What are the best green manures to sow in the garden and greenhouse in the spring?

The main task of green manure is to enrich the soil with nitrogen and organic matter. Most often, green manures are legumes and cereals, as well as their mixtures with other plants. These green fertilizers restore the composition of the soil, but not all of them can be sown in unheated soil.

From a practical point of view, spring sowing of green manure is more productive than summer sowing. With the onset of warmth, plants begin to actively grow. They thrive comfortably in the spring, in conditions where the soil contains a lot of moisture and the sun has not yet dried the soil. Planting green manure in the spring improves the soil structure. Green manure crops protect it from weathering, improve air and water permeability, and do not allow useful substances to be washed out.

Green manure enriches the soil with nitrogen and oxygen, and also prevents the growth of weeds. In addition, green manure plants can change the composition and acidity of soils. And some of them even help fight dangerous pests.

Green manure crops sown in spring include:

• buckwheat,
• peas,
• lupine,
• oats,
• mustard,
• phacelia.

By May, when the period of active planting of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, as well as sowing root crops begins, these plants already have time to increase their green mass.

Botanists have not yet discovered a universal green manure that would be ideal for absolutely all crops. So each crop planted in the beds needs its own green manure, which will perform its function.

When to sow green manure in spring

You can start sowing green manure in early spring, as soon as the snow melts and the ground thaws. In the greenhouse, green manure begins to be sown 6 weeks before the expected date of planting the seedlings.

The soil in the area where green manure is supposed to be sown must first be cleared of debris and weeds, and also loosened.

There are two ways to sow green manure in the spring: in rows or continuous sowing. In order for the seeds to germinate more evenly (not only in spring, but also at any other time of the year), experienced gardeners recommend mixing them with a small amount of sand or sawdust.

Sowing time

Very often, to sow green manure crops, vegetable growers wait until the main crop is completely harvested. However, in a greenhouse, tomatoes bear fruit until late autumn, and even with the onset of significant cold weather, quite heavy fruits still weigh on the branches.

Considering all the features of tomato production technology, sowing green manure in a greenhouse cannot be delayed until late autumn; it must be sown in August. During this period, the lower leaves have already been removed, mulch lies under the bushes, and underneath it is warm and humid. It is possible and necessary to sow the soil with green manure and get a huge effect from it.

Rake off the mulch, sow the green manure mixture and cover everything with the mulch you raked. Water and wait for shoots. The greenery that appears will begin to grow very quickly. Once it reaches a height of 25-30 cm, mow or cut it. Further growth will no longer be so lush, since the temperature background drops and the illumination decreases, but the green carpet will, although slowly, increase, becoming lush.

Is it necessary to dig up green manure in the spring?

Experienced agronomists say that burying the green mass of green manure planted in the spring improves the structure of the soil, increases its moisture capacity, water permeability and promotes the activation of microbiological processes. It is recommended to bury green manure for the garden, sown in the spring, in the ground 1-2 weeks before planting the main plants. Green manure crops must be cut or mowed before buds appear on them. If this is not done in time, they will grow a powerful root system, the plant stems will become rough, and the seeds will ripen and scatter throughout the entire dacha area. As a result, instead of benefiting the soil, you will get a new problem - weeds.

What applies to green manure?

Planting green manure in a greenhouse significantly improves the condition of the soil. Beginning gardeners need to know that auxiliary plants that saturate the soil with useful components include:

• Oats.
• Rye.
• Mustard.
• Green phacelia.
• Legumes.

If you sow greenhouses with oats and other grains, the soil will improve its structure and become soft and loosened. Legumes and mustard saturate the soil with nitrogen and suppress the development of pathogens. Sowing green manure in a greenhouse allows you to effectively fight weeds.

What green manures to sow

Today in specialized stores you can find both monoculture seeds and special mixtures of green manure (for example, legumes-cereals, vetch-oats). Which one to choose is up to you. It all depends on the type of soil, the crop being planted and the result you want to achieve.

Buckwheat

This crop is unpretentious and grows well in depleted and acidic soils. Summer residents appreciate this green manure because it enriches the soil with phosphorus and potassium, and also impedes the growth of weeds, including the main enemy of all gardeners - wheatgrass. But there is a small nuance: buckwheat is a heat-loving crop, so it is sown no earlier than the beginning of May (before planting late potatoes or late-ripening root crops).

After cutting, part of the green mass of buckwheat is dug into the soil, and part is left on the surface as mulch.

