Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: courgette on September 20, 2008, 15:41

Title: Green Manure....
Post by: courgette on September 20, 2008, 15:41

Hiya

with the green manure, i.e. field beans, do i purely let them grow to cut down & dig in or can you get a crop off the plants?

 :?:

Title: Green Manure....
Post by: Robin Redbreast on September 20, 2008, 15:49

just grow and dig in as far as i know! :lol:

Title: Green Manure....
Post by: richyrich7 on September 20, 2008, 16:17

Yeah just let them grow you usually dig in before flowering with a lot of them. Good stuff improves the soil in about 6 or so weeks  8)

Title: Green Manure....
Post by: woodburner on October 03, 2008, 12:10

I chose field beans because you don't have to dig them in.
I haven't decided yet whether I will leave them on the surface once I've cut them down or remove them to the compost bin. It will probably depend on the state of what's in the bins.
I want to leave some to set seed though as a 2.5kg bag has set me back just over £10. Still cheaper than broad beans though and apparently you can eat them.

Title: Green Manure....
Post by: Robin Redbreast on October 03, 2008, 18:07

field beans? are they the ones my kids think are peas growing on the local farm land. do the seeds look like broad beans? :?:  :?:  :?:

Title: Green Manure....
Post by: Yorkie on October 03, 2008, 20:04

Someone on my site left some of his plants to flower / produce beans and yes, they are a little like smaller broad beans.  Quite tasty, actually.