Lupine as a siderat

If you want to quickly and qualitatively improve soil fertility, then green manure is your salvation. Many gardeners and gardeners are faced with the same problem, after several years of cultivating vegetables and fruit crops on the site, the soil is depleted, and its nutrient reserves are forever consumed. This means that the time has come to restore fertility, namely, to apply fertilizers to the soil. However, all ready-made dressings are very expensive, and many summer residents simply cannot afford them. But there is a solution, green manure is considered a quick and effective way to restore soil fertility. They are able to improve the composition of the soil, deliver all the necessary nutrients to the ground, and also loosen its structure. Lupine, as a siderat, is used very often. In addition, it is also a very beautiful plant, it blooms beautifully, and also enriches the soil with nitrogen. Therefore, in addition to the benefits, you will also get a spectacle. In our article we will tell you about the varieties of lupine that are used as green manure, as well as how to plant this plant and how to care for it. Let's start.

What kind of lupine to sow as a green manure?

Lupine as a siderat: photo

Many summer residents have long been using lupine as a green manure, this culture is considered an excellent helper, because this plant not only improves the composition of the soil, but also its structure. However, you will need to choose the right place for planting this plant, as well as decide on the variety. There is practically no need to care for lupine, its roots go deep into the ground, so lupine can withstand drought perfectly. Due to the peculiar structure of the root system, plants raise mineral nutrients into the upper layers of the soil, therefore it is after this culture that it will be easier for vegetables to grow on the site.

In addition, lupine itself does not deplete the soil, it does not consume nutrients from the upper layers of the earth. This culture perfectly loosens the soil, supplies the soil with air, which means that after that the plants, fruit and vegetable crops will grow and develop better. Very often, lupine is planted on acidic soils, as well as on sandy loam. This plant develops very quickly, and the yield of this crop is very high, of course, we are not talking about flowers or seeds, but about green mass. About a month and a half after sowing this crop, your entire plot will turn green, which means that the land will be enriched with nutrients. But you don't really need to take care of the culture, it is enough to plant and mow lupine on time. This plant is very unpretentious, therefore it is planted even in unfavorable climatic conditions.

Lupine can be used to get rid of many weeds. For example, from wheatgrass or sow thistle. This culture perfectly loosens the soil, even refreshes the earth, therefore, the bacterial flora is stabilized in the soil, and the wireworm leaves the places where lupine grows forever. However, in order to achieve these results, you will need to plant the correct variety, namely white, blue or yellow lupine.

Well, let's talk about each of them. White lupine as a siderat, it is mainly planted as a fodder crop, since this plant is very fond of cattle and rabbits. However, it is in white lupine that alkaloids are contained, therefore this culture is very useful for gardeners. However, you will need to take care of him a little better than other varieties. This plant is quite large, in favorable climatic zones it can even reach a height of two meters, its inflorescences are approximately formed a month after planting.Normally white lupine, like green manure, tolerates drought, but white lupine loves warmth. If you have goats, rabbits or cows, then you can feed this crop to cattle, so you will kill two birds with one stone, and improve the composition of the soil, and pamper the animals.

Another type of lupine - blue... This is a more unpretentious plant, so this culture tolerates a drop in temperature remarkably, it is also easy and simple to care for it. Lupine can even survive freezing. Despite this specific name, the flowers of the plant come in different colors, from lilac to pink. It is not very tall, so the plant grows no more than one and a half meters in height. This variety also has its own varieties, all of these varieties are also grown as fodder.

Blue lupine is also used wonderfully as a siderat. This live fertilizer is popular due to the fact that its roots contain special substances. The culture grows quickly, it is not afraid of frost, therefore, very often this variety of lupine is planted after harvest. Its roots do not penetrate deeply into the soil, and transfer nitrogen to the upper layers of the earth, and this green manure also perfectly loosens the soil.

Yellow lupine even less, it does not grow more than 1 m in height. This variety differs from others in that the plant is pollinated in a cross way. The inflorescences are usually yellow or slightly orange. Unlike blue lupine, yellow does not like cold, so a slight frost can harm the plant. It is best to grow this crop in warm conditions. Lupine is planted on different types of soil, but it also has its own varieties. Due to the fact that the yellow lupine is cross-pollinated, insects should live on the site.

The plant is considered a perennial crop, so lupine winters well, its foliage contains alkaloids, which also have an excellent effect on the composition of the soil. If you want your site to steam up, then lupine is a great choice.

Lupine as a siderat: when to sow and when to bury?

Lupine as a siderat: photo

Lupine as a green manure is not quite picky about the type of soil. So they grow it on different soils. However, heavy soil negatively affects the development of plants, therefore, it will be necessary to grow lupines in more favorable conditions. Before planting this crop, you will need to loosen the ground, and also remove all weeds and debris from the site. After that, you can start planting work. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers should not be applied to the soil, since this type of feeding negates all the beneficial properties of these plants.

