Rye as a siderat: description, action, suitable crops
Content:
The article presents the cereal culture rye as green manure: description, action, advantages of use, crops for which it is suitable.
Rye as a siderat: an introduction
Rye as siderat
Rye is one of the leaders among other crops in terms of the amount of green mass. In addition, winter rye occupies the same position among other plants, which can become excellent green manures for soil and for various crops. At the same time, as practice demonstrates, and as more experienced gardeners say, winter wheat varieties are more valuable, because if you sow it in spring, then rye does not discard spikelets, but turns into a very attractive bush. This is suitable for gardeners who want to further process rye into organic fertilizer and then send it directly into the soil.
Of course, it is difficult to restore the soil if there are no farm animals on the site and on the land, which are sources of organic fertilizers - manure, mullein. Still, plant-based organic matter is a great alternative. In addition, their price is much lower than the price of organic matter of animal origin, and they are certainly cheaper than keeping a farm animal. In terms of quality, some siderates are even superior to organic, and in this article we will just touch on this aspect in more detail.
When to sow rye as a siderat. Features, positive characteristics
Rye as siderat
Cereals on the modern market are of very low cost. With all this, literally for a penny, you can buy a whole bucket of grain, which can be planted on an area of about five acres of land on an agricultural plot. But the volume of green mass, which will result from planting on five acres, is enough to fertilize a plot after processing, the area of which will be about half a hectare. This amount is especially sufficient if the gardener uses the so-called mowing methods. Its meaning is that the greens are pruned, and then they are actively used already a little on other beds. In this case, the root system remains directly inside the soil. Thanks to this, it also serves as an additional top dressing directly for the soil.
Rye in general is a culture that is completely unpretentious and not capricious. It can be planted in any soil composition and in any conditions. It is still worth watering it regularly, since the rye root system has a fibrous shape, and therefore it needs constant moisture and watering. As for the friability, this means that the root is a bunch, which consists of very thin roots, they perfectly loosen the soil, make it very light and permeable. At the same time, the roots do not penetrate deeply into the ground, so they do not get the moisture that is located right in the depths, and does not touch the groundwater, which is located just in some areas, especially in the lowlands.
Rye is also recognized as one of the siderates that can withstand too much frost and low temperatures. This is what allows her to successfully endure wintering in snowy periods, right under the snow. In the spring, however, growth continues, rye is gaining green mass, as if before that it had not experienced any pressures and tests from the climate at all.It is recommended to plant winter rye varieties at the very end of September, or you can even postpone the planting to October. Autumn plantings should not be mowed - it is better to let them go under the snow, some processes will take place there, rotten rye will also serve as a certain useful component, so no additional measures can be taken at all, which simplifies the gardener's activities and saves a sufficient amount of time.
As for the spring planting, then if rye is sown at this time, then it will grow much longer than with the autumn planting. At the same time, it will be worth postponing the planting of cultivated plants and vegetables for some time, since this may not always be beneficial in this case, if you focus on the planting periods of the siderates themselves. For this reason, more experienced summer residents tend to sow green manure plots immediately after the entire crop has been harvested. This is necessary so that by the spring period it will be possible to get plants whose height will be at least thirty centimeters, and sometimes even more. The root system of green manure can develop and expand quite actively and rapidly, even faster than weeds develop. After the site has been harvested, it should be thoroughly cleaned, treated with mineral fertilizers so that the soil is finally saturated with all useful properties and becomes even stronger for further planting of cultivated plants - vegetables, fruits, berries, flowers. It is recommended to mow winter rye not once, but twice. This is done in the spring and summer. In this case, the roots should remain directly in the soil, as they become an additional fertilizer for crops. In addition, some liquid fertilizers can be made from rye. Then you can water plants or seedlings with them.
When creating solutions, all useful substances go directly into the water, so that they can be delivered much faster directly to the root system. Raspberries respond especially positively to such feeding, since its root system is located very shallow from the top layer of the soil, and therefore they are very dependent on what and in what amount of substances are located in the soil.
Also, rye, like green manure, has one more positive property, which we cannot but mention. It consists in the fact that rye as a green manure is excellent for almost all plants and crops, especially if we are based on the key principle of crop rotation. At the same time, cereals are very rarely planted directly on summer cottages, therefore legumes or cruciferous plants can be intermediate siderates. They also contain a sufficient amount of useful and nutrients, and cabbage, radish or radish can easily become such green manure. True, when planting, you should pay more careful attention to the selection of varieties, to their characteristics and key properties, otherwise you can make a mistake with the choice, and then the planting will not only be of no use - there will be only continuous harm.
