lentils, vetches, lupines, beans, and soybeans. The entire family is distinguished by exceptional frost resistance and dense stems with strong, fleshy leaves. Legume seeds are planted in early spring or late fall. Each legume adds its own set of salts and minerals to the soil:

• Beans add a large amount of nitrogen to the soil; for comprehensive soil enrichment, peas and vetch are planted together with beans;
• Vetch enriches the soil with oxygen and organic matter. Vetch plantings can be combined well with rye or wheat;
• Clover adds potassium to the soil;
• In terms of the amount of various organic compounds, lupine is almost as good as manure;
• Alfalfa adds nitrogen and phosphorus to the soil.

Buckwheat

Buckwheat, a member of the buckwheat family, is grown as a green manure. Excellent results are achieved when planted in compacted clay soils. Buckwheat enriches the soil with potassium and phosphorus.

Cabbage

Mustard and rapeseed belong to the cabbage family. Both plants are characterized by large stems and leaves. Green manure mustard and rapeseed planted in the fall before winter repels wireworms from the beds and replenishes the arable land with sulfur and phosphorus.

Cereals

Of the cereal family, oats, rye, and barley are used as green manure crops. Winter oat plantings are mixed with vetch and peas to enrich the soil with potassium. Rye and barley loosen the soil and improve its structure. Cereals are exceptionally frost-resistant, surviving even in harsh, snowless winters. Dense cereal seedlings actively displace weeds from the field, destroy fungal pathogens, and their roots repel nematodes.

Cruciferous vegetables

Oilseed radish is a member of the cruciferous family that is often planted to improve field fertility. It quickly develops a strong root system and produces numerous green shoots.

Borage

Phacelia is grown in the borage family as a "green manure." The plant tolerates low temperatures well and grows in all types of soil. Phacelia seeds produce dense, uniform shoots. Outgrowing and crowding out weeds, phacelia quickly reaches a height of 50-100 cm. After mowing, the leaves and stems enrich the soil with a large amount of nitrogen. Phacelia shares no common diseases with other garden crops, so it can be used in crop rotation with any vegetable crop.

Selecting a crop for winter planting

The choice of plants for planting depends on the soil type and the preceding crops. When choosing a crop, avoid planting successively plants from the same family. For example, avoid planting mustard after radishes because they share common pests and diseases.

For nightshade crops (potatoes, eggplant, tobacco, tomatoes, peppers) and cucurbits (cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon, zucchini), the optimal preceding plants are oats, rye, lupine, mustard or sweet clover.

Good predecessors for beets and carrots include winter oilseed radish, peas, vetch, mustard, and rapeseed. During growth, these plants loosen the soil layer and suppress weed seed germination. After plowing, the stems enrich the soil with salts and minerals.

To clear the soil of viral and bacterial rots, oats, vetch, rapeseed, legumes, annual ryegrass, and phacelia are sown. Cucurbits and nightshade crops grow well after these crops.

To loosen and change the structure of clay soil, green manure crops with a strong root system are planted: rye, oilseed radish, or narrow-leaved lupine. After a few years, the soil becomes soft and crumbly.

These protect the beds from wireworms and nematodes. green manure like mustard, nasturtium, oilseed radish, calendula.

In arable land with excess moisture, winter green manure crops such as sardanella and lupine can be sown; to normalize soils with low moisture, rapeseed, phacelia, and rapeseed are grown.

Conclusion

Planting green manure crops in the garden in the fall doesn't require much time or money. Growing green manure in the garden increases the soil's humus layer, enriches it with organic compounds and microorganisms, and ultimately leads to consistently abundant harvests.