Many methods of soil fertilization based on natural remedies are already known: onion husks , ashes , garlic, tobacco dust, grass, eggshells, litter or manure. But not everyone knows that it is possible to fertilize and simply planted certain plants on the land. Such plants include mustard, well-known in cooking and medicine, although it is very rare for her gardeners to use fertilizers for their gardens.
White mustard is an annual oil plant, with deep roots and a large green mass, from 30 to 80 cm in height. When blossoming appears yellow flowers gathered in a brush with strong, honey smell from which the fruit is then formed - a long pod with seeds. Still it is called siderat - green fertilizer.
Features of the cultivation of mustard
For sowing mustard under fertilizer well suited turf-podzolic soil, fertilized with organic fertilizers, but can be grown on sandy loam cultivated with peat. It will not grow on clayey, swimming acidic soils and solonchaks.
This light-loving and poorly tolerant drought plant, especially likes watering in the period of germination and bud formation.
Cabbage should not be used as a precursor, as they are from the same family cruciferous and have common diseases.
Why mustard is used to fertilize the land?
- Since the mustard has roots that penetrate deeply into the ground, they loosely loosen, structure and drain it.
- The root system itself releases a substance that is detrimental to the wireworm , so it avoids such areas.
- When the green mass of mustard is embedded in the soil, more microorganisms appear in the soil, which it processes and enriches.
- Suppresses the growth of weeds, as it grows rapidly.
- It is able to translate difficult-to-dissolve nutrients (phosphates), inaccessible to many plants, into an easily digestible form.
- The roots of mustard protect the soil in spring and autumn from water and wind erosion, and in winter prevent strong freezing.
- The content of essential oils in all parts of the plant is a good preventative against the accumulation of pests and fungal infections in the soil.
When and how to plant mustard for soil fertilization?
White mustard can be sown throughout the entire season: from early spring to early September, sowing any free land. But the main crop of mustard as fertilizer can be carried out twice a year:
- in the spring - a month before planting the vegetable culture (for example: potatoes);
- in autumn - after harvesting.
It is better to sow the mustard immediately after harvest, so as not to lose the shadow moisture and the soil does not dry up. There are two ways to sow:
- Seed the seeds to a depth of 1.5 - 2 cm in rows at a distance of 15 cm (seed consumption of approximately 120-150 g per hundred square meters);
- manually sprinkle seeds on the supposed beds, and then hold harrows with rakes, sprinkling them with earth (consumption - 300-400 g per hundred square meters).
Seedlings will appear in 3-4 days.
After about a month and a half, when the plant grows to 15-20 cm, the mustard must be mowed (while the leaves of the plant are fresh, juicy, it is better to do it until its mass flowering). Then the resulting mass is ground and ground into the soil, well watered with preparations EM ("Baikal", "Shining", "Revival", etc.), covered with black film or roofing paper.
When sealing the mustard, it should be borne in mind that the decomposition of the remains of this plant passes only if there is sufficient moisture in the soil, so watering will be required during droughts.
Using, therefore, mustard in your area as a fertilizer, you will have a beautiful soil by autumn: loose, healthy and enriched with all necessary substances for plant growth.