When cultivating crops, you need to pay a lot of attention to the quality of the soil. After all, over the years of use, the amount of useful substances in it decreases. This leads to a decrease in yield. Organic or mineral fertilizers will help to increase it.
Types of fertilizers
Mineral fertilizers are convenient in that they contain in a concentrated form the substances needed by the plant at different periods of development. But together with useful substances, various harmful substances and their compounds get into the soil. Increases acidity. All this leads to the death of worms, beneficial microorganisms that improve the structure of the soil.
Organic fertilizers do not have these disadvantages. They have a positive effect not only on the chemical composition, but also on the physical properties of the soil. Most of them contain the whole set of chemical elements necessary for plants, vitamins, microelements.
Organic fertilizers change their activity depending on weather conditions. In cold weather, they slow down their action, in warm weather they begin to work actively. They act gradually, and not simultaneously, as mineral ones. Organic fertilizers do not destroy worms that improve soil quality, contribute to the active activity of beneficial microorganisms. The soil becomes loose, which allows plants to receive more air and retain water. Organic fertilizers break down minerals so that they can be absorbed by plants.
Now, vegetable growers use a wide range of organic fertilizers, including well-known ones, such as humus, and new ones, which have been used relatively recently.
Mustard and its properties
Mustard is grown in order to be used as a seasoning for meat dishes. The powder prepared from the grains of this plant is used in the preservation of cucumbers and tomatoes.
Mustard powder is used in medicine. With a cold, the powder is thrown into the water in which the feet soar, or pour into socks at night. Most known mustard plasters, which are applied on the back in the treatment of diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
Mustard is valued for the bactericidal properties of all its parts. Therefore, it is used for the garden as a precursor to many plants. Mustard seeds germinate quickly, stems quickly reach maximum height. The root of the plant is voluminous. It drains the soil, enriches it with oxygen and moisture. Then the mustard stalks are mowed, planting in the soil for fertilizer.
Mustard is a good honey plant. Planted near other plants, attracts insects for pollination.
Properties of mustard cake
Mustard cake has a wide range of useful properties:
- It brings 10 times more benefits to the garden than manure.
- It has a fungicidal effect, protecting plants from diseases, including late blight and fusariosis.
- It scares off nematodes, many harmful insects (weevils, larvae of scoops, cartilage, pea moths, carrot and onion flies, ants), rodents.
- Cleans the soil from root rot.
Mustard Cake: Description
Mustard cake is obtained from mustard seeds. It is sold as a homogeneous coarse powder. The color is gray-brown.
It is sold packaged in packages of 1, 2 and 5 kg.
Mustard cake: use in the garden
Make mustard cake in autumn or spring before cultivating the soil. You can throw fertilizer into each well. In this case, the fertilizer will go directly to the roots of the plant. But direct contact should not be allowed. In the reviews, it is advised to make the cake at a distance of 5 cm from the roots of the plants. Therefore, after the mustard cake was laid in the hole, you need to sprinkle it with a layer of earth. You can do this with the Fokine plane cutter. From 1 to 1 kg of soil make from 0.1 to 1 kg of mustard oil cake. Application in the garden depends on the soil and plants that will be planted on it.
They are guided by this scheme: when planting strawberries, seedlings of tomatoes, eggplant, pepper, 1 teaspoon of fertilizer is poured into the hole. Applying as a fertilizer for strawberries in the spring, they throw a handful of oilcake and plant it in the soil using a plane cutter. Customer reviews say that it helps to increase the yield, protects against nematodes that cripple the leaves and fruits of plants, leading to their death.
Mustard cake gives a good result when applied in the garden. User reviews indicate that he not only improved the quality of potato fruits, he drove wireworms away from tubers. Users claim that the Colorado potato beetle did not attack the bushes under which this fertilizer was applied.
Gardeners who used mustard cake for planting potatoes say that the yield of the plot doubles. The plants under which the cake was applied grew much faster than those under which he did not fall. At the same time, there are traces of wireworm in the treated area, but there are very few of them.
In addition, in the reviews, users say that slugs disappear from the site under the influence of mustard cake. Mice and other rodents bypass him. Soil structure improves. She becomes more loose. The amount of weed is reduced. This facilitates the processes of caring for plants, makes them easy and pleasant.
Sowing the seeds of carrots, beets, sprinkle a little fertilizer into the furrows, sprinkle with earth, and place the seeds on top. About 50 g of oilcake are added per square meter. When sowing cucumbers and zucchini, mustard cake is also added.
The use in the garden on wetlands or acidic soil is impractical. Do not bring to the site where they plan to plant cabbage. This is due to the fact that both plants are cruciferous, they have common diseases.
Benefits of Mustard Cake
- Mustard oil cake as a fertilizer does not lead to the accumulation of nitrates, heavy metals and other hazardous substances in products.
- Moves nutrients from the depth of the soil up.
- Does not contain weed seeds, worm eggs, spores of pathogenic organisms.
- Mustard cake has been in operation for several years.
- Application in the garden delays the growth of weeds present in the soil.
- Increases productivity up to three times.
- Protects the soil from erosion.
- Promotes the growth of potatoes, tomatoes, grapes.
- Serves as a fertilizer for strawberries in the spring.
- There were no cases of overdose when making cake.
Storage of mustard cake
The shelf life of mustard cake is unlimited. It is only necessary to observe some rules for the care of this useful substance. Store mustard cake in a tightly closed container. Humidity in the room should not rise above 75%.
Spoil the fertilizer can the sun's rays. Therefore, they should not fall onto stored mustard seed cake. The temperature in the room must be maintained at about 20 degrees.
Price of cake
A kilogram packing of mustard cake costs about 110 rubles., 5 kg - 480 rubles. If you take into account how much manure and other means of caring for the plants of the garden and vegetable garden, he replaces, then it is inexpensive.