Strawberry green manure: what to sow before planting and what is their use

Everyone loves to eat strawberries, which is not surprising, because its taste and benefits cannot be overestimated. The owners of vegetable gardens and household plots grow berries, striving for a better harvest from year to year. Without some subtleties, this is difficult to do. Someone resorts to fertilizers, and someone helps the plant with the help of knowledge suggested by nature. So, we propose to find out what siderates are and how to use them correctly for strawberries.

Why are green manure needed?

Green manures are plants or a mixture of them that are grown not for the purpose of eating, but in order to improve soil structure, enrich with organic matter and essential nutrients.Thanks to a special root system, they are able to extract nutrients from the soil, and after they are dug up, useful substances become available to other plants.

Microorganisms affect plant residues from certain crops, which subsequently decompose and turn into humus.

Advantages and disadvantages

Speaking of the merits of green manure, it is worth highlighting the following:

1. Getting rid of weeds. During the growth period, plants are able to displace weeds due to the rapid growth of the root system. However, here you should be careful and mow the plant in a timely manner so that it does not end up in the category of weeds.
2. Increased fertility. Thanks to certain plants, the soil is filled with nitrogen, which crops receive from the environment.
3. Growth in the amount of organics.
4. Increase soil looseness. Cereals have an extensive root system that divides the earth into lumps.
5. Pest free.
6. Unhindered entry of air into the ground.
7. Storage of nutrients in the soil in winter.
8. Renewal of soil structure if compacted during construction work.

Along with this, there are also disadvantages that should be known to those who grow green manure in their beds, in particular:

1. If the plant is chosen incorrectly, in the end you can get the opposite of the desired result. So, fertilizer should be selected depending on what kind of soil is on the site, as well as what kind of crop they are going to grow in a particular place.
2. Before sowing, it is necessary to carefully dig up the ground, otherwise they will not grow as they should, and will not provide enough green mass.
3. If green manure is deeply embedded in the ground, they will not decompose, but will turn into a peat-like mass.

Sowing dates

Planting green manure for strawberries can be done throughout the season. Some gardeners plant a garden with plants for a whole year, as soon as the crop is harvested. Therefore, we can conclude that certain plants are allowed to grow throughout the year.

What green manure to plant before strawberries?

No less important is the right choice of green manure for strawberries, as well as the time when it needs to be planted. For berries, the best are: radish, kosmeya, rapeseed, phacelia, mustard, peas, dill, garlic.

Planting green manure in the beds is carried out year-round, but it is better to do this in the autumn or spring. Next, we propose to understand this in detail.

Spring

In the spring green manure is planted in the immediate vicinity of the holes where it is planned to grow strawberries. As soon as the “helper” plant comes into full growth, you should not remove it. So, at first, strawberries will be under some protection from the sun and cool wind. It is necessary to cut green manure at the time of their flowering. You will need to cut the tops and mulch it into the ground. The depth for digging should be chosen average so that oxygen enters the ground, as a result of which the tops will turn into fertilizer.

In the spring, the beds should be sown with radish, which, although not distinguished by a large number of useful elements, loosens the soil; buckwheat, which copes well with weeds; legumes; lupine.

Autumn

Siderates, which are autumn, are usually planted after picking berries, most often in August.The plant is brought to the flowering stage, after which it is mowed and plowed into the ground to a depth of no more than 15 centimeters. Among autumn species, rapeseed, rye, oats, phacelia, mustard are popular.

Some gardeners use green manure in the form of mulch. They are grown on a separate bed, cut off green areas and line them with free space in the ground. Next, the soil is loosened and wood ash is poured on top, which is also covered with mowed grass. All this is moistened from time to time. And in autumn, new plants can be planted here.

What should not be used as green manures

Among plants "helpers" there are those that are not suitable for strawberries, and instead of the expected benefits, they bring only harm. It is for this reason that it is worth knowing that berries do not get along with eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and potatoes. In particular, this is due to the fact that the above crops suffer from fungal diseases or Fusarium wilt.

These unpleasant ailments lead to rotting of the root system, but the worst thing is that the disease persists for a long time in the ground, and is able to infect the least resistant plant planted nearby.

Will green manure help when growing strawberry berries in greenhouses?

Thanks to green fertilizers crop rotation of plants in greenhouses is accelerated. This is an indispensable condition for the soil to remain fertile. In a greenhouse, there is no hope for a natural crop rotation, so green manure is an alternative. Thanks to the developed root system, they will definitely help to grow berries in the greenhouse. The following crops are used as green manure:

1. Beans.
2. Cereals.
3. Cruciferous.

Planting methods

It is also necessary to mention the method of growing green manure for strawberries.So, the most common is the inter-row option. As for the berry, it is doubly effective, since during the growth the “helper” plant actively protects the delicate strawberry flowers from the scorching sun and wind.

Rules for planting green manure

All plants are planted solely depending on their preference for the ground and the ability to survive temperature fluctuations. So, in unsuitable soil, green manure will not grow well, as a result of which it will not be able to perform its tasks. For example, if the land is heavy, you should not plant rapeseed, but buckwheat will take root perfectly.

As noted earlier, legumes are the best crop in the form of green manure. Their usefulness for the soil is comparable to the properties of manure. If there is a lack of phosphorus in the soil, it is worth planting rapeseed or white mustard. Buckwheat will fill the lack of potassium.

Crops with a specific aroma protect the crop from pests.

After mowing the green parts of plants, they are buried at a distance of no more than 15 centimeters deep. However, such fertilizers can fully provide the berry with the necessary elements for development and growth, so you should additionally resort to mineral supplements.

The main thing is to remove the greens from the site on time, until the tops are coarsened, otherwise the plants are difficult to rot in this form.

Mistakes made when using green manure

The most common mistakes when using green manure:

1. Sowing in the wrong soil.
2. Deep plowing of fertilizers.
3. Replanting plants.
4. Untimely sowing.

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