The benefits and possible harm to the home garden from planting mustard. Mustard as green manure: important recommendations for autumn sowing and further use

Material prepared by: Nadezhda Zimina, gardener with 24 years of experience, process engineer

Mustard is a well-known spice that is widely used in cooking. But few people know that she has other advantages. Mustard as a fertilizer has long been used in many Balkan countries, where the climate is similar to ours. middle lane, for the improvement and nutrition of the soil.

The Latin name for mustard is Sinapis. There are several varieties of this member of the cruciferous family, and the subspecies Sinapis alba is considered the most useful for the garden ( white mustard), which the has a unique feature - to release sparingly soluble phosphates from the soil, and accumulate them. Also its stems, roots and leaves contain a large number of nitrogen, which makes mustard an excellent green manure.

In our country it useful plant not widely accepted by gardeners. Public opinion refers her to thermophilic crops, it is believed that the climate of the middle zone is not too comfortable for her. Actually, it is not. Mustard is very unpretentious, and if you do not ensure its timely collection, it can even become a very tenacious weed. The most interesting thing is that in nature it grows throughout Russia, except for permafrost zones. It is also distributed throughout the world. She can be found in North America, in India, and even in Japan.

What is useful mustard for plants?

Sowing mustard to fertilize the soil used to enrich the earth with nitrogen and phosphorus. The green mass embedded in the soil actively gives these useful microelements to the plants - followers, nourishing them on the most important, initial stage growth. It should be noted that mustard is not only green manure, it has many other useful qualities. She is:

Cleans the soil from phytophthora, scab, putrefactive microorganisms, fights wireworm, slugs and codling moth;
Because of his rapid growth does not allow other weeds to develop;
Improves soil structure;
Interferes with leaching of the garden and garden earths thanks to the ability to detain nitrogen;
After frost, it turns into a mulching shelter, protecting the soil from freezing, and, accordingly, keeping more moisture in it until spring;
Is a good honey plant;
Can be a companion plant for various garden and horticultural crops, for example, for, beans, grapes, fruit trees, as it stimulates their growth and protects against pests.

How to grow green manure?

Actually, very easy. Mustard is adapted to any soil and conditions. Having planted its seeds, you can forget about the plot for 2-3 weeks. It will rise and grow anyway. Even frosts are unbearable for her - young shoots can withstand frosts down to -5 ° C, without much damage to the green mass.

The size of the seeds of this plant is small, but since they have some volume (similar to very small beans), it is convenient to capture them when planting. That's why mustard is usually planted, not sown, in a row way, keeping a distance between seeds of 10-15 cm, and between rows - 20 cm. At favorable conditions this plant forms sprawling bushes that need space. strongly deepen planting material no need, it will slow down germination and weaken the plants. The maximum planting depth on loose, sandy soils is -1 - 1.5 cm; on clay - 1 cm. Shoots will appear together in 3-5 days.

If time is short, then you can organize the sowing of mustard to fertilize the soil. The result, of course, can be expected worse than with a uniform landing, but it will still be. With this "accelerated" method, you can simply scatter the seeds on a previously prepared loose soil surface, and deepen them with a rake. In this case, the consumption rate seed- 4-5 g per 1 m².

When to plant mustard to improve soil?

spring

The first planting of white mustard, which is most often used as a fertilizer, is produced in April. As soon as the constant night frosts stop, and the air temperature rises above 10 ° C, this undemanding plant is sown. To achieve its conditional form, it will take about 4-7 weeks, that is, if you sow mustard in the spring, in April, you can have time to fertilize its area before planting the main garden plants.

But it should be taken into account that Not all vegetable crops can be planted after mustard. Cabbage, radish, radish, lettuce and other plants from the cruciferous family are bad neighbors, followers and predecessors for her, since they are all affected by the same diseases.

autumn

After harvesting crops that occupy large areas, there is still a sufficient number of warm days that can be used for planting green manure in this plot.

In autumn, mustard is planted after potatoes and cereals. thus healing, large plots earth. Sometimes this green manure is sown before winter, so that the mustard comes up in the spring. The most important thing in this case is not to make a mistake with the landing time. Seeds must be placed in cold, but previously loosened soil. They need to stay in a dormant state until spring, and at the same time, not freeze. Therefore, the embedment depth can be slightly increased, since melt water still blur upper layer soil.

