Alfalfa as green manure: cultivation, care, beneficial properties

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

As a green manure in their suburban areas, gardeners very often grow alfalfa. The roots of this crop, as well as its green mass, saturate the soil with nitrogen and provide very light humus. Also, alfalfa is able to scare away the nematode, rid the areas of weeds and create excellent conditions for the development of beneficial bacteria and earthworms in the soil. But to get such an effect from this green manure in a suburban area, of course, you need to grow it correctly.

Which alfalfa to choose

Currently, several varieties of alfalfa can be grown in orchards and orchards. How green manure is used, for example:

• blue alfalfa;
• northern;
• changing;
• blue.

The most common and popular variety among summer residents is blue alfalfa. This green manure can be planted almost throughout Russia. The main advantages of blue sowing alfalfa include frost resistance and rapid growth of green mass. You can plant this variety under 2-3 cuttings. A photo of alfalfa green manure of this particular variety can be seen below. This plant, among other things, is also resistant to diseases.

The northern and variable variety is usually planted in the cold regions of the country. The main advantage of these alfalfa is considered to be an increased degree of frost resistance. The northern variety, among other things, is allowed to be planted in floodplains. Variable alfalfa is characterized by the greatest longevity.

The blue variety does not differ in special frost resistance and longevity. However, such alfalfa is allowed to be planted, including in floodplains of rivers saline with sea water.

Features of agricultural technology

Like any other plant, alfalfa has both "friendly" crops and "hostile" crops. It is believed that planting this green manure is best after:

• potatoes;
• corn;
• root crops;
• winter forage crops.

However, as a precursor to alfalfa, it's just great for:

• radish and radish;
• cabbage;
• nightshade;
• cereals and cotton.

Alfalfa as green manure: when to sow

It is allowed to plant the seeds of this plant in suburban areas from spring to autumn. In any case, the soil for this crop must first be carefully prepared. Sour soil before planting alfalfamust be notified. Also, the soil before sowing such green manure is dug up to a depth of at least 25-30 cm.

Seeds of alfalfa are very small. And therefore, before planting this crop in a suburban area, they are usually mixed with sand. Seed consumption when planting alfalfa as green manure in suburban areas should be approximately 300 g per hundred square meters.

In the spring, this plant is usually planted immediately after the snow melts. In this case, the seeds must first be scarified. In autumn, alfalfa seeds mixed with sand are usually simply scattered over the area immediately after harvesting the potatoes with preliminary harrowing of the soil.

The depth of seeding when planting in any period depends on the characteristics of the soil in this particular area. In any case, the seeding technology in this regard should be observed exactly. Bury alfalfa planting material:

• on sandy soils - up to 3 cm;
• on clay - up to 1-1.5 cm.

If the seeds are buried too deep in the soil, the yield of alfalfa can be reduced by 40-60%. After planting the crop, it is advisable to roll the soil on the site with a homemade roller.

Growing alfalfa as green manure: when to mow

Alfalfa shoots of almost all varieties appear above the ground in about 5-7 days after sowing. A month after planting, this green manure throws out buds with yellow or blue flowers.

Mowing alfalfa in suburban areas is supposed to be during the budding period. That is flowersshould not bloom on plants yet. During this period, alfalfa is especially rich in nutrients and has the highest green mass ratio.

What to do next

When using alfalfa as green manure in suburban areas, two main methods of plowing after mowing can be used:

• embedded in the ground;
• without digging.

In the first case, the green mass is pre-crushed with a country flat cutter (for example, Fokin's tool) or just a chopper, and then buried in the ground on a shovel bayonet.

If desired, the upper parts of alfalfa in the ground can not be plowed. In the future, this will practically not affect the yield of garden crops. The fact is that the alfalfa root system itself is able to improve the soil structure quite well and saturate it with nitrogen. Moreover, experienced summer residents even believe that embedding the green mass of this green manure can worsen the condition of the soil. After all, when digging in the upper layers of the soil, various kinds of beneficial bacteria die. When using the method without incorporation, experienced gardeners advise green mass to simply rake and mulch the ground under berry bushes and fruit trees.

Second and third mowing

During the summer, in areas resting from the main garden crops, northern and blue alfalfa, as already mentioned, can produce 2-3 crops. The second and third times in the garden, both of these varieties also need to be mowed during the budding period. Leavealfalfa before flowering and seed ripening is not worth it on the site. Mowing this green manure contributes to the formation of many small roots in the soil. And this, in turn, contributes to the maximum improvement of soil structure.

Of course, you can grow alfalfa on the site for just one year. However, experienced summer residents still believe that the maximum effect from this green manure can be obtained in two years of cultivation. If it is decided to leave alfalfa on the site for the second season, it is still necessary to mow it a second and third time. Alfalfa is a perennial plant and will sprout next year on the site even without self-sowing seeds.

Weeds

One of the main difficulties in growing alfalfa as green manure is that it is often clogged with weeds in summer cottages. It is supposed to sow this crop in the garden where there are no plants with a very powerful root system - thistle, leek, etc.

However, this rule should be observed mainly only when alfalfa is supposed to be grown on the site for only one year. If the rest of the plot is supposed to be extended by two, this green manure can be sown anywhere.

In the first year, thistle or leek, of course, will kill a newcomer a little and alfalfa will grow in islands in the garden. During the budding period, this green manure in this case is simply mowed along with the weeds. Next year, alfalfa will most likely come into full force and will drown out even the most powerful plants without much effort.

Pros and cons

Saturate the soil with useful substances for cultivated plants and improve its structure, many plants are capable of. However, it was alfalfa that won the greatest popularity among Russian summer residents as green manure.

This unpretentious plant, among other things, has such advantages as cold resistance and drought resistance. Also useful properties of alfalfa green manure are:

• soil leaching capacity;
• ability to loosen the soil to a considerable depth.

It is good to grow and develop alfalfa, unlike many other siderats, it can already at a temperature of +3-5 °С.

Good reviews about alfalfa, as green manure, are also due to the fact that this plant does not need to be watered periodically. The roots of alfalfa penetrate the ground very deeply and produce moisture on their own. In the first year, they go into the ground by 1.5-2 m, and in the second - by 3-4 m. If the alfalfa remains on the site for a longer period, the length of its roots can reach 10 m.

Disadvantages of alfalfa, like green manure, of course, also exist. But there are not so many of them. For example, the ground before planting alfalfa is supposed to be limed. Otherwise, this plant may not sprout. It is also desirable to plant alfalfa only in well-lit areas. Otherwise, it will not develop well and will rise in shreds.

Where not to plant

Alfalfa is an unpretentious and undemanding plant. It will be easy to grow it on the site. Has a lotalfalfa green manure and useful properties. There are practically no contraindications for planting on the site of this plant. The only thing is that this green manure is highly discouraged from growing after peas or beans. Like these crops, alfalfa belongs to the legume family. And consequently, the diseases of peas and beans will definitely be transmitted to it and it will most likely grow poorly. In addition, in the soil, when growing legumes in the same place, various pests parasitizing on such crops will actively develop for several years.