What is it?
Green Manure crops are fast growing plants with deep roots, sown in fields that have recently harvested their crops. Green manures are hardy plants that will grow through winter without needing much sunlight, ideal for covering bare soil out of season, and can be left for 1-2 years if desired.
What does it do?
Green Manure plants perform many benefits, with their deep roots drawing up nutrients from the soil, nodules on the roots “fixing” nitrogen from the air and others breaking up claggy clay. The foliage of the crops smothers weeds to prevent them growing, and the roots prevent soil and important nutrients being washed away by winter rain. When ready to plant crops again, cut down the green manure plants and then either dig in the remains or leave them to rot in to the soil, further releasing nutrients back in to the soil.
Why do I need it?
Green Manures will replenish the nutrients in your soil, as well as suppressing weeds and providing vital shelter for beneficial insects. Instead of leaving a field fallow or using harmful chemical products, Green Manures are an organic method of restoring nitrogen and other nutrients to the earth to allow for replanting of other crops in the Spring that have the potential to then produce an increased, organic yield.
For more information on Green Manure, please view our Technical Guide HERE
What do we stock?
Green Manure Clovers
Balansa Clover Trifolium michelicinum – A winter hardy annual that tolerates a variety of soil types. It produces deep tap roots which helps with water infiltration and drainage.
Sow – 4Kg/acre – 10Kg/ha
Berseem Clover (Egyptian Clover) Trifolium alexandrinum – A clover useful in nearly all crop rotations and is a non host plant for beet cyst nematodes.
Sow – 6Kg/acre – 15Kg/ha
Crimson Clover Trifolium incarnatum – A fast growing, bulky annual clover used in short breaks to rapidly improve soil fertility.
Sow – 6Kg/acre – 15Kg/ha
Persian Clover Trifolium resupinatum – An annual clover suited to most soil types and used in situations where a short term nitrogen fix is needed.
Sow – 4Kg/acre – 10Kg/ha
Radishes
Fodder Radish (Oil Radish) Raphanus sativa – A non tuberous type of radish that is fast to establish and has an efficient soil covering capacity. Fodder Radish will aid soil structure and fertility and certain varieties can reduce cyst nematodes in a number of crops including sugar beet and potatoes.
Sow – 5Kg/acre – 12.5Kg/ha
Tillage Radish Raphanus sativus – This crop germinates and grows quickly and produces deep, thick forming radishes that are great at destroying soil compaction. It holds and releases vital nutrients and represses nematodes.
Sow – 3Kg/acre – 7.5Kg/ha
Mustards
White Mustard – Conventional
White Mustard – Late Flowering
White Mustard – Nematode Resistant
Brown Mustard
Miscellaneous
Phacelia
Black Oats
Biofumigation
Biofumigation is the incorporation of fresh plant material into the soil, which then releases several beneficial substances to suppress soil-borne pests and pathogens. These substances include glucosinates – a chemical agent that makes certain members of the Brassica family hot and spicy – which are at their highest concentration when the plant is flowering. When the plants are finely chopped (chaffed) and worked into the soil, the glucosinates are converted enzymatically into MITC (methyl isothyocianates) which are the actual active ingredients and are highly toxic to pests and pathogens. Plants from the Cruciferae family (Brassicaceae) release large amounts of these toxic compounds in the soil and are considered the best species to use for biofumigation, as they target pests such as fungal mycelia, mobile nematodes and germinated weeds. Biofumigation is an effective method of disinfecting soil and increases the uptake of nutrients by plants, as with soil solarization. It is also a similar process to green manuring, as biofumigation incorporates nitrogen back into the soil, increasing the yield of the cash crops that follow. Biofumigation is an effective, all-natural alternative to chemical insecticides and herbicides, helping to keep toxic chemical run-off out of the water supply and protecting the health of growers and consumers. To read more about Biofumigation, click HERE
Feldsaaten Freudenberger have designed this range of cover and greening mixtures for a range of situations. They have been trialled developed over time with successful results.
Follow this link to Feldsaaten Freudenbergers website for more information on this range. For further information please contact Ellen at All Things Rural Ltd on 01789 763159.
https://www.freudenberger.net/en/terra-gold.asp