Author Topic: Green manure (Read 8164 times)

Rhubarb Thrasher · « **Reply #20 on:** May 14, 2008, 19:29:33 »

my green manure field beans are now over 4ft tall. I forgot to turn them in. I'll just have to eat the tops, the pods, the beans.........The whole lot seems to be being pollinated by 2 little bees. Hard workin chaps. Probably from Poland

bupster · « **Reply #21 on:** May 19, 2008, 14:21:26 »

Quote from: Geomet on May 14, 2008, 19:22:39

I still think green manure is an entirely avoidable hassle.....surely organic matter/compost is a better approach..........contractors are pleased to get rid of grass/tree/shrub shreddings

How is scattering some seeds then digging over a hassle? More, for example, than tracking down a "contractor" and getting them to deliver to an allotment site during the few hours you have free, usually on weekends when they're not supposed to be working? Geomet, you seem to have some odd ideological objection to green manure, because your arguments against it so far are very strange.

caroline7758 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 19, 2008, 18:41:41 »

Got some flowers on a few phacelia I missed when digging in-really pretty, will leave some on purpose next year!

grawrc · « **Reply #23 on:** May 19, 2008, 19:00:21 »

Yes they are lovely and they attract pollinating insects too.

Geomet · « **Reply #24 on:** May 20, 2008, 11:34:45 »

To Bupster................What in the heck is "strange" about increasing fertility WITHOUT having to go through the process of growing green manure.........I stand by my view regarding the logic in green manure.I,m also not convinced that NO nitrogen is taken out of the soil whilst growing anything......................you stick by your approach.I,ll use my methods which I consider better

philandjan · « **Reply #25 on:** May 20, 2008, 15:03:35 »

The dock leaves and couch grass love the hungarian rye that we planted last year!
;)

Ishard · « **Reply #26 on:** May 20, 2008, 19:24:03 »

Hurrels replied to my e mail and suggested I use the company below because they dont supply the small amounts of seed I would need for my allotment.

That was really nice of them to give me somewhere to look. :)

This link also gives information about how green manures work and the relative values compared to animal manures.

http://www.cotswoldseeds.com/intercropGM.htm

Ive decided Im going to buy a selection (and mix them myself) of the low growing manures rather than the rye.

tonybloke · « **Reply #27 on:** May 20, 2008, 20:04:42 »

to Geomet, You are right not to believe us peeps on here, what would we know?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_fixation

Geomet · « **Reply #28 on:** May 21, 2008, 07:54:33 »

No way can I ever believe that growing ANY plant doesnt take minerals and goodness OUT of the soil.....including nitrogen...........as I,ve said already it seems a rediculous approach to increasing fertility when there is far better methods.

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #29 on:** May 21, 2008, 08:17:21 »

Of course the plant takes goodness out of the soil. You then put it back by digging it in or composting it. You're also adding goodness, due to all the carbon, and nitrogen if you've used a legume, which the plants have taken from the atmosphere.

Geomet · « **Reply #30 on:** May 21, 2008, 09:09:51 »

I,ll stick with a good autumn/winter mulch....seems a better approach to me

Ishard · « **Reply #31 on:** May 21, 2008, 17:52:49 »

Each to his own guys :)

Diseases that can pass from animals to humans are called zoonotics and take a gander at the wonderful ones from cow manure.

Bovine Diseases Spread Via Manure:
BVD
Coccidiosis
Cryptosporidiosis
Giardia
E. coli
Salmonella
Campylobacter
Johne’s disease
Listeria

Bovine Diseases Spread by Manure-Contaminated Water:
BVD
Cryptosporidiosis
Giardia
E. coli
Salmonella
Campylobacter
Johne’s disease

Bovine Diseases Spread by Manure-Contaminated Pasture or Forages:
Coccidiosis
Cryptosporidiosis
Giardia
E. coli
Salmonella
Campylobacter
Johne’s disease

Geomet · « **Reply #32 on:** May 21, 2008, 18:19:08 »

Stark stuff.....................why dont you do what I do if that detailed info worrys you...................Get a compost heap going of a size which can supply enough humus and fertility without cow manure........I have 3 contractors deliver tree shreddings.grass cuttings(no treated grass) and some left over turf etc etc.....................their happy and I,m happy to get it

Geomet · « **Reply #33 on:** May 21, 2008, 18:26:07 »

An additional important point in my opinion...........always chuck in a couple of spades of soil after ever addition to yer heap....it takes the necessary bacteria into the heap quicker

Ishard · « **Reply #34 on:** May 21, 2008, 18:50:54 »

Yeh I do have a HUGE compost heap too ;D

electric landlady · « **Reply #35 on:** June 16, 2008, 17:56:56 »

I'll try anything: compost, green manure, it's all good.

This year I tried mustard - only took about 6 weeks to germinate/grow to right sort of size, crowded out all the other weeds, was easy to dig back in and rotted down in no time. The soil seems much better too - will definitely try this again, although it's not a winter one.

Sinbad7 · « **Reply #36 on:** June 16, 2008, 21:18:28 »

I only tried green manure once. So proud when it grew, it looked really pretty then winter/ spring came and went and half way through summer thought it's about time I dug this in:)

I look back and laugh now but I felt like crying when I couldn't get the fork in the ground for it's wonderful root system ;D I thought it was a nightmare I had to hire a rotavator before I could work the ground. I never tried it again as I couldn't remember what one I had sown and was worried it would happen again, which I couldn't have coped with as I hate rotavators.

Sinbad

antipodes · « **Reply #37 on:** June 17, 2008, 10:30:30 »

I did it as I have trouble getting lots of organic matter. I sowed mustard and phacelia. They have not reappeared so they are not such a hassle, I cut them down after the frosts and let them rot on the ground them dug them in when digging the beds. Not much extra work and the soil round there does look nice, so I think it provides some benefits. They also have the advantage of looking nice at the end of the season when the plot is all dug up and half dying, not always very pretty.
I thought that too many grass clippings tended to make the soil poor in nitrogen?

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #38 on:** June 17, 2008, 12:23:02 »

They've got loads of nitrogen; it's wood chippings that do that.

Kea · « **Reply #39 on:** June 17, 2008, 18:28:23 »

Legumes e.g. Clover have an association with the rhizobium bacteria which forms nodules on the plants roots (to live in!) and they fix nitrogen from the air i.e. the nitrogen lost into the air is captured by these bacteria.
I bought some white clover to sow into my lawn which is doing well though some of it rather mysteriously died last autumn...looked like the effects of herbicide to me I suspect my neighbour decided he didn't like it. Though the funny thing is he sowed the new lawn mix with microclover in it in the spring I suspect he didn't read the box properly!

i was going to sown it as a green manure but then there is some growing at my allotment already and it's hard to dig out when it gets in a bed as the stems are so tough.

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Author Topic: Green manure (Read 8164 times)