Topic: Green Manure

[Plot 69]

Hi,i'm new to Allotments4all,so first of all hello to everyone!
Was hoping someone could help me with a question i have about green manure; assuming that i am going to plant veg from each family in separate raised beds next spring,what kind of green manure should i be putting in the respective beds? I know for example that mustard (which i've already sown) is related to the brassicas and so i shouldn't follow that with the same,but i've also read that i shouldn't manure the bed where i'm going to put root veg at all.What i need is a chart showing me which GM's are ok to sow before which veg! Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanks a lot
Plot 69

[saddad]

Tares/vetch are in the pea and bean group... ryegrass is OK but will reduce germination of seed in the bed next year and Phacalia is safe anywhere... and if it flowers bees love it!
 ;D

[calendula]

I would suggest that the first thing to decide is what you want  from a green manure, i.e. to fix nitrogen, to bulk up poor soil, suppress weeds etc and then you can select the best one for the purpose, for example if you need to break up soil then something like a deep rooter such as buckwheat would be a good choice; nitrogen fixers = clover, winter tares; adding humous = phacelia and fenugreek

These are just a few examples - as you say the mustards are very easy and good but they are brassicas and if you are planning on crop rotation you have to keep that in mind

most of the seed catalogues sell gm's now and give added advice as well

once you get into crop rotation manuring roots won't be a problem (and it is only animal manure that is a problem anyway for roots - too rich) - for example you might put horse manure on the spuds, follow this by legumes, follow these by brassicas, then roots then manure again for spuds but green manure is something quite different imo, hope useful

[southernsteve]

Hi and welcome

Have a look here, it gives a pretty good explanation.

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/pdfs/international_programme/GreenMan.pdf

Steve

[philandjan]

We are scheduled to sow some Hungarian Grazing Rye this weekend.

Our soil is very heavy, lots of clay so the drainage is poor.

Apparently, it does not affect any rotation schedules.

[saddad]

Just be careful as it will reduce seed germination, so lousy for the roots bed!
 ::)

[supersprout]

aha, triffid mentioned that yesterday in chat, but it's OK to plant out modules into it - according to her Booke the inhibition is only for germination, not growth :D

[saddad]

That's it in a nutshell SS but most roots are better not started in modules...
 ;D

[manicscousers]

we just use phacelia, it doesn't muck about with our rotation, sow it, let it grow 'til just before flowering then hoe it down,cover it but leave a couple to flower, beautiful flowers

[supersprout]

That's it in a nutshell SS but most roots are better not started in modules...
 ;D

true dad, I did experiment this year - scorzonera, beetroot, celeriac parsnip & carrot did real well sown in modules and transplanted :D but I will never ever try to plant salsify in modules again :-\

ok so celeriac and beet is cheatin cos they are stems ::) ;)

[triffid]

Evening guys!

As SS says, we were nattering about green manures in the chatroom last night. So I thought I'd just fill in the details re the HGR debate.

The info I have on Hungarian Grazing Rye (which comes from the HDRA Encyclopaedia of Organic Gardening) is that it'll repress germination for a few weeks after being cut and dug in to the soil.

This doesn't have any effect on plants or pre-germinated stuff like spud sets or onion sets: you can pop them in right away.

As far as seed sowing's concerned, just make sure you've allowed for that 'fallow gap' when you plan when to dig the HGR in so you don't mess up your sowing times. From what I've read here and elsewhere, it doesn't have any effect beyond a few weeks.

Have fun! :)