Spring and winter rye as siderat: disadvantages
Spring and winter rye as siderat
Rye, like a siderat, has its drawbacks. If cereals are sown in large quantities, this can provoke the development and spread of such a pest as wireworm. It can cause severe damage to the tuberous system of potatoes, and can also negatively affect the root system of tomatoes. At the same time, rye is also one of the most favorite delicacies of the click beetle larvae, so it can attract them to the site, and, accordingly, the larvae will feed on other cultural plantings. Of course, the current situation and the problem have ways to solve it. For example, rye can be combined in planting with mustard, which will repel many pests.In addition, such combined plantings are incredibly useful for the soil itself, for cultural plantings and, oddly enough, for green manure. At the same time, mustard like green manure may not be so stress-resistant and does not tolerate severe frosts so well, so rye will be able to protect it from freezing due to its thick and very abundant green mass.
Recommendations, specifics of using rye as green manure
Of course, there are several basic guidelines that gardeners can follow to get excellent results in planting green manures. Especially if the gardener has decided to sow rye in the fall for the following reasons:
- if you burn all the tops that remained after cultivated plants, as well as branches from trees that also grew in this area, then the wood and the remaining ash obtained will be excellent additional fertilizers. In general, wood ash contains a large amount of phosphorus and potassium, which has an excellent effect on the general condition of the soil, on the development and flowering of crops. It also ideally affects the development of the root system of the green manure themselves. If the root of the green manure is strong and strong, then, accordingly, the green manure will be easier to tolerate frost and snowfall, which will have an excellent effect on its properties and general condition.
- rye blocks the growth of weeds, so the site will be kept clean, tidy and safe until spring.
In fact, no mineral or organic fertilizer (for example, manure) has such an impact. In organic matter, which is of animal origin, a large number of microorganisms, seeds, which are in a dense shell, can come across. Getting into the soil, all this can cause very great harm to it, and the seeds in general can be destroyed only if the soil is well composted. It can take too long, sometimes up to one year.
- winter rye needs sufficient moisture, especially when the seedlings are just beginning to hatch, and they should be saturated with a lot of moisture. In the autumn period, there is an increase in precipitation, and it is at this time that winter rye feels most comfortable, since it receives exactly the amount of substances and moisture that it needs most
- crops have the ability to retain snowfall right at the planting sites. Thanks to this, the site is very deeply moistened, saturated with moisture, and this has an excellent effect on almost all crops that will then grow in this area. So, in this regard, rye also has a huge advantage, which should be paid special attention to.
Siderata, which the gardener plants in the autumn, can be cultivated in the ground in the spring, and you can be sure that they are completely safe for the soil and for future plantings. At the same time, in no case should you be late with planting seedlings in the required period, since the remnants of rye and plant material need about 10-14 days in order to at least partially decompose in the soil and give it some of the useful and nutritious components. In places where rye is actively cultivated and grows, there is a low risk that microorganisms, nematodes and other pathogenic microflora will develop. During the winter period, the number of parasites can generally decrease to the very minimum. If rye seeds are combined with legumes or mustard seeds, then you get an excellent nutritious fertilizer, which also has phytosanitary properties. This means that they will disinfect the soil, cleanse it of various pathogens and microorganisms, making it even safer and more suitable for planting.
Rye has a very strong root system. If we start from the reviews of experienced gardeners and summer residents, then how green manure rye is able to recover almost immediately after each mowing.For the entire vegetative period, you can get a maximum of four mows of green mass, from which you can prepare a sufficiently large amount of useful and plant fertilizer, which will be completely natural and, accordingly, will be completely safe for a variety of plantings of cultivated plants, vegetables and fruits.
