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Green Manure on clay Soil

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  • #1

    Green Manure on clay Soil

    Hi this is my first full year on my plot, last autumn was spent clearing the majority of the plot and starting to roughly dig, but the majority of the digging was done in Winter / Spring, and due to the weather this meant it was very hard going, hopefully now its been cultivated for a year it should be easier next time around?!

    This year I want to incorporate a green manure to help add organic matter. The soil at the moment (and assuming we don't have much more rain for the next few weeks) is/will be very workable to rough dig ready for next year.

    My question is though, should I sow a green manure now (probably Mustard) and incorporate it in to the soil in 5-6weeks time when it should still be relativity easy to dig, or should I use an overwintering type to help break up the soil a bit more (maybe Filed Beans?) and dig in the Spring? - my issue here is I maybe playing catchup if the weather is as bad as this year was?
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  • #2
    I plan to sow a green manure in the next week or so where my potatoes have been. I've either got grazing rye or one of the vetch ( name escapes me for the moment and the seed packet is downstairs!!). I'll leave it to over winter and dig in the the spring. I wouldn't worry about preparing a lovely seed bed. I just stand at the edge of the area and throw as evenly as I can. I don't think you'll have much to dig in in 5-6 weeks time so would definitely go for over wintering.

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    • #3
      Don't dig it in. Sow it, let it grow, then pull it up and chop it up and leave it on the surface as a mulch. The worms will do your work for you.

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      • #4
        Hi Wendy thanks for your response, seems they are very simple to sow which is good news. I thought mustard was a very fast growing crop? If I'm wrong then I will definitely choose an overwintering variety which will help to break up the soil.

        Rusty, I assume you would suggest growing something fairly quick growing and sow now and cutt it down and mulching over the winter? As opposed overwintering and cut down in the spring?

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        • #5
          I would sow the green manure from now and cut it down in the spring before it flowers. Leaving it standing over the winter protects the ground nicely. I'll be doing this in the next few weeks as I lift my maincrop potatoes.
          My gardening blog: In Spades, last update 30th April 2018.
          Chrysanthemum notes page here.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Timmy007 View Post
            should I sow a green manure now (probably Mustard) and incorporate it in to the soil in 5-6weeks time when it should still be relativity easy to dig
            You don't need to dig. Really, you don't need to dig.

            Originally posted by rustylady View Post
            Don't dig it in. Sow it, let it grow, then pull it up and chop it up and leave it on the surface as a mulch. The worms will do your work for you.
            Exactly.

            Your plot does not need to look fine & level like a perfect seed bed. It just needs to support plant life. If you raise your seedlings under cover & then transplant (rather than direct sowing the seed) you will have greater success.
            Just dig a little hole, pop in your seedling, and away it goes. You don't need to dig the entire area, you don't need to smash up every clod. The more you dig, the more you destroy the delicate soil structure.

            http://www.which.co.uk/documents/pdf...lay-154028.pdf

            Clay soils / Royal Horticultural Society

            Choosing the right Green Manure - Sow Green Manure

            You need to get your "overwintering" manures sown very soon, or they won't be grown enough to cover the soil. Days are shortening now, and plant growth is slowing down.

            I sow my green manures at the same time as my crops, and they grow alongside each other. I only remove the GM when I need the space for a crop, and I never have any bare soil (bare soil is quickly smothered with weeds, and every time you dig you are bringing more weed seeds to the surface where they will germinate)
            Last edited by Two_Sheds; 13-08-2013, 05:57 AM.
            All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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            • #7
              Can you this if you have the nasty weeds?? I have dugged up as many of them as possable. Now I was thinking of prepare the empty beds for winter or I might go the GC for some winter plants as mine have died! Thanks

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              • #8
                What do you call nasty weeds Bojangles?

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                • #9
                  I want to do this too, but how do you plant your first crop in spring through six inches of chopped up field beans??
                  He-Pep!

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                  • #10
                    Push the bean remains aside to expose the soil and sow your seed. I use straw as a mulch and do just that.
                    Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

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                    • #11
                      Thanks for the replies guys, I think I will over winter and chop down in the spring to rot into the soil.

                      What would people suggest for a suitable green manure? I was thinking Field beans, should these break up the soil with their roots? or should I be looking at different types for different beds??

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                      • #12
                        I have a heavy clay soil too Timmy, and the best green manure I've found so far ( I haven't tried field beans yet) has been phacelia. I sowed it at the end of last season, left it to overwinter, and by early spring it'd died down naturally and was really easy to dig in. It definitely helped break up the clay, and the maincrop potatoes which I planted after have done great this year.
                        I'm still trying out different green manures - have used mustard, agricultural lupin, and assorted clovers - this winter I'm going to try the hungarian grazing rye.
                        I don't have a free source of farmyard manure, so for me green manures are much cheaper - plus there's no worry about contamination.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by rustylady View Post
                          What do you call nasty weeds Bojangles?

                          Bindweed, creeping thrities and chickweed

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by bario1 View Post
                            I want to do this too, but how do you plant your first crop in spring through six inches of chopped up field beans??
                            As Roitelet says, simply push the mulch aside

                            Originally posted by Timmy007 View Post
                            What would people suggest for a suitable green manure?
                            I put a very useful link in my reply to you. It's very helpful. It has lots of info and suggestions

                            Originally posted by bojangles View Post
                            Bindweed, creeping thrities and chickweed
                            All of those can be pulled up and left on the soil as a mulch, yes. Is that what you were asking?
                            All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                            • #15
                              Well I bought some Green Manure last night, so will report back with my progress over the winter thank you all for your help!

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