Mustard is a cruciferous plant that is an excellent sideret and is sown immediately after harvesting vegetables or in spring on free plots. It is able to absorb nitrogen from the air and deoxidize the soil, that is, perform the role of lime. The remaining roots in the ground hold the upper layer of soil, protecting it from leaching and various types of erosion, as well as from the spread of dangerous diseases of crops. When digging mustard as a fertilizer - in this article.
Do I have to dig mustard in the winter?
The views of truck farmers on this account were divided. Here are three popular ways to use mustard as a fertilizer:
- Sow mustard in autumn, when harvesting is over, but not later than mid-September. In this form it is left until the spring, so that the dying roots of the plant give the soil texture and softness. With the advent of spring, overwintered mustard can be used as mulch. Therefore, those who are interested in digging mustard under the winter, you can answer that it is not necessary to do this.
- Mustard must be dug or you can just mow. In the latter case, with the beginning of flowering, it is chopped with a chopping or scythe and left on beds. It is believed that during this period the plant concentrates the greatest amount of nutrients, so necessary for the soil. During the winter, the roots will spread out and the overground part itself will rot, fertilizing the soil.
- At the end of summer or the beginning of autumn, when the mustard is already a month, as it has risen, it is dug in a special way, which implies the turnover of a coma. In doing so, you must try to ensure that all the greenery is buried in the ground. It will make an excellent food for worms, which it will recycle and make the ground more airy and "fluffier".
Now it is clear when it is necessary to dig up mustard in the autumn, but it is very important to do this no later than 2 months after the appearance of the first shoots.