How to use Sinapis alba for top dressing?

According to gardeners, mustard is a very convenient green top dressing that does not require a lot of labor when using the application. It is embedded in the soil immediately, in the place where it grew which is very convenient - no effort is required to carry and transport. For example, if mustard is used as a weed suppressor for potatoes, then when weeding, it is simply embedded in the soil with a hoe or hoe.

Mustard should be cut in the garden before flowering, otherwise the stems will coarsen, and it will be difficult to process. But at the age of 5-7 weeks, it is soft as grass. Right now, the moment it needs to be removed, after watering it with a solution with effective microorganisms (for example,). This will speed up the processing of green manure. But do not forget that in the dry state, the decomposition process is slow, so the area where mustard was sown to fertilize the soil must be moistened periodically.

If the land that is planned to be "revived" by green manure, long years was in the mode of enhanced operation, then most likely there are too few microorganisms left in it, and there will be no one to decompose the green mass. That's why together with the beveled mustard, it is necessary to add vermiculturated compost, rich in rapidly multiplying earthworms.

When using green manure for nutrition and soil improvement, it should be borne in mind that each plant absorbs, and subsequently gives to its followers, a certain set of macro- and microelements, and white mustard alone cannot provide the correct balance of the nutrient medium. For full fertilization of the site, it is necessary to use a mixture of green manure crops.

Video: Green manures - green fertilizers on our site

Sideration is the most effective method restoration of soil resources.

Even fertilizing with manure does not have such a long-term result as sowing white mustard in the fall.

This plant is able to release soil phosphates and accumulate them.

Leaves, roots, stems contain nitrogen in large quantities, which provides excellent sideration.

Benefits or why sow mustard in the fall?

This green manure is available to any gardener, easy to grow and effective. Its main purpose as a fertilizer is to enrich the soil with phosphorus and nitrogen. The green mass, dug into the ground, transmits these important elements subsequent plants, stimulating the process of their growth and development. In addition, mustard has the following useful features:

Fast germination and high yields. Green mass is a complete fertilizer in composition.
High cold resistance. The sprouts can withstand temperatures down to -5 C. After a significant cooling, the plants cover the soil from freezing and help retain moisture in it until spring.
Content essential oils. Mustard copes with plant diseases such as scab, late blight; protects against the Colorado potato beetle, slugs, weeds. This quality manifests itself in inter-row cultivation with potatoes, grapes, and beans.
Lack of seed preparation. They are placed in the soil, covered with a small amount of earth, sand, or covered with a rake.
strong root system. Reaches 0.5 meters and loosens the ground to this depth. It can assimilate elements that are poorly soluble in water and inaccessible for this reason to other plants.
Increasing the air permeability of the earth. It is achieved by increasing the number of earthworms after sowing mustard in the fall.
erosion prevention. Dense sowing is used where there is a risk of soil erosion, wind damage. The stems of plants planted in early autumn will be able to perform the function of snow retention by frost.

Cons of autumn sowing mustard as green manure

The disadvantages of gardeners include:

1. Going to weed. If you do not mow mustard until the last, then it will coarsen, bloom. The cut off seed plants, most likely, will fall into the ground and germinate. This garden weed is difficult to remove from the soil.

2. Limited use. White mustard should not be grown in autumn where other cruciferous plants, such as radishes, turnips, cabbage, will have to be planted next season. These crops are subject to the same diseases and pests as mustard. Before them, it is better to plant cereals, legumes.

When exactly is mustard planted in the fall?

Sowing time depends on weather conditions in the region and the gardener's wishes regarding the expected germination and green manure period. Autumn planting of fertilizer is carried out in the following periods:

1. Late summer, early autumn. Sowing is done in moist soil, after harvest. Siderat grows well in large areas where there were previously potatoes, strawberries, cereal crops. Usually there is enough time from the moment of sowing to the beginning of flowering to get right amount green mass. So, when applying seeds immediately after harvesting, from 1 weave you can get about 400 kg of fertilizer, which must be mowed and applied for its intended purpose.

2. At the end of September. When planted late, the grown stems do not mow, they die from frost and save the soil from the cold in winter. The roots, being in the ground, rot, nourishing, loosening the soil.

