[totalnovice]

Hiya, I will have some ground out of action this year and will no doubt have some standing empyt from july when i harvest my onions so my question is are green manures worth a) the effort of sowing the seed and b) the cost of the seed.

I have pretty heavey clay which seems very fertile. My soil has not been cultvated for around 10 yrs before i took over in 2009 so crop rotation has only just been established again. I don't have any sign of club root on the plot. I am struggling to decide whether or not to bother with green manure - can it be rotovated into the ground after cutting? I don't have a great deal of time on my allotment, only 3 hours on a saturday and about the same on the sunday.

Any advise would be helpful along with what would be best for my soil type.
Thanks in adance.

[Kleftiwallah]

If you can spare the ground I believe green manureing is a very good practice.  With things like clover or lupins you are adding nutrient and body to the ground. I would give it a try.   Rotovating will only wrap the stems etc round the blades and shaft and be a begger to keep clearing off.  I'd cut it down, wait for it to wilt then dig it in using a spade or fork.  Cheers,   Tony.

[Kristen]

"b) the cost of the seed."

Don't buy it at the Garden Centre - the tiny packets I've seen there only do a couple of sq.m. and cost several pounds ...

Moles is probably the place you need for a decent qty at an affordable price.

[Kristen]

http://www.molesseeds.co.uk/flower_and_vegetable_seed_store_uk/Products_Green_Manure_3698.html

Example: 5kg of Field Beans which will do 250 sq.m for £12

[GreenOwl]

I've never had any success with over-wintering green manures but I can recommend mustard in the summer.  I got my seed from Kings.

http://www.kingsseeds.com/kolist45/2/e=2/2/80516.htm

[Yorkie]

If you do a forum search there were quite a lot of threads about green manure last autumn, and a link to another good website for seeds in bigger quantities.

I have sown rye grass (I think) this year for the first time. Three days after planting it, I read a comment on here that it is a pig to dig in.  I shall find out how true that comment is, when I dig it in later in Spring 

Two things to remember are firstly to dig in / chop down before flowering, and also that you need to leave several weeks between digging the plants in, and subsequent sowing or planting out of your proper crops.

It doesn't apply to you, but others need to be aware that mustard is a member of the brassica family and thus should be avoided if you have club root.

[Trillium]

You can also do short term ones at season's end before frost gets them, like buckwheat and some legumes.

They really do add to nutrient value and tilth.

[Salmo]

You are on clay soil so I presume that you will want it dug in the Autumn so that the frosts will break it down.

Following onions you have plenty of time to plant phacelia or mustard which will bulk up quickly.

For the area that will not be cropped plant either clover (red or crimson) or a general mix with Italian ryegrass and clover.

[st0ne5ish]

Cheapest place to buy green manure is a wholesale pet/agricultural warehouse I got a massive bag 6kg of tares for about £3

[RichardA]

Can I ask a question please ?? Does green manure (if used properly) reappear as more weeds the year after ??
R

[prakash_mib]

Can I ask a question please ?? Does green manure (if used properly) reappear as more weeds the year after ??
R

I think green manures are annuals.  I may be wrong.
On the green manure side. I did threw cress/mustard seeds leftover from 3 years ago during autumn and it grew grew.... fetched some cress for salad. fetched some mustard leaves for cooking and the frost killed the remaining.
Green manures are worth it and moreover that will be included in the crop rotation (as legumes) which is a good news as well.

[DD.]

Can I ask a question please ?? Does green manure (if used properly) reappear as more weeds the year after ??
R

It shouldn't do, as if you treat it properly, you'll dig it in before it seeds.

[noshed]

Field beans and some other stuff produce flowers good for insects. Some you're not supposed to allow to flower though.
I've got some tares in that I got off freecycle - has survived the snow and doesn't look too bad to dig in.

[Hectare]

Normally yes..I use Green Manures to cover those bare areas, but this year the snow and frost seems to have destroyed the lot.

Good luck

[smilydog]

grazing rye is a pig to dig in, so i roughly loosen the soil with a fork then pull it up, roots n all, and leave on the surface as a mulch.
Once it has been there a couple of weeks its easy to dig if you can be bothered!

Smilydog