If you treat the land philosophically, with the love of a real farmer, then the sown green manure before winter can be called a man’s gratitude for the wealth collected from the fields and gardens. The soil, giving us a little of its fertility and not getting anything in return for it, is gradually depleted, giving increasingly scarce yields. The earth cannot be restored even with the most advanced chemicals and fertilizers. Nature itself suggests the right decision: fertilizer should only be natural! The fact that nature freezes in winter can only be said by poets and writers. Tell about it to the person who knows and loves the earth. He smiles: "She is gaining strength at this time!"
Sowing time
Why is it better to sow siderates in the winter? Those who prefer natural farming, abandoning deep tillage, know that plants carry the load of this work with ease. Siderata perfectly structure the soil. Taking root, they drill many tubules (vertical, horizontal), and the earth becomes more porous. Moisture penetrates much easier, air circulates better inside. Created more comfortable conditions for soil residents. With the advent of winter, the roots of the siderates die off, and frost sets in. By freezing the channels, they loosen the soil even more, increasing its porosity. You get a kind of "biological plow." It turns out that sowing siderates in the winter is both more practical and more convenient. Although if possible, it is also worth it to do it in the spring.
What to sow siderata?
For autumn sowing, only fast-growing and cold-resistant plants are suitable. Oil radish and white mustard enrich the soil very well . Alternatively, you can consider the mixture. It can be a combined version of phacelia, oats and mustard. The main thing is to choose the right plants. Do not sow crops of the same family one after another. For example, you should not place legumes (or peas) after mustard, cabbage, lupine, radish. They have only diseases and pests. It is also important to remember that different cultures enrich the soil in different ways. Some of them also inhibit weed growth. Decide for what purpose you need green manure. If you are interested in composting or mulching, sow Pancake week radish. Enrich the soil with nitrogen will help vetch, lupine, melilot. Rye and oats (like green manure in the fall) loosen the soil, restore its structure and suppress the growth of weeds.
How to sow siderates in the winter?
The best time is the beginning of autumn. If the beds are still busy with some vegetables, use the sowing method: while the crop ripens, green manure will come up and grow. Nursing plants should alternate. They are sown, as usual, in shallow loosened soil. It is not necessary to make grooves (in large areas it is inconvenient and troublesome), you can just scatter the seeds. Then it’s enough to “walk” on top with a rake. Siderata are often sown before winter under early planted crops: onions, lettuce, potatoes. They can even be left until May - they just gain the maximum green mass, have time to saturate the soil with microelements. Some farmers plow them into the ground a couple of weeks before planting other crops. Perhaps, with large volumes, when the equipment works mainly, this is really the best option. However, it will be more useful if you leave green manure until the fall, just mowing it (for example, by cutting it with a plane cutter) to a depth of 3 cm.First, you will get an excellent mulch, and secondly, the roots of the orderlies will continue to loosen the ground. But in case of smelling, their work will be reduced to zero. The benefit will be only from the green mass. Siderates are cut before they bloom. If the plant grows, it will give the earth less nitrogen, will rot much longer, and those that do not have time to decompose may become acidic.