3. Before winter. Sowing mustard in late autumn is carried out so that the fertilizer rises in the spring. To do this, the seeds are placed in dug cold ground, left to winter there. So that the mustard does not freeze, does not wash out with melt water with a soil layer, it is necessary to increase the depth of embedding.

How to sow mustard in the fall

For creating quality fertilizer growing green manure should obey the following algorithm of actions:

1. The beds should be cleared of residues of vegetables and weeds after harvest.

2. It is desirable to fertilize them with humus at the rate of 1 bucket per 1 sq. m.

3. The earth needs to be dug up, leveled with a rake, poured with water.

4. Next, you should start planting mustard in a row. The seeds are similar in size to small beans and are easy to grab and place in the soil. The distance between them should be at least 15 cm, between rows about 20 cm, as the plants grow.

5. About 250 g of seeds are planted on a hundred square meters of land. They should not be placed too far into the soil, this will slow down germination, the optimal depth should not exceed 1–1.5 cm. If there is not enough time, mustard can not be sown in rows, but scattered randomly on the ground. The result will be worse than in the case of uniform application, but still noticeable.

6. After planting mustard in the fall, the seeds are added dropwise or harrowed with an ordinary rake.

Plants germinate about 4 days after sowing, after a month their height is 15 cm. For full growth, development, mustard should be watered abundantly, it does not need additional feeding. It is desirable to have time to cut the siderat shoots before flowering for the following reasons:

The stems and petioles of the leaves coarsen with the appearance of flowers, which slows down the processing of green mass, the formation of fertilizer;

Spend on flowering nutrients plants, which contributes to the loss of green manure function;

Seed mustard will begin to multiply and can quickly become a hard to get rid of weed.

How to use mustard as a fertilizer?

You can mow the green mass with a flat cutter, chopper, oblique. After that, it must be embedded in the soil with a shovel to a depth of about 5 cm.

So mineral, organic elements get into the earth, thereby restoring its structure. If for some reason it is not possible to bury the greens, then you can leave it in the garden in the winter. Aboveground part rot, and the roots, decomposed, loosen the soil.

Gardeners are trying to speed up the process of biohumus formation with the help of Baikal EM-1. It promotes education favorable environment for reproduction in the soil of bacteria that heal it and make it more fertile. This product is really effective, but completely replace organic fertilizers, such as compost, humus, neither he nor green manure can.

As for the sandy clay soil, then planting mustard in the fall will not have a positive effect on the structure of the soil. A layer of humus will slowly form, seasonal vegetable growing will destroy it again. Therefore, unprepared lands are not suitable for sowing mustard in the fall for digging. They must first be improved, and then crop rotation should be applied in order to increase yields.

Using green manure for healing, soil nutrition, you need to keep in mind that plants consume and then give the followers a set of useful substances, microelements. So, it is quite difficult to ensure the balance of the nutrient medium only with the help of white mustard. For high-quality soil fertilization, it is necessary to grow different types green manure crops and do not forget about organic matter, an integrated approach will give the best results.

Mustard seeds are in high demand in garden centers- they are actively interested in farmers, both in spring and autumn. However, farmers do not purchase packaged grains to obtain mustard powder, but to make mulch from sprouted mustard shoots. The fact is that this plant is ideal as a green manure. It has a short growing season, grows rapidly, produces large amounts of green mass and valuable residual fiber, suitable for mulching soils that are deficient in organic matter.

Proper plowing of mustard as green manure in autumn and spring helps to improve soil structure and its moisture permeability. But in order for the sideration of the soil to meet the expectations of the farmer, it is necessary to know when to sow and dig the green manure mustard on a particular personal plot.

Independent cultivation of mustard as green manure begins with the preparation of seeds. Therefore, before looking for an answer to the question - when to plant mustard as green manure (in autumn, spring or summer), the farmer must solve another problem, namely, buy or harvest it yourself. required amount seeds for sowing their land. This should take into account the area of the field and the seeding rate of mustard per green manure, established on an individual basis. Traditionally, the norm is from seven to ten kilograms per hectare of land, however, it may vary depending on the time of planting the seeds, the condition of the fertile soil layer on the land, weather conditions and other external factors.

For example, in the warm months, the sowing rate can be slightly adjusted downward and about six kilograms of grains per hectare of land can be used. And if the farmer is interested winter growing, on the contrary, the number of seeds per hectare should be increased, since the germination of mustard in the cold season worsens.

