Green Manures - which one(s) to use?

[Trevor_D]

I've been looking into green manures recently and I like the idea, especially now we seem barred from using the horse manure we've relied on in the past. (And yes, I know the whole subject has caused a bit of controversy on this site and elsewhere, but I'm not asking how effective they are.)

I just want some more information on which one I use before which crop. Everything I've read tells me when I can sow & harvest each manure; what they give to the soil; which type of soil they're best suited for. Don't get me wrong - that's all fairly vital information. But I'm not a scientist....

Does anyone know - preferably from practical experience - what I sow, say now, on a bed destined next season for, say beans or squashes or tomatoes? If they give & take certain elements, I don't want to be using the wrong one; at best, it's a waste of time & money; at worst it could be a bit of a disaster.

Or is it really a case of bung anything in to cover the ground and dig it in a few weeks before I plant?

[Trevor_D]

[ceres]

Ther's a 2 page spread in The Garden (Sep issue) with a table of what each is good for, when to sow, time in ground.  The article itself doesn't mention anything about a specific type for a specific crop (except a mustard/brassica warning).  It seems to focus more on which is best for different soil types.  If you haven't seen it and would like to, PM your address and I'll post you a copy.

[Trevor_D]

Thanks, but I've seen it. It was really the catalyst for my question, because it told me a lot, but didn't quite manage to translate it to idiot-level.

Part of my interest is that we've got so many first-timers applying for plots now - so much so that we're introducing some very small Starter Plots as well as "ordinary" ones - that if I can't quite get my head round it, how can I advise them?

[70fingers]

Maybe this will help:http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/pdfs/international_programme/GreenMan.pdf

[Digeroo]

I tried phacelia but let it flower before I dug it in.  It was not much use as a manure got too woody but I did enjoy the flowers, bees did too.

I use cress as well.  Sow about now, eat leaves all winter and then dig in in spring.

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

last year I did grazing rye and it was modest success - basically I think I sowed to thinly and the birds feated on seed.  I did dig it in and it was ok - the roots broke the soil up to a degree.

This year I am using alfalfa - going to see how it goes.

One thing I might add here is it is great to see people using green manures as looking after soil is the key rather than looking after your crops.  If the soil is good then crops look after themselves.

I am lucky in having manure and council compost delivered to my site so am working hard on the soil using both and also with liming (heavy clay and no I dont lime and manure at the same time!).  Green manure can only help a fallow space I think.

Good luck all.

Psi

[calamityjayneuk]

I am bumping this topic up coz I would like to know more too.

I read an article by Bob Flowerdew and he said a lot of green manures are used by farmers, therefore the ease of digging is not important because they have heavy machinery to plow it in.

It would be great if peeps could give their real experiences of how easy they are to use etc.

For my part, I did the same as Digeroo this year, planted phacelia and let it flower coz the bees liked it so much. But then I decided to collect the seeds from the early sowing and resowed these on another bare patch. It was easy to dig in when it was 6 inches high and has rotted in quickly, but as for the effects on fertility I will have to wait til next year :)))

[landimad]

I use mustard and have yet to see whether it works.

[jennym]

I use poached egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii). You can sow the seed now. It's low growing and starts coming up in autumn, and if you don't dig it in, the greenery lasts through until the heat of summer, say June, then it dies back to form a mat of dried leaves that is quite good as a sort of a mulch. It self seeds like mad though, so if you do let some flower it comes up everywhere. But I quite like it, the texture of the leaf is crispy a bit like lettuce, it's dead easy to dig in or pull up odd ones. I find it's best to dig it in in early spring.

[Squash64]

I grow Phacelia too.  I let it flower because the bees love it, then once it finished I composted it.  The plants pulled up very easily.  I know that's not what you are supposed to do with green manure but I ran out of time to dig it in.  Now, a couple of months later it has seeded itself and is flowering again.

[grawrc]

I grow Phacelia too.  I let it flower because the bees love it, then once it finished I composted it.  The plants pulled up very easily.  I know that's not what you are supposed to do with green manure but I ran out of time to dig it in.  Now, a couple of months later it has seeded itself and is flowering again.

Ditto for me. Two other advantages were that the phacelia stopped weed growth almost entirely  and the soil texture was improved.

[earlypea]

I'm glad you asked Trevor because I'm in a similar position.  I've read a lot but I'm still left with questions about the specifics and it seems most experienced gardeners/allotment holders haven't much experience to pass on either.  So anyone who does do this successfully I'd be glad to hear about it too.

I'm thinking it would be best to use the nitrogen fixing ones before crops such as brassicas or curcubits and was planning on rye for that as it's one of the few that wouldn't conflict with rotation of crop legumes.  Grazing rye is supposed to be hard to dig in but I saw annual rye for sale online recently and that's supposed to be similar but easier.  Don't know if anyone's tried that.

And I'm thinking phacelia prior to carrots and parsnips to keep the soil moist and active and add a broad spectrum of nutrients but not dominated by nitrogen.  I may not dig that in for the snips because I understand parsnips get canker in a high level of organic matter.

Any opinions welcome ....  :)  It's new to me.

[Flighty]

This may be of interest

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_51

The best all-rounders are phacelia tanacetifolia and hungarian grazing rye.