Green manure for tomatoes: which is better to sow in spring

In the process of sideration, several hundred annual and perennial plants can be used as organic fertilizers. When choosing green manure for tomatoes, they take into account the compatibility of plants, the characteristics of the soil composition, and climatic features. The most commonly used in our climate are lupins, vetch, mustard, phacelia, barley, oats, rapeseed

They are planted as predecessors at the very beginning of spring or late autumn, as a winter crop. In some cases, the main crop is planted directly in green manure and grown together, using the ability of fragrant herbs to create a protective zone against pests, fungal and viral diseases.

Why sideration is needed

Siderats perform several functions at once, affecting the composition of the soil layer, protecting plantings from pests, attracting beneficial insects to the site during the flowering period. When choosing green manure for a tomato, plants of the family of cereals, legumes, and cruciferous plants are used, excluding nightshade crops related to tomatoes.

The grown green shoots are dug up. Plowing on the vine of green fertilizers is comparable in efficiency to the use of manure. In some cases, green decking is mowed down for use as mulch or for composting.

Using the characteristics of different groups of plants, naturally improve the physical and chemical properties of the soil:

• embedding green mass into the soil increases the content of organic matter, significantly speeds up the process of humus formation;
• increased activity of microbes contributes to the creation of beneficial microflora, which gives the plant the opportunity to receive nutrients in an accessible form;
• The short growth period and strong root system of some green manures contribute to effective weed control. They shade the top layer of the soil and inhibit the germination of weeds;
• green manure roots loosen the soil, improve its aeration, moisture capacity;
• some plants can reduce soil acidity, resist fungal infections, pests.

Depending on the characteristics and degree of soil depletion, plants are selected for sideration. These crops are not demanding to grow, but when watered, they quickly gain green mass.

Which plants to choose

In central Russia, tomatoes are mainly grown in greenhouses or greenhouses. Cold-resistant plants that can tolerate extremes of sub-zero temperatures are chosen as green manure. Green manure is planted in the spring under a film, as soon as the topsoil begins to thaw, in order to have time to cut off the greens and prepare the greenhouse for planting seedlings.In autumn, having finished harvesting in greenhouse soil, they sow winter crops that are able to successfully overwinter, and with the onset of the first warm weather, quickly grow greens.

Lupines, mustard, a variety of legumes, cereals are most suitable for a greenhouse:

• lupine loosens the earth well, lifting up useful substances, including nitrogen, from the deep layers of the soil. Repels soil-dwelling pests;
• white mustard is the most common green manure, which enriches the soil, fights well against a number of pests, fungal and viral diseases. The plant limits the growth of weeds, prevents soil erosion;
• oilseed radish has a powerful root system, perfectly loosens the ground, lifts up a whole range of useful substances. The plant protects vegetable crops from diseases;

• vetch, with its abundant green mass, is an excellent supplier of organic fertilizer. The root system, in symbiosis with bacteria, accumulates nitrogen in the upper layers of the soil, in a form accessible to plants. Planted with tomatoes, can increase their yield by 40%;
• phacelia is an excellent honey plant that attracts bees and bumblebees. Effective as an organic mass. It is able to influence the acidity of the soil and reduce the number of weeds;
• alfalfa also lowers the acidic soil environment, improves its structure. Stores nitrogen and nutrients in a form suitable for tomatoes.

Most often, legumes are used for sideration, on the roots of which bacteria settle, which can enrich the earth with nitrogen. They have good germination, cold-resistant, excellent effect on soil aeration. Peas, beans, clover, lupins, vetch - and many other plants belong to this large family.

Cereal siderates are best chosen from frost-resistant, winter crops that are planted after harvesting tomatoes in a greenhouse. These are well-known oats, barley, fescue, chumiza. They successfully hibernate, giving maximum useful substances to the soil during the winter season.

Cruciferous green manure is very unpretentious. Substances secreted by their root system prevent the spread of a number of diseases, including late blight, repel pests. Our most popular crops are mustard, oil radish, colza, and rapeseed.

Planting green manure

The landing rules are very simple. The main thing is to choose the most suitable crops that can improve and improve the structure of the soil for the autumn period or early spring. So the earth will not just rest, but recuperate for the next season.The cost of seeds of this category of plants is low and allows sowing green manure not only in small areas of greenhouses. Sideration allows you to prepare large areas of open ground.

1. Green manure for tomatoes should not belong to the nightshade plant family to which the main crop belongs. Plants should be rotated seasonally and yearly repetitions should be avoided whenever possible. If in the spring cereal crops were planted under the tomatoes, then in the autumn cruciferous plants are sown in the greenhouse. It could be mustard or canola.

1. Plants are sown in moist soil densely, connecting the seeds with sand. After sowing, the site is sprinkled with a thin layer of peat or garden soil. When planting in a greenhouse or greenhouse, the ridges are completely sown in the fall. In the spring, they change the planting pattern, leaving a strip that will be planted with tomatoes.
2. When green manure reaches technical height, they are mowed and left on the soil surface as mulch. You can also dig up the green carpet. The main thing is not to let the plants throw away the seeds and cut the greens no later than the flowering period.

1. Green manure, like any organic fertilizer, has been successfully operating for quite a long period of time. The question of which green manure to choose is directly related to the chain of previous crops. With this method of influencing the soil, it is better to plant green fertilizers taking into account the general crop rotation of the site.
2. For a greenhouse where one or two basic crops are grown, this rule also applies. Not all plants can be successfully sown as predecessors for tomatoes and cucumbers. When choosing green manure, make a planting schedule for 2-3 years ahead.

Green manure is a good, natural fertilizer that can be used without fear of making a mistake in the dosage. The complex effect of plants in the process of green manure on the structure and quality of the soil makes it possible to use the land more efficiently, changing its productivity for a long time.

According to connoisseurs, a triple crop of legumes is equivalent to a portion of manure needed to restore soil fertility. So, a simple planting of peas, lupine or clover will help the land with minimal financial costs. True, this method requires additional labor costs, so everyone has the right to choose an easier way. Given the peculiarities of growing tomatoes in small greenhouses, it is much easier to plant green manure, thereby extending the use of the soil.

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