Siderats: what it is and how to apply them

More and more, the word "siderats" is heard from the lips of experienced agrarians. What is green manure culture, and what is the purpose of their use? We will understand in this article.

What is green mans

Siderats are annual crops bred to fertilize the soil. Any plant, regardless of its origin, draws sap from the land, emptying its supply of useful substances. Sideral cultures replenish these reserves, making the land a favorable place for making strong and healthy shoots.

How does this happen? The plot from which the harvest was recently harvested, or which is being prepared for sowing, is planted with the seeds of green manure plants. After the seeds germinate, the seedlings are cut, evenly distributed over the surface of the earth and left until the green manure is rotted and absorbed into the soil.

Benefits of using green manure plants

Today there are many fertilizers. Most of them relate to synthetic top dressings of the soil, which guarantee a high percentage of yield. But these stimulants are harmful both to plants and to the soil itself. Organic fertilizers, which include siderats, have a beneficial effect on the soil, feeding it with biologically active microelements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium).

Besides, Siderats suppress weeds, displacing them from their territory. Green fertilizer leaves form a "carpet" that protects the surface of the earth from overheating and the formation of cracks.

Green manure roots are natural soil disintegrators that break through the hard layers of the earth, saturating it with oxygen and making it softer.

Types of sideratov

Sideral culture has about three hundred species of plants, each of which has its own unique properties and peculiarities of interaction with the soil. The most common types of sideratov following: legumes, cereals and crucifers. About them in more detail.

Legumes

Bean siderata - one of the best sources of nitrogen, which is necessary for all types of soil, especially for heavy clay and peat-marshy.

Bean siderata include:

• fodder types of beans;
• Vika (winter and spring);
• peas, beans, lentils;
• clover, lupine, alfalfa;
• soybeans, etc.

Bean siderata are also good because this type of plant is cold-resistant, so they can be grown for fertilizer even in the late fall.

Cereals

The most famous sideratami of this group are rye, barley, wheat and oats. Cereals siderats are frost-resistant and have a high content of useful substances (potassium, phosphorus), structure the soil perfectly and do not allow the development of pathogenic pests.

Each representative of the cereal group of siderats has its own characteristics:

• rye has the ability to dry the soil, so it is recommended to sow the areas of the marshy type;
• barley loves dry ground, tolerates summer heat and drought;
• oats reluctantly grow on sandy soils and salt marshes, it is more suited to it sour soil.

Cruciferous

This type of green manure is most valued among gardeners for the fact that cruciferous crops hinder the development of diseases and also scare away garden pests (slugs, wireworms).

Rape, superica, mustard are the best cruciferous siderats. They are unpretentious to the type of soil, do not require special care and conditions for growth, rather tenacious. Cruciferous siderats prevent erosion, leaching of the soil, enrich the earth with organic matter, turning the "heavy" substances into an easily digestible form.

Compatibility of siderates with cultures

Despite its organic origin, green manure as a fertilizer must be used, adhering to certain rules. The rule of successful sideration is: The main crop for planting and its predecessor, green manure, should belong to different families. This rule is fairly simple to explain.The fact is that the plants of the same family feed on the same trace elements. This means that the green manure "stretches" out of the ground a certain group of trace elements, which its follower will no longer be enough for.

Moreover, members of the same family are prone to the same diseases. Siderates can create a fertile ground for the breeding of bacteria, which subsequently harm the plants followers.

How to sow siderata

The characteristics of planting siderats are dictated not only by their affiliation to a particular family of cultures, but also by the season.

Landing sideratov spring

It is necessary to sow the first spring siderats 3 weeks before the start of sowing of the main crops. Remember, green manure sprout in spring is not as good as in summer, do not rush the natural growth process. After 12 days after the emergence of sprouts, fertilizer should be cut with a flat cutter and left for mulching.

Landing sideratov summer

In the summer, you can make not one, but several sideretsii. For example, plant vetch in early summer, in the middle - alfalfa, in August - rape. In this way, you will enrich the soil in a comprehensive manner and create all the conditions for collecting a good harvest.

Planting sideratov autumn

The ideal option for the autumn sideration will be cereals. In late August and until October, you can sow the site with rye or oats. After cutting the stem, the roots remaining for the winter in the soil will protect it from erosion and freezing, and in the spring they will turn into organic fertilizer.

When it is planted siderata depends on what effect you expect from organic fertilizer.

How to clean grown siderata

In order to properly complete the greening procedure, it is necessary to consider the following nuances:

• Siderata must be simply cut off without disturbing the structure of the fertile soil layer and not pulling the roots. This can be done with a flat cutter or cultivator that does not sink into the soil deeper than 2–3 cm.
• It is necessary to cut the siderats before the first flowers appear and the stem of the plant becomes rough.
• Cut off the stems of green fertilizer should be left in its place, only slightly distributing them for uniformity.

Organic fertilizer can save a decaying crop and restore tired soil. And green manure plants do an excellent job with this task.