Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: caroline7758 on January 15, 2012, 14:47:31
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Just heard a discussion on green manures on GQT. Bob Flowerdew said a lot of the seeds sold as green manure (tares & vetches, rye grass etc) are fine for farmers but tend to re-grow after digging-in. He suggested claytonia (miner's lettuce), Valerianella (corn salad) and Limnanthes (poached egg plant) as easier to use - and the first two are edible!
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I heard that too. He's been saying this for several years, and like pretty much everything else he says, I would agree.
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Poached egg plants.........great for attracting pollinators, but lordy, do they self seed EVERYWHERE! Beware! ;D
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Claytonia will self seed... I turned a raised bed where I grew it at least five years ago and have a nice winter salad coming on... :)
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Green manures shouldn't be allowed to set seed.
Poached egg plants.........great for attracting pollinators, but lordy, do they self seed EVERYWHERE! Beware! ;D
Try Nasturtions, even the variagated ones are now everywhere. Only 10 seeds to start with!
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Try stopping them.... :-X
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I use a lot of green manure. Well drained soil is prone to leeching. Personally never had problems with green manure regrowing. I just turn it over and under with no green showing.
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Rye grass you don't want to use, but rye is brilliant, just strim it down, if a bit regrows then just give it another strim or dig it in.
I should think vetch is easy enough to kill, well I will find out soon, nearly half my plot is covered in a rye/vetch mix.
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I've grown vetch as a green manure. Unfortunately it was all eaten by rabbits ::) Might give the claytonia ago as the bunnies don't seem to touch it.
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That's useful to know, lillian- thanks.
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this is what i have anyone used this?
http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetables/vegetable-seeds/all-other-vegetable-seeds/green-manure/gww5301TM (http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetables/vegetable-seeds/all-other-vegetable-seeds/green-manure/gww5301TM)
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He also suggested chickweed :o....I think I will stick to buckwheat.
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Just heard a discussion on green manures on GQT. Bob Flowerdew said a lot of the seeds sold as green manure (tares & vetches, rye grass etc) are fine for farmers but tend to re-grow after digging-in. He suggested claytonia (miner's lettuce), Valerianella (corn salad) and Limnanthes (poached egg plant) as easier to use - and the first two are edible!
I grow these as green manure and the first two as winter salad.I think they are relatively smaller plants - or at least with smaller root systems than some of the others. I also grow phacelia and let it self-seed at will removing it when it gets in the way! I've never had a problem with tares or vetches. I do find the Hungarian grazing rye a bit harder to get rid of, but it's also quite pretty!
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If you wait until the 'flower' is just opening on the grazing rye and then mow it , the plant will not regrow when dug in. This can be later than you thought you might do the job.
More information can be found via Go Organic....
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If you wait until the 'flower' is just opening on the grazing rye and then mow it , the plant will not regrow when dug in. This can be later than you thought you might do the job.
More information can be found via Go Organic....
I read that, cut it down just before it flowers, but it's a type of grass, what on earth can the mean 'when it flowers'.
If you wait for the heads to start forming, by then it is 5ft tall!
I cut it down when it is about knee high.
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well that's why I used inverted commas -grasses are wind pollinated - and I'm sure you've seen the 'flowers' you tease!! ;D Anyway, the fact these things all get so big is precisely why Ol' Flowerdew was suggesting all that other stuff...