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Regular
Posts: 62
| Anyone got any recommendations for a green manure I can sow soon? Got a patch of bare soil covered in creeping buttercup etc, thought I'd dig 'em out before winter and plant something to cover the ground. I don't want something else that involves a lot of work to get rid of tho..
Any suggestions? |
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Veteran
Posts: 275
| I think Toni recommended a general green manure seed mix, not sure where she got it from. I've always been a bit nervous about that, seems to me if you're planning on growing veg afterwards, the green manure should fit into the rotation, and I imagine a mix would include legumes and brassicas. I used field beans on a patch last winter and that worked quite well. |
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Regular
Posts: 79
Location: Cromarty | I think Craig is using mustard on his Cromarty allotment plot. I have some buckwheat I am planning to try.
Beans should be good if dug in as they do fix nitrogen in the soil |
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Veteran
Posts: 214
| Mustards are good for sowing now, heavy frost will kill them and save you the trouble but they'll get a few months growing done first.
If you plan to leave the patch uncultivated for a year or more I'd go for a clover, you'll need to dig it in or compost when you want to sow but not too hard work and will suppress annual weeds meanwhile. You'll have to get those creeping buttercups out the hard way, whatever, LOL. |
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| Maybe a bit late, but... I have used green manures ( all sorts) and wont do it again. It is very hard work, using clover and rye grasses. Buckwheat and lupins need an awful lot of seed . Mustard is a bit thin as a cover and can encourage brassica type problems. My solution= black polythene, or preferably old carpet. Never had a problem with dyes in over 30 years. Even better- lots of old cardboard boxes from shops, remove any taping, flatten out and cover with any organic material to hand- even grass cuttings. Just look at the little wriggly worms you'll generate. This mulching will ease subsequent digging up of your creeping buttercups. Only prayer and faith will eliminate them.
If I lived by the sea I would spread seaweed over my cardboard. You cant get better. |
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Regular
Posts: 62
| Great, thanks for that Tony, reckon I'll going to give the cardboard and seaweed a try, and grow stuff in fishboxes and containers on top in the interim. The creeping wee brutes are already flourishing - and the ground elder is peeking its head up into the sunshine to boot. Aye well, hopefully patience and perseverance will prevail in the end! |
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Green manure recommendations?