White mustard

This is one of the most popular green manures for spring sowing. The plant is not afraid of frost and is considered a winter crop. Wet, acidic soils are not suitable for white mustard.

The period from sowing seeds to technical maturity is 1.5-2 months. Mustard quickly grows lush greenery and provides light shade to young shoots of cultivated plants and suppresses the growth of weeds. This green manure loosens the soil, and the sulfur contained in its root secretions repels beetle larvae, mole crickets and other pests. In addition, mustard protects plants from late blight and fusarium.

Oats

Oats are considered the most ancient and famous of all cereal green manures. Its stems contain a lot of valuable protein. This plant boasts nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content. Oats as green manure are a godsend for viscous clay soils: with their powerful roots, they are able to loosen dense soil and saturate the soil with vitamins and oxygen. It is important that the oat stems are located very close to each other, thus protecting the main crop from weeds. In addition, oats are completely undemanding and grow anywhere, be it black soil or sandy soils.

Phacelia

Phacelia is a reliable protector against parasites for potatoes, carrots, beets and other plants whose crops ripen in the ground. This green manure is used not only to improve the quality of the soil, but also to protect the main crop from harmful insects, weeds, and also to stop soil erosion.

The time for sowing phacelia directly depends on weather conditions. In regions with warm climates, seeds begin to be sown in February. If the winter in the region is cold and protracted, then sowing can be started no earlier than the end of March, after making sure that the frosts have subsided.

Peas

Peas are classified as legume green manures, the main task of which is to restore soil fertility. First of all, this applies to those areas where the same crops are grown every year. In most cases, peas are sown in the spring or late summer after harvest. This plant is able to grow the necessary green mass in just 1.5 months, thanks to which the bed will be protected from overheating and drying out.

Peas grow well in neutral, well-moistened soils. This crop can withstand a slight cold snap, but will die in frost.

Lupine

Lupine is considered one of the best green manures for planting in spring. Since it is capable of restoring fertility to any soil, it is often used to reclaim abandoned areas.

Like most green manures, lupine begins to be sown two months before planting vegetable crops, or after harvesting in August-September. This plant prefers acidic light soils, but can grow in sandy soils and loams. The powerful root system of lupine is capable of extracting nutrients from deep in the soil, thus deeply loosening and draining it

How to sow green manure correctly

Selection

The mixture of crops for sowing tomatoes should consist of:

• cereals;
• legumes;
• cruciferous

Cereals

The basis of the green manure mixture is cereals, of which you can give preference to oats or rye.

When sown simultaneously, these crops behave restrainedly and tolerantly. Those who practice filling the greenhouse with snow should not refuse this; the cereals will accept it as they should.

In the spring, the cereals will continue to grow until the tomato seedlings are planted. The mowing of cereals can not be removed, but used as mulch. If compact planting with green vegetable crops is practiced, then the cereals are put into compost or dug up.

Cereals are particularly good at converting potassium into accessible forms. This element plays a major role in carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism. Potassium affects the strength of tomato stems and the accumulation of sugar content in the fruit. With a deficiency of this element, the formation of buds is delayed.

Legumes

If there is a nitrogen deficiency, then legumes cannot be avoided. Assimilating nitrogen from the air, fixing it with the help of nodule bacteria, and giving it to the soil, plants of this group carry out nitrogen fertilization of tomato bushes. The coefficient of use of nitrogen of plant origin by tomatoes is almost twice as high as that of nitrogen of mineral origin.

Vetch is used as an additive as the best green manure for tomatoes. This crop gets along well with oats and enriches the soil with nitrogen, and tomatoes treat it very favorably, doubling the yield.

Cruciferous

We should dwell on these crops in more detail, since they play the main and decisive role for tomatoes in several aspects.

The root system of cruciferous green manure is abundantly “hung” with bacteria. They need iron to survive. There is a lot of this element in soils, but it is in an inaccessible form, but microorganisms convert it into an accessible form and cruciferous plants consume it with pleasure. Iron, in turn, is also necessary for pathogenic fungi, but cruciferous mushrooms “steal” it so skillfully that fungal ones simply do not have time to consume it. This is the basis for the mechanism of the fungicidal action of cruciferous crops to protect tomatoes from late blight.

One of the best crops is mustard. In summer it is sown in a mixture with other crops. Some vegetable growers practice sowing mustard in February-March, spot-on, sparse sowing allows to plant tomato seedlings between these plantings without destroying the green manure.

