What Green Manure To Choose For The Soil

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Siderata work for the harvest

Clover red

Today every gardener understands that without introducing organic matter and mineral fertilizers into the soil, you will not get a large harvest. Mankind has accumulated vast practical and scientific experience in their application. At the same time, the alternation of cultures stands out. Even before the onset of a new era (III-I centuries BC), the Greek philosopher Theophrastus and the Romans Varro and Cato noted that sowing legumes increases the yield of the subsequent crop, and also increases the fertility of depleted soil.

The study of the soil by various generations of scientists has shown that the arable horizon contains a huge number of microorganisms that process the organic matter of manure, peat, organic waste, roots of cultivated plants. These microorganisms are represented by bacteria, fungi, lichens. They are active on fertile soil with light texture and pH from 5 to 7. The useful "population" of the soil by weight is more than 20 tons per hectare. Moreover, multiplying and dying off in the soil, microorganisms themselves become organic matter.

To increase the beneficial bacteria in the soil, it is important to choose the right plant nutrition. In the course of its life, various substances are released into the soil through the root system: mineral salts containing phosphorus, calcium, sodium and organic compounds - sugars, organic acids, amino acids, vitamins, growth substances, enzymes, etc. These substances, assimilated by microorganisms, affect their development and composition.

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Along with root secretions, microorganisms use dead roots, root hairs, root epidermis, etc. for nutrition. In the immediate vicinity of the root of higher plants, a rhizosphere is created - a zone favorable for the development of soil microorganisms.

The number of bacteria in 1 g of rhizosphere soil can reach from 1.5 to 10 million pieces. The influence of plants on soil microbes is different. It depends on the type of plant itself, the stage of its development, and soil conditions. Thus, in the rhizosphere of legumes, the microflora is more abundant than in the rhizosphere of cereals; legumes release nitrogenous and carbonaceous substances into the soil.

The symbiotic relationship of legumes and nodule nitrogen-fixing bacteria during the growing season ensures the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in an amount from 100 to 800 kg / ha of active substance. This natural "factory" of nitrogen satisfies 2/3 of the plant's needs for it, and another 1/3 remains in the soil.

Lupine

Currently in the arsenal of the farmer there is a large selection of tools and techniques aimed at improving soil fertility. But, unfortunately, they are not cheap now. We are sorely lacking organic matter - manure. Its introduction allows you to feed beneficial soil microorganisms for three years, which, in turn, supply available nutrients to plants, both from the soil and from the introduced organic matter. This improves the structure of the soil, its thermal, air and water regime.

The cultivated plants that we grow annually in our gardens absorb only 10-20% of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium from the rotted manure and compost from the soil. Therefore, in order to fully meet the needs of modern intensive varieties of field crops, vegetable and fruit plants, we also apply mineral fertilizers, but they are also very expensive and ecologically harmful. And the way out here can be found by referring to the experience of our peasant ancestors, as well as to the recommendations of modern scientists. My grandmother has been growing potatoes in the Kalinin region on one field of the garden for more than 60 years, but every year she sowed several hundred square meters with red clover, which they mowed for hay for two years, then plowed. Straw manure was introduced annually for planting tubers. They did not know potato varieties by name and were called "white", "pink" and, of course, "blue eyes". They were also periodically renewed through exchange with neighbors. The yield per hectare was 600-800 centners annually!

I never tire of adoring the skill and diligence of our farmers, as well as modern gardeners and gardeners, who often grow rich crops of vegetables and fruits in incredibly difficult conditions, decorate and equip their plots.

I want to share my garden and scientific experience in growing green manure - siderates. The term "sideration" was first proposed in the 19th century by the French scientist J. Ville. A crop plowed into the soil is called siderat.

The countries of ancient agricultural culture - China and India - are considered the birthplace of green fertilizer, which have been cultivating plants as green fertilizer for about 3000 years.

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In recent years, agricultural scientists have recommended a large set of green manure for use in independent and industrial crops: from legumes - perennial and annual lupine, seradella, sweet clover, winter (furry) and spring (sowing) vetch, seed peas and field or fodder peas (bun), rank sowing, golden beans (mung bean), blue and yellow alfalfa, red (meadow) pink and white clover, lentils, vicolis sainfoin, soy; from cereals (bluegrass) - winter rye, annual rye and perennial rye, barley, oats, triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye); from cruciferous (cabbage) - white and gray mustard, winter and spring rape, winter rape, perco, oil radish and others; from buckwheat - sowing buckwheat; from melliferous plants - phacelia, sunflower (both oil-bearing varieties and decorative).

Green fertilizer is promising to use not only in vegetable growing, but also in fruit growing. Of no less importance is the system of soil maintenance in the aisles of the garden.

Siderates in vegetable growing and horticulture not only increase the yield and taste of vegetables and fruits, but also reliably protect the soil from water and wind erosion, improve its physical, physicochemical and biological properties, and significantly increase the profitability of production.

Vegetable beans

When choosing a particular crop, one should take into account climatic and soil conditions, biological characteristics of cultivated crops and green manure, as well as their compatibility. Siderata can be sown in early spring, summer, autumn, after harvesting vegetables as intermediate, post-harvest and stubble crops. Green manure crops in personal and private farms are used not only to enrich the soil with organic matter (1 ton of green manure is equal to 1 ton of manure), but also to control weeds. The elimination of chemical agents for protecting cultivated plants or their minimization allows improving not only the quality of products, but also preserving the environment. Green manures are good on sandy and sandy loam areas poor in humus, and their cultivation on clayey gives a noticeable effect. It is especially important to grow green manure where the same crop is grown from year to year, for example,potatoes, and organic fertilizers are not applied. They help to restore soil fertility, destroyed by construction, land reclamation.

When working with green manure, it must be remembered that you cannot place crops belonging to the same family one after another. For example, peas and beans after lupine green manure, or cabbage after rapeseed, mustard, oil radish, sown for green fertilization, as they belong to the same family. Related plants are affected by the same pests, diseases and contribute to their spread in our garden.

I once sowed winter rapeseed (German varieties) in my garden, which wintered well and developed well until the seed ripening phase, but, starting from the flowering phase, all kinds of pests and their larvae settled on the plants. The caterpillars reached incredible sizes, they ate all the leaves, leaving only the stems. Of course, I did not carry out any treatments for pests. There is a way out of such an invasion - it is necessary to plant winter cruciferous crops in the soil until the end of May, and sow spring crucifers in the second half of summer after harvesting early vegetables and plow them into the soil during autumn processing.

Cruciferous siderates - gray and white mustard, winter and spring rape, oil radish, rape - fill the soil with sulfur and phosphorus, clean the arable layer of wireworm and many fungal diseases of cultivated plants. Therefore, when choosing a green fertilizer, it is necessary to take into account the purpose of sowing a particular crop.

If the soil needs to be enriched with nitrogen, then white and yellow sweet clover, sowing vetch (spring), furry vetch (winter), yellow lupine, white narrow-leaved and perennial are suitable. Perennial legumes are suitable for red clover (meadow), white clover, and oriental goat's rue. Clovers can be grown in one place from 2 to 5 years, but goat's rue - up to 30 years. They are good for tinning the garden, on soils subject to water and wind erosion, on sandy soils and are invaluable as forage crops. In the conditions of the North-West, they can be mown two or three times during the growing season. On calcareous soils with a neutral reaction, alfalfa blue and yellow grow well.