Allotments 4 All

Hi
I have cleared a patch on my allotment which has not been used for at least 2 years. I plan to grow Courgette's and Squashes in 'stations' later in the year.
In the mean time to keep the weeds down i would like to try a green manure' . Any suggestions as to what type?

What are 'stations', please?

There are green manures for short bursts now if you plan to use the ground in a few months. Most green manures are sown in spring to be dug in during the autumn, or planted in the autumn to over winter. Also you need to keep in mind that after it has been dug in, the ground needs to be left for usually a minimum of a couple of weeks before planting. Of course, it depends how much later in the year you're thinking of growing your veg... I grew Buckwheat last year which was successful, but that was towards the end of summer. I think Alfalfa is quite a quick growing green manure and Mustard is terrifcally fast, 2-8 weeks! I may even try mustard this year too. This website is quite useful in sowing times:
http://www.btinternet.com/~bury_rd/green.htm
and scroll down to the table. It's helpful, but not extensive, there are many more green manures, have a google for it. They also do different things, and that site doesn't say which ones fix nitrogen.

Mind you, you said you only wanted it for suppressing weeds... so failing that, you could always put down some ground cover, which from experience works wonders.
http://www.thegardensuperstore.co.uk/acatalog/Ground_Cover_Sheeting.html

:):):):):)

Oops, yes they do specify which ones fix nitrogen with a '*'. My mistake. ;D

You can grow one of the clovers under the courgettes/squash and they will coexist happily together  :)

Nice idea supersprout, will have to try that one, I'm aiming this year to grow as much as possible to eliminate weed growth! Having said that, is there a downside of them competing for nutrients?

Hello, I thought that was quite valuable information, so I have cut and pasted some of it into a new A4A wiki page on Green manure. You can collectively add and edit it there too if you want to.

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_mambowiki/Itemid,61/

Hi Common_clay

To me stations are a hole dug out and a large amount of compost/manure mixed in with the soil and returned to the hole. the courgette/squash etc is then planted a few weeks later into the well composted 'station'

This way I can save my precious compost/manure.

Thanks for the link, useful info

To save time with allowing the turned in plants to start rotting can they be cut down and used in a compost heap. The idea was to try and use the ground before the the summer crops.

Hi Supersprout

Did this suppress the weeds, as this area was previously covered in all manner of weeds.


Many Thanks
Scumpy

Hi Scumpy, thanks for enlightening me on the 'station' thing. I do that too, just never knew it had a name, doh!
Good luck. :)

John H,

          I went to the link but it just took me to the main page of Wiki... I'm new to this site and getting a bit confused with the navigation, could you or someone please point me in the right direction?
Much appreciated,
CC

Hi CC,

On the main page of the wiki click on methods of cultivation, then green manures

Sorry Common_Clay, I thought I has made a link to the Green manure page.

Once you have followed MikeB's directions, all you have to do is click on the edit tab at the top of the page and you are editing the wiki page yourself.

Quote from: Common_Clay on February 22, 2006, 13:19:22
is there a downside of them competing for nutrients?

Not that I've noticed CC, the squash etc. seem to love them nitrogen nodules and the bee activity helps too ...

I am thinking of growing poached egg plant as a green manure around my soft fruit bushes. Has anybody done this please? And if so what were the results?

Rosemary

I grow it around fruit bushes and it works really well. It does die down once it has seeded in about July and then its worth giving adding a top coat of grass clippings to stop any weeds growing before the seeds start growing again in September.

I have also been trying it out a block of it on one of my raised beds, you can see the results by following the directions Mike B has given to the Green manure pages of the wiki (about 3 contributions back)

All the best,

I found sowing rye grass in autumn was fantastic at keeping down the couch etc on my newly rotavated plot. Big difference between areas it was sown and areas left to themselves.

Wow something that keeps on top of crouch grass. I am definitley sowing rye grass this autumn

Thanks for that
Viks

Not the sharpest tool in the box, but is Rye Grass the same thing as Grazing Rye (Secale Cereale)? Thanks.