When and how to sow siderates

When and how to sow siderates

Ciderates have been used since time immemorial. The Europeans borrowed this agrotechnical technique in China, and already in the time of Ancient Greece it spread in the countries of the Mediterranean.

Now, with the revival of organic farming, in which it is customary to avoid mineral fertilizers (it is believed that they reduce the taste of the crop and the resistance of plants to diseases), the interest in syderatics is again awakened.

When to sow

In natural or organic farming, there is a law: the land must never remain without plants. So that the soil surface is permanently covered, green fertilizers are sowed, called siderates.

In this capacity, cultures are used which rise and grow rapidly. Sowers are sown in spring, summer and autumn - that is, at any time.

Ciderates - landing at different times

For sideration, fast-growing plants are needed, which have time to increase the green mass before or after vegetable crops, as well as in the intervals between their cultivation. For these purposes, the following crops are suitable.

1. Podzimniy sowing - fodder beans, winter vetch, rape, rye. These crops sown under the winter, spring early in the spring and at the time of planting seedlings or potatoes have time to build up a sufficient amount of stems and leaves.
2. Early spring sowing - spring summer rape, field pea. Particularly suitable for spring sowing is a mustard leaf. This cold-resistant culture can be sown almost immediately after the meltwater has melted. For those few spring weeks that will remain until the planting of the seedlings, the mustard will have time to build up full leaves and even blossom. Sealed in the ground in a flourishing state, it will substantially enrich it with nitrogen. When growing potatoes, this method allows you to free the soil from the wire.
3. In the middle of spring, buckwheat is sown. The culture is characterized by rapid growth, it quickly forms branched and deep roots, therefore it is especially recommended for cultivation on heavy soils. If you plant buckwheat in spring, then it will have to be closed up not earlier than in autumn, so for the most part this culture is used to improve the land in the aisle rows.
4. At the beginning of summer, a long-term clover and annual lupine are planted: yellow, blue and white. Sowing lupines is possible not only in June, but also in July-August, and also in the spring, if the climate is mild. This plant is considered the best predecessor for the strawberry plantation, as it actively suppresses the soil nematode. Therefore, there is always a sense in his early spring sowing - by the time of the berries plantation (in August) the lupines will be able to grow, purify and fertilize the land. Also in the summer it is possible to sow the olive radish - it is closed on the sideration late in the autumn.

Types of siderat

Of all the ciderates, it is particularly worthwhile to dwell on three cultures that play a major role in subsistence farming.

Lupine siderates

German gardeners call this plant a blessing. Lupins can be grown on sands and loam. They are distinguished by high drought resistance, they can grow on saline soils, meadows, fallow lands.

Lupins are legumes. As in all plants of this family, nitrogen fixing microorganisms live on the roots of lupines, which, when the roots are decomposed, enrich the soil with nitrogen. Such a syderat accumulates 200 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare. It allows you to save mineral fertilizers and get environmentally safe products for health. In Russia three kinds of annual lupins and one perennial are grown.

Plants can be mowed 8 weeks after sprouts appear - at this time lupines are formed buds. It is necessary to have time to mow the green mass before the buds are colored, otherwise the grassy stems coarsen and will slowly decompose. Culture is sown in single-row rows, between which a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters is left.

Lupine is interesting because after planting one does not have to wait a week or two until the plant decays - the next crop is sown immediately after the closure of this siderata. Of all the lupines, the most uncomplicated is yellow, it is not sensitive to the acidity of the soil, but requires moistening. The biggest "green" is given by white lupins, it can be planted in August and be covered in soil this fall.

Faecel Citrits

Cold-resistant and unpretentious phacelia begins to rise already after three days after sowing, and in a week its shoots will resemble a brush. Culture is growing very fast, it is unpretentious, it tolerates any soils. The stem and leaves of phacelia are tender, rapidly decomposed in the soil and enriched with nitrogen.

In addition, the phacelia is a strong honey and attracts bees to the site. The phacelia is sown in batches in spring and summer, and after 6 weeks it blooms. They sow scatter, the norm is 5-10 grams per square meter. It is suitable as a precursor for any culture.

Citrits mustard

Recognized masters of organic farming - Germans - consider mustard the best ciderat. Its roots have the ability to convert phosphorus and sulfur from insoluble mineral compounds contained in the soil to a plant-assimilated condition. In addition, mustard is an excellent source of nitrogen, as its green mass quickly pereprevaet and serves as a food for plants planted later.

It is best to seal the mustard in 8-10 weeks after emergence, at which time it starts to bloom. If there is no 10 weeks left, then it makes sense to plant mustard. In this case, it will not have time to increase the maximum vegetative mass, but such a sowing will benefit the soil.

Important! You can not let the mustard give seeds so that it does not turn from siderata into a normal weed. 

Disadvantages: this culture does not tolerate drought and can not be a precursor for cruciferous: cabbage, radish.

What are they needed for?

Sideria is widely used in fielding, but, unfortunately, is rarely used in garden areas. Meanwhile, this technique allows you to achieve several goals:

• increases soil fertility;
• protects the earth from weathering;
• Keep nutrients in the upper horizon;
• protects against weeds;
• green fertilizers play the role of mulch.

For seeding on a green fertilizer, use cereals and legumes, but the best siderates are legume-cereal mixtures. After the plants grow and develop a significant leaf apparatus, they are mowed and ground into the soil, or simply cover the surface of the earth using mulch. If there is no desire to mow down the siderates, you can simply dig a site with them.

In soil, the siderates are converted to humus, a special kind of organic matter. Humus is the basis of fertility. It is the amount of humus that determines the nutritional value of soil for plants, the water and air regime, affects the structure. Humus gradually mineralizes, so one of the tasks of the tiller is the constant maintenance of its reserves in the soil. Sideration is suitable for this as well as possible. A single application of green fertilizers heals and fertilizes the soil for several years.

Plants-siderates can not only be buried in the soil, but also used for composting, for preparing liquid dressings, decoctions to protect against pests and diseases of crops. They will help out if there is no possibility to buy humus or mineral water. The use of siderates always speaks of the high agronomic culture of the landowner. Certainly, it is worthwhile for each summer resident to introduce siderat plants into the crop rotation of their plot.