Before sowing mustard on green manure, the farmer needs to familiarize himself with the technology of seed embedding. So harvested seeds good quality scatter over the field by hand, and then deepen a couple of centimeters into the ground with a hoe or rake. After the mustard seeds are securely covered with a layer of soil from birds and showers, the earth is irrigated with water and compacted a little. The first green sprouts will appear on the land within a week from the moment the seeds are planted.

Spring and autumn sowing of mustard as green manure is not particularly difficult. This plant is compatible with many types of soil, however, owners of sites with acidic soils should be careful when growing mustard, because the plant is not able to neutralize high ph. It is also worthwhile to understand in advance when to sow mustard as green manure in the fall and in the spring. This culture is unpretentious and hardy - it quickly gives powerful shoots, so it can be planted in the ground from March to September. The flexible timing of sowing mustard as green manure gives the farmer some freedom of choice, and he can decide for himself when to plant the seeds in the ground.

The nature of the impact on the soil

Having figured out when to sow mustard green manure on the site, the farmer may be interested in the nature of the impact of this green manure on the soil. It will be covered in the current section. It’s worth starting with the fact that mustard belongs to cruciferous plants, which, with their powerful, branched roots, are able to loosen the soil and leave the need to use special equipment for plowing fields in the past. In addition, having a clear idea of when to sow mustard as green manure and what to do with its shoots, the farmer will achieve other improvements.

Among them:

soil protection from erosion;
preventing leaching of organic and minerals from the soil;
release of phosphates;
protection of lands from pathogens and weeds.

Soil improvement is another important area organic farming. Mustard will also help to carry it out. It effectively suppresses the growth of colonies of pathogenic bacteria in the soil and prevents the reproduction of nematodes and wireworms in the area. Thus, wisely using mustard in the garden, the farmer will be able to achieve a complex effect on the soil with minimum investment funds and labour.

Making mulch from mustard shoots

If a summer resident who cultivates land according to the principles of organic farming is interested in mustard as green manure, when and how to harvest this plant after gaining a sufficient amount of vegetative mass, this is a key question that needs to be answered. To begin with, the farmer must decide which way to go - choose to dig green manure or give preference to no-till farming. This topic was discussed in the article.

If the summer resident chose the first option, then he is interested in the question - when to dig up green manure mustard to get best results. Agronomists advise planning digging in the period from 6 to 8 weeks after the first shoots appear on the field. During this period, the plant will gain the necessary strength and become suitable for embedding in the ground with a cultivator, plow or ordinary shovel. In the process of digging, it is not worth deepening the shoots into the ground - it is enough to close them up by 10-15 centimeters and leave them in the ground to rot. But since the concept of using arable land in agriculture there are many opponents, an increasing number of gardeners prefer the second option and are interested in the question - when to mow mustard as green manure as part of no-till farming.

Experts advise when choosing a date for cutting shoots to take into account the flowering period of the crop.

It falls on the 50-60th day from the moment of sowing the seeds, so it is best to grind the vegetative mass before this time. Thus, when deciding when to cut green manure mustard in his field, the farmer must prevent the crop from flowering and uncontrolled self-seeding.

It is important not only to correctly answer the question of when to mow mustard as green manure, but also to learn how to properly mulch it. When the time for cutting the greens is selected and the mulch chopper is purchased, the farmer can get to work. He will first need to mow the shoots, the height of which is already about 35-40 centimeters, chop them with a special device and spread them evenly on the field. The roots of the plant should be left underground in their original form. After a few weeks, the mustard stems and root mass will rot and give their nutrients to the soil. In such an unpretentious way, the farmer will saturate the fertile soil layer and not violate the integrity of its microflora.

If a farmer is determined to use green manure - when to sow and when to bury mustard - this is not the only question that he will have to find an answer to. It is also important to know other nuances - the resistance of the culture to cold, the exactingness of watering, compatibility with common horticultural crops etc. Knowing these nuances will help in the best way plan crop rotation in the field and achieve excellent results during the process of soil manure.

As mentioned earlier, mustard is unpretentious and can grow on almost any type of soil. This crop can tolerate drought, but it is capricious in relation to stagnant water in the soil, so it is important for the farmer not to overdo it with the frequency and abundance of watering. As for temperature conditions, mustard seeds can germinate from the ground when the air warms up to 4 degrees Celsius.

