Siderat is good in that it performs several useful functions at once. It retains nutrients within the root-penetrated soil layer, preventing them from being washed out. The long roots of green manure, reaching down to deep soil horizons, play the role of a pump, pumping nutrients up. This contributes to the accumulation of humus in the soil and improves its properties. Needless to say, how great is the role of humus in the enrichment of the soil with beneficial microflora. To this we add that the green mass through its organic residues introduces nitrogen and other nutrients into the soil, decomposing faster than other organic fertilizers, which are based on fiber.
What is good white mustard
All the above characteristics are fully possessed by mustard as siderat, or rather, white mustard. She is good for her fast growth. Its growing season is short: before the mass flowering of the plant begins, 45-60 days pass, until the full maturation of white mustard seeds - 80-90 days. If the plant develops at +29 ... + 35 degrees, then after 37-40 days after germination, it can be mowed.
The early maturity of mustard is also complemented by resistance to cold. As soon as the temperature rises above zero by one or two degrees, the seeds are ready to sprout. White mustard as green manure is insensitive to late frosts to -5 degrees; Autumn +3 ... + 4 is also not an obstacle for the development of the plant. Therefore, the time period for planting white mustard is so wide (end of March - mid-September).
Another thing is the soil for its sowing: it must be cultivated. The best option is
sod-podzolic soil, previously fertilized with organic matter. A little worse for sowing white mustard sandy and peat cultivated soils are suitable. Regardless of the temperature regime, the plant needs abundant watering in the phases of seed germination and budding.
Preparation and seeding
Before sowing mustard as green manure in spring, you need to calculate the time so that there is a month left before planting the vegetables. When the time comes for potatoes and other root crops, the green mass of mustard is cut off and left in place. In the summer, white mustard in the aisle will "work" with phytosanitary, repelling pests of vegetable crops. The main thing is that the development of the latter does not interfere with the green mass of mustard. It brings the greatest benefit if it is sown after harvest, until August 10.
The rate of seeding mustard on green manure is 120-150 g per hundred. But this is if it is sown in furrows with aisles, the width of which is 15 cm. If you plan in bulk, then the seed consumption will increase to 300-400 g. All of them should be covered with a layer of soil 2-3 cm.
Both in the field and on the table
In its green mass, mustard as a siderate contains a storehouse of useful trace elements, including 22% organic matter and 0.71% nitrogen. Of course, it accumulates the last element worse than leguminous plants, but it still needs to be looked for in the "conversion" of sparingly soluble nutrients into readily available equal ones. From one hundred parts, you can remove up to 400 kg of green mass of white mustard. This is equivalent to applying almost the same weight of manure to the soil.
Essential volatile oils contained in all parts of the plant lead to a decrease in the populations of wireworms, slugs, moths, nematodes, and prevent the development of fungal infections. Sowed in cultivated soil, mustard as a siderat suppresses
weeds. However, before and after
plants of the cabbage
family , which include white mustard, it can not be planted: as a precaution, so as not to make it a distributor of
cabbage keel.To complete the "laudable song" of white mustard, it is necessary to mention that it is an excellent honey plant, a medicinal plant, and its young leaves are used in cooking.