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Does anyone use green manure on their veg patch?
LittleMissSunshine
Posts: 139
in Fruit & veg
Is green manure successful and what does it look like? I inherited a veg patch and wonder if the cress like plants that pop up are indeed a type of green manure... the hoe seems to sort them out for a while and they are getting fewer each year.
0
Posts
I do.
Yes it is successful.
I used green manure on my clay soil this winter, field beans which I planted in early November but I later discovered that for the roots to make nitrogen the beans have to receive warm sun but as I needed to dig them in last month I doubt that they would have had enough warm sun to produce much nitrogen, they did seem to keep the soil loose though and as the roots go down deep they should have improved airation. The field beans didn't keep all the weeds at bay though but on the whole I think that growing them was worth it, it remains to be seen if they have added to the productivity of the soil.
I also grew winter tares planted late September these didn't keep the weeds down much at all and when I dug them in last month I wondered if the seeds had contained other plants, they all got dug in after removing any obvious weeds and these too seemed to keep the soil in a lighter condition than i would have expected after the winter weather.
Thanks, Frank and Barry Island, interesting as I have clay soil too, so if it helps break up the clumps is worth considering... I have become a fan of fish blood and bone and chicken manure this year and my plants seem to love it... so far, although the green manure really appealed to me for the veg patch. Barry would you let us know if there is an improvement in yield where you have used it?
If I notice any improvement I will let you know.