This crop is well adapted to a cold climate, so it can be grown without any problems in most regions of Russia.

But for optimal results, the answer to the question of when to plant mustard as green manure, farmers from different parts of the country should look for individually. To plan a crop rotation in the field, you need to know when you can plant mustard as green manure, and also do not forget about the compatibility of this crop with other plants.

So, mustard will become a good predecessor in the beds intended for growing the following vegetables:

peas;
zucchini;
potato;
carrot;
cucumber;
garlic;
beet;
beans;
pumpkin.

But if a farmer decides to grow turnips, radishes, cabbage or daikon in the beds, and is now looking for an answer to the question - when can you sow mustard as green manure for these crops, then he should be careful. The fact is that cruciferous siderats are incompatible with the listed crops and their use as a predecessor in the garden can leave the farmer without a crop. You can read about which green manure for which crops to use.

The farmer needs to get a lot of answers if he decides to use cruciferous green manure in the garden - when to plant mustard in the fall before winter, what to do with its seedlings, how to choose the time for planting live mulch in the ground, etc. Armed with the recommendations given in this review, the gardener will be able to independently solve all these problems and master the basic techniques of soil manure. In the future, they will help the summer resident maintain a fertile soil layer, improve crop yields and maintain the fragile ecological balance of the land. In addition, the gardener will receive tangible economic benefits - he will be able to abandon labor-intensive and costly methods of cultivating the land and completely switch to affordable and efficient organic farming.

Green manure plants contribute to the restoration of fertility land plot and keep it that way for a long time. Various cereals are used as green manures. leguminous plants. But still, gardeners and gardeners give more preference to white mustard. This member of the cruciferous family has numerous positive qualities.

Benefits of mustard as green manure

Unpretentious in care and maintenance.
Gives high yields.
Possesses early germination.
Green mass contains a large amount of useful substances.
It is a cold hardy crop.
Repels harmful insects.
Capable of preventing the spread of most plant diseases.

The process of planting mustard

Sowing seeds

Sowing mustard seeds in autumn time carried out in exactly the same way as spring period. Seeds that do not require any preparation should be scattered over the prepared area and the soil leveled with a rake or sprinkled thin layer sand. The speed of the appearance of the first seedlings will depend on the thickness of the top layer, so do not deepen the seeds too much.

Covering crops

It is recommended to cover the beds before the sprouts appear only if they are not under supervision. open areas with freshly sown seeds are an attractive "dining room" for various birds that are not averse to feasting on this planting material. You can protect yourself from the raid of uninvited feathered guests with the help of special coverings from nonwoven fabric or nets that can be removed when seedlings appear after 3-4 days.

Temperature regime

Young shoots are already cold-resistant and can fully grow even when night temperatures drop from 0 to 5 degrees below zero.

Landing dates

It is advisable to plant green manure plants in late August - early September. This will contribute to the formation of a large amount of green mass (about 400 kg per 1 weave). You can use it in different ways:

As a mulch.
For making compost.
Embed in the soil as a fertilizer.

Siderates sown in early autumn are recommended not to be mowed or dug up, but left on the beds until spring. The aerial part of the plants after withering will protect the soil from the cold, and the root part, gradually rotting, will enrich its structure.

Positive qualities of mustard

Almost a quarter of the green mass of mustard consists of a variety of organic substances, as well as such useful elements as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

The mustard root system is designed in such a way that it can absorb many useful material which are not available for other green manures.

Mustard roots deeply penetrating into the ground (almost 3 meters) can accumulate and retain moisture.

The stems of green manure plants planted in autumn are so strong and powerful that they can be used on the site to retain snow and as protection from strong winds.

Gardeners take note!

Mustard is a weed

With numerous useful qualities, mustard has one drawback - it can turn from a useful green manure into weed grass which will be very difficult to get rid of. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to mow mustard plantations in a timely manner, before flowering begins. Flowering crops will leave behind a huge amount of seeds and spread by self-sowing throughout the territory. This applies only to those plantations that have grown after spring or summer planting of seeds. At autumn planting there is no such danger, because there is very little time before the onset of severe cold weather and the mustard simply does not have time to bloom.