During the entire growing season, mustard is pruned, preventing the budding phase.

Sometimes vegetable growers find out: “Which green manure is better to sow under tomatoes in the fall - mustard or rapeseed?” However, experience shows that these are not mutually substitutable cultures, but complementary ones.

Rapeseed belongs to the cabbage family. Its plant tissues are very delicate and when they fall into the soil after mowing, they are quickly decomposed by microorganisms, turning into nutrients for the tomato.

Green manure for tomatoes

When choosing green manure for tomatoes, experts recommend taking into account several factors:

• plant compatibility,
• soil composition,
• climatic features of the region.

Lupine, mustard, phacelia, and oats are considered the most optimal for tomatoes. Sowing and growing activities should begin several weeks before planting tomatoes. As soon as the green manure grows 20-30 cm, its tops must be cut off and embedded into the soil with a flat cutter. As a rule, this occurs 14 days before planting the main crop.

Some summer residents practice a method where the main crop (i.e. tomatoes) is planted directly in green manure and grown together. In this case, fragrant herbs additionally protect plants from pests and the scorching sun.

Green manure is an indispensable “green fertilizer” that will come to the rescue of everyone who wants to achieve a good harvest. This is one of the most effective and, importantly, inexpensive ways to enrich the soil in the spring with vital microelements. When used correctly, green manure can restore the structure and quality characteristics of the most depleted site in just a few seasons!

What to sow in a greenhouse for tomatoes and cucumbers?

What green fertilizers to choose before and after growing tomatoes and cucumbers in a greenhouse?

In general, it is believed that since cucumbers and tomatoes are grown in greenhouses in the vast majority of cases, almost any green manure can be grown, because they all belong to different families.

Green manure will fill the potassium deficiency

In the fall, it will be most useful to sow the vacated area with winter cereals . Before frost, the emerging shoots should be covered with snow to prevent freezing.

Cereals will supply the soil with potassium, which is so necessary for nightshades and cucumbers. Its deficiency is often the main reason for delayed flowering and low fruit set.

• legumes , cruciferous vegetables or phacelia will be excellent to use .
• Excellent results were noted when greening with a mixture of various crops.

Green manure will disinfect the soil

It is important to remember that if part of your greenhouse was occupied by tomatoes, then with a high degree of probability it can be said that late blight pathogens have accumulated in the soil. This fact should be taken into account when choosing a future green fertilizer.

• In this case, there will be great benefit from placing mustard , phacelia or oilseed radish , which, in addition to cleansing late blight, will also provide the plants with available nitrogen.
• For disinfection, it would be useful to sow alfalfa , as well as rye .

Especially for cucumbers

Owners of greenhouses in which they plan to grow cucumbers should take into account some of the biological characteristics of this crop.

Having a very underdeveloped root system, cucumber plants cannot obtain food from deep layers of soil. Nutrition occurs by absorbing nutrients only from the top soil layer, which must be very fertile.

Almost all recommended green manure plants can cope with this task. However, it is still advisable to use crops that quickly form vegetative mass , which will help to obtain maximum benefit from its decomposition.

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Useful qualities

Green manure plants not only enrich the soil with useful components, many of them repel pests. They also attract insects, which increases the level of pollination of cultivated plants. Bumblebees and bees will be happy to fly to a rich lawn in the spring, actively pollinating all flowering plants. Beginning vegetable growers should know which plants are beneficial for the soil.

• Legumes saturate the soil with nitrogen.
• Grains help replenish useful biomass and control weeds.
• Mustard, rapeseed, radish and rapeseed can effectively control weeds.

• Winter types of rapeseed.
• Rye, barley.
• Gray wheatgrass.

If cucumbers are planted in a polycarbonate greenhouse, it is recommended to sow the area with mustard after them in the spring. Perhaps this is the most common green manure that effectively fights diseases that affect the soil. Mustard grows quickly, enriches the soil, and does not allow weeds to grow in this area. If you plan to grow tomato seedlings in a polycarbonate greenhouse, you can do this without removing the mustard. The correct selection and planting of green manure is described in the video.

In custody

Considering that soil is constantly used in greenhouses, the soil needs to be fed. To enrich the soil in greenhouses, it is necessary to use green manure plants. They will help replenish nutrients in the soil and get rid of pathogens and weeds. The correct choice of green manure makes it possible to increase the yield and reduce the level of pest development.