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What Do Organic Growers Do About Keeping Soil Fertile?
Organic gardeners maintain the fertility of their gardens by natural methods. Apart from using loads of compost, this also means keeping their soil covered with foliage as much as possible.
Bare soil
Every garden will have bare patches of ground for short periods of time.
But leaving your soil bare for too long can lead to a loss of fertility. When it rains, nutrients are washed down through the soil and out of the reach of plant roots. If there are excessive nitrates in the soil, they will eventually reach rivers, posing a danger to fish, wildlife and humans. On dry light soils, the topsoil can be washed or blown away if there is no covering of foliage to hold it together.
Green manures
So what are we supposed to do with our bare soil, especially in winter when much of our vegetable patch will be empty? Green manuring, the process of growing plants specifically for incorporating into the soil, is the answer.
Keeping a cover of vegetation on the soil by planting a suitable green manure crop has many advantages. It keeps biological activity going, encouraging earthworms and microorganisms. It will smother weeds that would otherwise be free to develop. Deep rooting green manures like buckwheat help to maintain the soil structure. Other green manures such as vetch can fix nitrogen from the air.
When the green manure is eventually dug into the soil, biological activity in the soil is greatly increased as millions of bacteria and other organisms go to work breaking it down. Some of it eventually turns into humus, thus improving the soil.
Which kind?
Your choice of manure will depend on how long the soil will be free. Green manures such as vetch or Hungarian rye are good as an overwintering ground cover.
Mustard is the most popular choice as it grows very quickly and can be used as a catch crop before and after summer crops. Its easier to dig into the soil than other longer-growing green manures. And if you have a problem with wireworm, growing mustard will reduce it. By giving them mustard to feed on, they will reach their adult beetle stage more quickly. At this point in their live cycle they will do far less damage to your crops.
Other common types of green manure include buckwheat, clover, and phacelia. Phacelia is a fast growing variety whose flowers attract many beneficial insects.
Digging in
Dig in green manures before they get too mature or woody. Otherwise the job will be difficult and the manure will take a long time to break down.
How soon can you plant after digging in green manure? That depends on the maturity of the crop and the time of year. The younger the growth and the warmer the weather, the quicker it will break down. In summer this can be a little as three weeks.
Weed Manure?
Perhaps green manuring sounds like a lot of extra work? So the lazy gardener will be relieved to hear that simply digging in the weeds that develop on bare soil can give up to 50% as much nutrients as a green manure!
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