Planting mustard and accounting for predecessor plants

Fall-sown mustard is not recommended as a ground fertilizer if the area is intended for turnips, radishes, or cabbages next season. All representatives of the cruciferous family are damaged by the same pests and diseases. For growing the above vegetable crops, cereals or legumes will be the best green manure.

All about mustard: use in the garden and vegetable garden (video)

Mustard is a well-known spice that is widely used in cooking. But few people know that she has other advantages. Mustard as a fertilizer has long been used in many Balkan countries, where the climate is similar to the climate of our middle zone, to improve and nourish the soil.

The Latin name for mustard is Sinapis. There are several varieties of this member of the cruciferous family, and the most useful for the garden is the subspecies Sinapis alba (white mustard), which has a unique feature - to release sparingly soluble phosphates from the soil, and accumulate them. Also, its stems, roots and leaves contain a large amount of nitrogen, which makes mustard an excellent green manure.

In our country, this useful plant has not received wide recognition from gardeners. Public opinion classifies it as a heat-loving crop, it is believed that the climate of the middle zone is not very comfortable for it. Actually, it is not. Mustard is very unpretentious, and if you do not ensure its timely collection, it can even become a very tenacious weed. The most interesting thing is that in nature it grows throughout Russia, except for permafrost zones. It is also distributed throughout the world. It can be found in North America, India, and even Japan.

What is useful mustard for plants?

Sowing mustard to fertilize the soil used to enrich the earth with nitrogen and phosphorus. The green mass embedded in the soil actively gives these useful trace elements to the plants - followers, nourishing them at the most important, initial stage of growth. It should be noted that mustard is not only green manure, it has many other useful qualities. She is:

Cleans the soil from phytophthora, scab, putrefactive microorganisms, fights wireworm, slugs and codling moth;

Due to its rapid growth, it does not allow other weeds to develop;

Improves soil structure;

Interferes with leaching of the garden and garden earths thanks to the ability to detain nitrogen;

After frost, it turns into a mulching shelter, protecting the soil from freezing, and, accordingly, keeping more moisture in it until spring;

Is a good honey plant;

It can be a companion plant for various horticultural and horticultural crops, such as potatoes, beans, grapes, fruit trees, as it stimulates their growth and protects against pests.

How to grow green manure?

The size of the seeds of this plant is small, but since they have some volume (similar to very small beans), it is convenient to capture them when planting. That's why mustard is usually planted, not sown, in a row way, keeping a distance between seeds of 10-15 cm, and between rows - 20 cm. Under favorable conditions, this plant forms sprawling bushes that need space. There is no need to deepen the planting material, this will slow down germination and weaken the plants. The maximum planting depth on loose, sandy soils is -1 - 1.5 cm; on clay - 1 cm. Shoots will appear together in 3-5 days.

When to plant mustard to improve soil?

spring

But it should be taken into account that not all vegetables can be planted after mustard. Cabbage, radish, radish, lettuce and other plants from the cruciferous family are bad neighbors, followers and predecessors for her, since they are all affected by the same diseases.

autumn

After harvesting crops that occupy large areas, there is still a sufficient number of warm days that can be used for planting green manure in this plot.

In autumn, mustard is planted after potatoes and cereals. thus healing large tracts of land. Sometimes this green manure is sown before winter, so that the mustard comes up in the spring. The most important thing in this case is not to make a mistake with the landing time. Seeds must be placed in cold, but previously loosened soil. They need to stay in a dormant state until spring, and at the same time, not freeze. Therefore, the embedment depth can be slightly increased, since melt water will still wash away the topsoil.

How to use Sinapis alba for top dressing?

Mustard should be cut in the garden before flowering, otherwise the stems will coarsen, and it will be difficult to process. But at the age of 5-7 weeks, it is soft as grass. Right now, the moment it needs to be removed, after watering it with a solution with effective microorganisms (for example, Baikal). This will speed up the processing of green manure. But do not forget that in the dry state, the decomposition process is slow, so the area where mustard was sown to fertilize the soil must be moistened periodically.

If the land that is planned to be “revived” by green manure has been in the mode of enhanced exploitation for many years, then most likely there are too few microorganisms left in it, and there will be no one to decompose the green mass. That's why together with the beveled mustard, it is necessary to add vermiculturated compost, rich in rapidly multiplying earthworms.