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Each summer resident in his own way solves the issue of enriching the land with useful substances and increasing its fertility. You can use organic fertilizers in the garden: manure, litter or peat, digging up the ground in the spring, or you can use complex mineral fertilizers. Another option is to sow green manure, which will simultaneously enrich the soil with nitrogen in an easily digestible form, as well as fight weeds and some types of pests. Thus, sowing mustard to fertilize the soil is an excellent agrotechnical solution.
Types of mustard as a fertilizer
It must be admitted that mustard as a fertilizer has received little distribution in our latitudes. It is believed that it can be sown in the garden only in warm climate zones, while in fact it tolerates relatively low temperatures well, giving all its benefits to the soil. What types can be used? The first is white mustard. Its seeds can be sown in the spring, as soon as the soil has warmed up enough, and in the fall, when the crop is harvested in the garden, but there are no frosts yet. Seeds should be planted at a distance of 10 centimeters from each other, leaving twenty centimeters between rows.
Strengths and weaknesses
The main advantage of this green manure is the ability to saturate the soil with nitrogen. White mustard as a fertilizer is extremely important for proper nitrogen metabolism, as it decomposes nitrogen compounds in the soil to digestible forms, accumulates them in the leaves and then, when the green mass is plowed into the soil, and any new crop is planted in the garden, this crop will be much easier get the necessary nitrogen. Mustard can be sown in early spring, as soon as the night frosts stop, and in a month it will grow enough green mass to plant another plant in this place in the garden. A good neighbor of mustard during crop rotation will be potatoes, but planting cabbage, radish or lettuce in this place will not be as fruitful.
The use of mustard in the garden is also that it inhibits the growth of weeds and releases phytoncides that repel certain pests (codling moth, wireworm) and inhibit the growth of pathogens (phytophthora). In addition, by planting this green manure, you can count on the appearance of pollinating insects, in particular, bees. This plant has a developed root system and thus contributes to additional deep loosening of the soil.
Also, mustard is quite thermophilic, and with the first frosts the stems lie down, covering other plants under them, that is, they serve as a kind of insulation.
However, when working with this plant, you may encounter some problems. For example, seeds do not develop at temperatures below minus five. In addition, it is demanding on soil and moisture – it does not like acidic, waterlogged, but also too dry soils. Attempting to sow mustard under these conditions is likely to result in the seeds being wasted.
Video “When and how to sow green manure”
Informational video on when and how best to sow green manure. What are they needed for.
Features of sowing mustard
When to sow this useful plant? You can do this in the spring, a month and a half before planting vegetables, or in the winter, when the crop is harvested and the tops are harvested in the garden. This will give the maximum effect of fertilization, sanitation and soil drainage. You can sow the seeds in rows, this will allow you to spend them more economically. Another way is to randomly scatter the seeds around the bed and sprinkle them with one and a half centimeters of soil. This is less labor intensive and will produce bushier seedlings, but requires much more seed. After three, a maximum of five days, shoots will appear.
If mustard was sown in the spring, then after a month, at the latest one and a half, and always before flowering, it must be mowed. The indication about flowering is important, since by this time the stems become very stiff and grow to almost a meter in length, which means that, in addition to mowing, they will need to be crushed before being embedded in the soil. Beveled mustard can be left on the surface and it will act as a mulching material, or it can be applied to the soil by plowing to obtain humus. In the second case, constant checking of soil moisture is required, and, possibly, watering with substances that accelerate decomposition. If you want to collect seeds, then mustard must be left to complete the natural development cycle, that is, for two, two and a half months.
Thus, mustard as a fertilizer deserves to be looked at. Top dressing with this fertilizer well saturates the soil with nitrogen. It is especially suitable for lovers of organic farming, as its use replaces the introduction of artificially created fertilizers and agrochemicals into the soil. But mustard can also make life easier for any gardener, improving the quality of the soil on your favorite six acres.
Video “What are green manure and why are they needed”
Informational video.
