Planting green manure in the fall prepares the soil for the next growing season. We show how green manure works in autumn.
Surely you have often noticed how long winter can be, especially when you are longingly waiting to finally be able to bring your young vegetable and annual ornamental plants into the garden again in spring. But your garden does not have to be empty during this time. It would make much more sense to use the winter to improve soil fertility. To that end, planting soil-improving crops in the fall as green manure is a wonderful thing.
Green manure in autumn
While the vegetable garden is in full splendor in summer with juicy tomatoes, aromatic cucumbers and crunchy chard, it is often deserted after the harvest in autumn. Many gardeners then turn over the soil so that they can plant fresh again in the spring. But that comes with many disadvantages. Nutrients that would otherwise be absorbed by plants are washed out and irretrievably disappear from the garden soil. Soil organisms such as earthworms, microorganisms and mycorrhizal fungi, which are irreplaceable for soil fertility, lose their source of food and die. In addition, the valuable garden soil is exposed to the sun, wind, rain and frost without any protection. Green manure with soil-improving plants can help here.
What are the advantages of green manure in autumn?
In autumn, when the soil often remains unused anyway, green manure is the best opportunity to improve it naturally. This offers numerous advantages.
Benefits of fall cover crops:
- Soil organisms have a constant source of food from dead plant remains and plant excretions, so that soil activity is promoted.
- Plants used as green manure absorb excess nutrients, especially nitrogen, thus preventing theWashout over the fall and winter.
- The floor is protected from sun, wind, rain and frost.
- The formation of humus is promoted because the plants bring a large amount of biomass into the soil.
- By choosing the right plants, you can improve the soil without having to do much. Some plants such as legumes fix nitrogen from the air with the help of bacteria, while other plants such as buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) prevent pests and diseases next spring. Others also root through the soil in deeper layers, so that it is loosened up. An example of such a species is the deep radish (Raphanus sativus), which lives up to its name.
Which green manure is suitable for autumn?
Numerous different plant families and species are suitable as green manure. However, crop rotation must also be observed when cultivating green manure in order to minimize the risk of pest infestation. Due to crop rotation, specialized pests are not fed all year round, but starve to death if their host plant is not available for a long period of time. So do not plant plants of the same family - as the previous or the following vegetable - as green manure. After cabbage plants (Brassica), for example, you should avoid using deep radish (Raphanus sativus) as green manure.
Crop rotation plays an important role in choosing the right green manure. In autumn it is also crucial whether the plants selected as green manure freeze over the winter. This has the advantage that you simply have to mulch the plants in the spring and do not have to bother with removing the green manure. On the other hand, they don't grow that way throughout the winter. A mixture of hardy and freezing plants is actually optimal. This has the advantage that you can use the full range of abilities of the freezing plants and still protect the soil well into spring.
Freezing plants as green manure for autumn
- Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum): The plant from the knotweed family (Polygonaceae) protects nitrogen against leaching and helps against it harmful nematode species in soil.
- Rough Oat (Avena strigosa): This plant from the grass family (Poaceae) also contributes to soil he althand captures excess nitrogen. The representative of the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae) is often used in agriculture. Its thick and deep roots loosen the soil, improving water and air circulation in the soil.
- Common flax (Linum usitatissimum): The old cultivated plant belongs to the flax family (Linaceae). The crop rotation should not be a problem here, because no vegetables belong to this plant family. Common flax is deeply rooted and serves as a good partner for mycorrhizal fungi during the absence of garden plants.
- Summer vetch (Vicia sativa): Like all sweet peas, summer vetch belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae) and fixes with the help of nodule bacteria (Rhizobia) nitrogen from the air. This is how your soil is fertilized naturally.
Winter hardy plants as green manure for the fall
- Winter Vetch (Vicia villosa): As a legume (Fabaceae), this hardy plant belongs to the nitrogen fixers. Bacteria, with which the plants live in symbiosis, always provide them with an adequate supply. The important nutrient enters the soil through dead leaves and roots, where it accumulates over time. So the winter vetch is an important soil improver.
- Incarnate Clover (Trifolium incarnatum): This deep red flowering clover also belongs to the Patrician family (Fabaceae) and is in the Able to fix nitrogen.
- Red Clover (Trifolium pratense): Red clover also belongs to the legume family. In addition to nitrogen fixation, the accumulation of humus is an advantage of this plant.
- Welsh ryegrass (Lollium pratense): Although the plant from the sweet grass family (Poaceae) is an annual, it survives the winter it anyway. It is particularly impressive because of its good root penetration in the upper soil layers.
Flowering plants sown in autumn usually do not flower before winter. Although some of the green manure plants also have the potential for bright colors and as bee pasture, this only happens when sown in spring. You can find out more about green manure here.
When do you plant green manure in autumn?
The right time depends of course on thePlants that you have selected as green manure. After you have harvested your vegetables or the annual plants have withered, you should immediately plant the green manure. A time between mid-August and mid-September is ideal so that the plants can still grow properly before winter.
Green manure in autumn: Instructions for planting
It makes the most sense to sow green manure plants as a mixture. You can either put them together yourself or even purchase them ready-made. Mixtures have the advantage that the abilities of different plants can be used and combined. Before sowing, you should chop up any plant residue and work it into the top layer of soil. Remove a little of the top layer of soil beforehand and loosen the soil underneath slightly. Now you can spread the seeds over a large area. In order for the seeds to germinate well, you should now sprinkle the previously removed soil over them so that the seeds are lightly covered with soil. Finally, all you have to do is pour the whole thing carefully. It is better to use a very fine nozzle for this so that the freshly sown seeds are not immediately washed off the bed.
You can find out everything there is to know about green manure here.