What is good about winter rye as green manure?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

One of the most common problems that reduce yields is soil depletion. An effective method of combating this process is the use of green fertilizers, or green manure. Sowing green manure crops increases soil fertility, enriching it with humus.

Current green manure is grown to the stage of active vegetation, and then embedded in the soil in crushed form or plowed whole to a depth.

Features of winter rye

Winter rye as green manure has become widespread throughout Russia due to the many advantages of its use. One of them is the availability of rye seeds, which is explained by the low cost. Rye as green manure is a rather unpretentious plant that grows on most soils, including acidic and slightly alkaline ones.

Winter rye has a powerful root system, which by the beginning of winter can reach 150 cm. Such long and strong roots are able to extract hard-to-reach microelements from the soil and process them into a form digestible by cultivated plants. Young plants in close upquickly decompose, enriching the soil with phosphorus and potassium. In addition to performing a nutritional function, rye as green manure, thanks to the complex structure of the root system, perfectly loosens the soil, makes it light and saturated with air and moisture, and prevents soil erosion.

For planting this green manure, areas freed from plants in autumn after harvest are used, which is an additional advantage for owners of small plots. Rye, as green manure, tolerates low temperatures and frosts down to -20 ° C, quickly builds up green mass, which turns into a high-quality organic fertilizer during the winter. It is worth noting that many green manure crops require grinding, for example, lupine, mustard, rape. Rye as green manure is simply incorporated into the soil during its spring processing.

Rye against pests and weeds

A useful property is to repel certain insects and prevent diseases of cultivated plants. The number of wireworms decreases, pathogens and harmful bacteria are destroyed. It is effective to grow rye to rid the site of nematodes. Planting winter rye for two years helps to reduce the number of weeds such as wheatgrass, thistle, bindweed.

When wondering when to sow rye for green manure, many gardeners act rationally and sow as the site is freed from plants, starting in September and ending in mid-late November. Optimum temperaturefor grain germination - +6…–8°. Even in the absence of snow cover, winter rye remains viable.

In the spring it is necessary to plow up the area where rye was sown. This should be done as soon as the snow melts to leave enough moisture for the plants, as winter rye dries out the soil.

A valuable property of rye as green manure is the ability to use it for the development of new areas.