Many varieties of this culture are frost-resistant, so it can be planted both in early spring (for example, in April) and in autumn. However, the soil must be warm, in such conditions the plant will develop more intensively. Usually, the seeds of lupine as a siderat are planted about 3 cm in depth, 20 cm are left in the aisles, in each row the distance between plants should be about 10 cm.However, depending on the varietal characteristics of a particular lupine, these distances may be different. Therefore, take into account the tallness of the crop, the abundance of flowering, as well as some other factors. It is best not to plant seeds very close to the surface of the earth, since they have a fairly hard shell, and it is removed only when the culture germinates from the depths. If you plant lupine seeds as siderata not very deeply, then the sprouts may not have time to throw off this shell. Therefore, the leaves will not develop normally. Some gardeners recommend cutting the seeds so that they germinate faster, but this is a very painstaking process, so it takes a lot of time and effort.

It is not difficult to buy lupine seeds as a siderat; they can be purchased at a garden center, an agricultural store, of course, on the Internet. They are not very expensive, so buying lupine as a siderat is not a very expensive business.But in how to grow such a siderat, you will definitely figure it out. In any case, this fertilizer will cost you less than ready-made organic mixtures.

Lupine care

Lupine as a siderat: photo

Perennial lupine as a siderat is considered an unpretentious crop, so you can even plant it on virgin soil. Lupine grows well in completely different climatic conditions. In order to grow such a green manure, you need to plant lupine on a site with loose soil, this is fundamentally important, this culture will not grow on heavy soil.

After planting the seeds, the lupine is usually mown after about two months. During this period, the culture has time to bloom and discard seeds. But it is not worth digging up the plantings in order to prepare the green manure, you will only need to mow the plants, and then, having previously chopped up the roots, cover the area with earth. This will need to be done, as you remember, about a couple of months after planting the seeds in open ground. If the weather is dry, it is advisable to water the lupine. If you are a little late, and the harvesting of this culture has been delayed, then you can leave the plant in this form until spring, and turn the green mass into compost. The fact is that overgrown plants in the ground decompose worse, so you will not get a quick result. Very often, blue lupine is planted after harvest. Namely, at the end of summer. Before winter, he manages to grow, as the plant develops more than intensively. In October, you can mow the plantings, and only then sprinkle with earth. Sometimes the mown lupine is left before the arrival of spring; top dressing in March-April will be excellent. Do not forget that lupine needs at least two months for growth and "filling". This is how nutrients are accumulated to the maximum.

Growing lupine as a green manure with other crops

Perennial lupine as a siderat: photo

Narrow-leaved lupine as a siderat is grown quite often, therefore, it is clearly meaningless to plant other plants of the same purpose next to the plantings of this culture. If you organize a "parade" of siderates, then the plantings will compete with each other for the best growing conditions, so you will not get good fertilization. Plants will constantly compete with each other. But planting lupines in the aisles is a good idea.

For many vegetables, and berries, this is a wonderful neighbor. Moreover, for this they use lupine of all three varieties, but it is best to plant it white. Do not forget that the beds will need to be watered regularly, since without moisture the lupine stalks become tough, which means that in the future they will decompose poorly. Sometimes rye is planted in front of the lupine so that weeds that compete with this crop do not grow on the site, but after the lupine itself, you can plant various nightshades, for example, potatoes or tomatoes. Peppers, cruciferous and rose cultures grow well after this plant. That is why these legumes are so popular nowadays.

But remember, after lupine, you should not plant its relatives on the site, since these crops belong to the same family, so there is a great risk of spreading diseases and pests on the site.

Conclusion

Lupine is considered an excellent plant that enriches the soil with nitrogen and many other beneficial trace elements and nutrients. Due to the fact that lupine has a well-developed rhizome, this culture also delivers, raises many useful substances from the depths of the soil to the surface of the earth. Plants can be grown on acidic or neutral soil, but undesirable on alkaline soil. Therefore, before planting, it is still better to measure the acidity level. This can be done using an inexpensive litmus test, which is sold in garden centers and agricultural stores.

Lupine narrow-leaved as a siderat is very often used by both gardeners and gardeners. After it, potatoes and strawberries grow well.Sometimes summer residents are worried, because lupine grows quite slowly, therefore, at the first stages of development, a lot of weeds appear on the site, but do not sound the alarm and get upset, over time, lupine will displace any weeds, and the soil will enrich the soil with nutrients and trace elements. The green mass of plants decomposes well, sometimes lupine is planted even after wheat or rye. Moreover, both white and blue lupine can be used for this, all varieties have proven themselves perfectly. In addition, in addition to improving the composition of the soil and its structure, charming plants will bloom and smell on your site. So, be sure to try using lupine as a siderat, it won't let you down.

Lupine as a siderat: video