Sometimes rye becomes very difficult to remove. In this case, it is worth waiting for the moment when the cereals will grow up again and begin to spike. All the energy of the plant will be spent on the formation and growth of grain, and the roots will become very weak, practically unviable. It is at this time that it is recommended to mow the rye again, and then just leave the mowed to rot. Also, gardeners highlight a few more positive features of winter rye as a special green manure. Firstly, when the gardener is mowing stubborn shoots, then you can prepare top dressing in the form of hay. Hay is suitable for goats and cows, and is especially great for their winter food. But for this it is important to have not only a vast area with plantings, but also the livestock itself. Secondly, if you burn the resulting straw, then ash is formed in it, which is excellent as fertilizer. Ash can be used dry, or liquid fertilizers can be prepared on its basis, which are ideally accepted by crops. Ash contains a large amount of substances such as potassium, phosphorus and calcium. Ash is also suitable for deoxidizing soils, especially those in which there is increased acidity. In this case, the soil becomes almost universal and incredibly fertile. Of course, it should be remembered that there are several groups of plants for which rye as a siderat is just perfect. We will talk about this in the next part of our article.
Plants for which rye is suitable as a green manure
Due to the fact that rye as a green manure in a processed form contains a large amount of useful and nutritious microelements and components (for example, the most important is nitrogen, which affects growth and ovaries), then rye is used as a precursor for planting potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers ( that is, nightshade crops), as well as melons and gourds. These are exactly the plants that need nitrogen-containing components, as this has a positive effect on their growth and development. But it should be borne in mind that, for example, potatoes are prone to damage from the wireworm, and therefore it is undesirable to attract them to the backyard with rye plantings.
If rye is planted next to fruit crops, then it is necessary to constantly moisten it so that the yield does not decrease precisely because of the lack of moisture. But nevertheless, experienced gardeners do not recommend planting cereals together with vegetables, since rye can take a very large amount of moisture from the soil, and the gardener may simply not have enough time, or energy, or desire for constant watering. From this, the yield is very actively falling, and if the fruits appear, then they are rather bland, tasteless, they cannot be consumed fresh because of such negative characteristics. It is recommended to plant the winter rye variety at the end of August, right after all the vegetables and crops have been removed from the site. Until November, rye will gain green mass in full, and then the gardener can carry out those activities and those actions that will be convenient for him. He can prune greens, as well as dig up all the rye to a depth of no more than 10 centimeters in order for the green mass to rot well in the future.
You can leave rye on the surface of the soil without digging or other mechanical intervention. The greens will begin to decompose gradually, and in the spring it will fall directly into the soil, where it will begin to enrich it. The green mass does not need to be touched at all and not be mowed, but left in full growth until the onset of the spring period.This method is considered almost the most widespread and popular, and it is it that is recommended by many gardeners who already have experience in green manure in order to enrich the soil, revive it and restore it after some particularly abundant plantings. In general, if you do not dig up rye, you can find a large number of positive aspects. When digging, microorganisms that are in the soil can die, and if you do not dig up the soil, then you can not only save these same microorganisms, but also saturate them. Then the soil will recover even faster. If you dig up the soil, then sometimes it can take three or more years to recover, and not all gardeners have the opportunity to wait for such a long time. In general, it is possible to purchase special preparations that contain microorganisms, but this method may not always be effective. In addition, it is also very costly, so you need to pay attention to this and still follow the path that will be more profitable and less energy-consuming.
Some developed countries have already banned the use of artificial mineral additives or chemicals. This is due to the fact that they can greatly affect the beneficial qualities of vegetables and fruits, and when consumed, a person can develop various diseases that do not have the best effect on their general condition. Therefore, experienced gardeners simply strongly advise switching to the use of green manure, as it is very fast, economical, environmentally friendly and, most importantly, completely safe for a person, his body, health and general condition. You don't have to dig up the ground to loosen it up, because the root system of the green manure does it much faster and better. In addition, thanks to green manure, all beneficial bacteria and microorganisms are preserved in the soil, which destroy harmful substances and viruses, due to which the soil immunity becomes much higher.
In order to embed green fertilizer into the soil even in the spring, it will be enough to grind the rye directly without pulling it out of the soil. It is also worth carrying out regular watering, and then just wait for a while until the vegetation decomposes and begins to provide all the necessary useful components. After about 14 days after that, cultivated plants can be planted on the site - vegetable seedlings, for example, or some berries, if this is the goal of the gardener. You can also speed up the process, for this they use some drugs that are diluted in water to create the required concentration. In principle, among all the siderates, it is rye that becomes one of the most effective and useful, so that the choice of gardeners falls on it, and this is not at all accidental.
Rye as siderat