That’s a load of green manure

IF THERE ever was a product in desperate need of a good
P.R. agent and marketing guru, green manure is it. With
such a grisly sounding name it is no wonder that all but
the most knowledgeable and seasoned gardeners shy com-

pletely away from it.

There used to be a similar prob-
lem with leaf mould until some
clever individual popularized the
word compost. We all now under-
stand that there is nothing
threatening about a few leaves,
grass clippings, kitchen scraps,
etc, only good health for the
garden and less waste for the
municipality to deal with.

Simply put, green manure is a
cover crop which has been grown
specifically for the purpose of
ploughing hack into the garden.
Its sole function is to replace some
of the hurnus which was depleted
over the past year, thereby re-
supplying some of the ‘nutrients
taken up by the previous season’s
bounty in an environmentally safe
manner.

So what makes a good green
‘manure?. Not. litle men from
mars, I can assure you. The char-
acteristics you should look for in

. acrop which is to be used in this
manner are: easy germination in
cooler weather, quick growth, low

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

after-planting maintenance and a
high yield of organic nutrients.

The best known of the potential
candidates is fall or winter rye.
Others include: other rye grasses,
buckwheat, mustard, rape and
vetch. All of these plants are

capable of doing the job; let's
take a ciuser look at what that job
might be.

Any organic material appearing
in your garden soil is immediately
acted upun by microbes and en-
zymes which will break it down
into humus. During this rotting or
composting process, these
microbes and enzymes will ‘‘use
up’? much of the = available
nitrogen.

The use of a green manure will
build the humus conteat of soils,
which is good: it can also tem-
porarily lower the amount of sol-
uble nitrogen in the soil, which is
bad. it is therefore tempting to try
to increase the nitrogen reserves
before planting our cover crop
and/or seplenish them in the fol-
lowing spring with high nitrogen
fertilizers.

Several types are available, in-
cluding sulphate of ammonia and
urea which are both quick releas-
ing and also quickly leached out
of the soil. Sulphur-coated urea
and potassium nitrate are slower
and therefore available for longer
periods of time, but they are also
more expensive.

Let’s not lose sight of our orig-
inal goal which was to provide the
garden with an organically derived

source of nutrients. These materi-
als are chemically derived pro-
ducts and their use runs counter
to the ideology of using green
manures in the first place. Blood
and cotton seed meal are good
organic sources but their cost
makes their usefulness somewhat
limited.

Fortunately, there is a group of
plants — members of the legume
family — which possess some of
the attributes needed for a .green
manure variety as well as main-
taining the ability to supply their
own nitrogen. These nitrogen fix-
ers, as they are cailed, have a
symbiotic relationship with certain
bacteria. which ‘“‘fix’? nitrogen
from the air to the roots of the
plant in a water soluble form.

Examples of these plants which
could make good cover crops are
the vetches and clovers. When
these are incorporated into fall
seeding mixtures, extra sources of
nitrogen may not be required.
Remember that, in some areas,
clover can become a_ weed;
therefore vetch may be the better
choice.

Most seed companies will .in-
clude Austrian winter peas in their

vetch mixtures and not because ©

the peas make a superlative cover

crop. It is done because farmers
use some of the crop as cattle
feed, but do not worry, the peas
can fix nitrogen just as well as
vetch,

You can improve the nitrogen
fixing characteristics of the
legumes by coating the lightly
dampened seed with an ‘‘in-
oculant’® prior to seeding. An in-
oculant is just a concentration of
the bacteria which work with the
legumes in the fixation process.

When sowing a green manure,
be sure that the soil is relatively
weed free, cultivated, and levelled.
Apply seed at the rates of 2.5
pounds per !,000 square feet for
fall rye, 1 pound per 1,000 for
vetch, and most vetch/fall rye
mixes (based on 30% vetch and
70% rye) at 2 pounds per 1,000
square feet.

Once attaining the desired stage
of maturity, which is just prior to
flowering, till and blend the crop
weil into the soil and turn once
more just before spring planting.
The addition of materials such as
compost, de-salinated seaweed,
bloodmeal, bonemeal, and/or cot-
ton seed meal in the spring will
assure you the best results possible
for the year ahead.

Fall is the best time for fertilizing your garden

MOST HOMEOWNERS fertilize
their yards and gardens in the spr-
ing, but fall is actualiy the best
time to perform this task. The
rewards of fall fertilizing are
beautiful lawns, bright flowers
and juicy vegetables, as well as a
revitalized vard that’s ready for
the rigors of the coming winter.
Geraniums, marigolds, and
other summer annuals return to
-peak form in early autumn when
‘ femperatures begin to cool. Fer-
_-tilizing in’ fall will help keep an-
nials in bloom right up to the
_ first killing frost. A sprinkling of
acomplete garden fertilizer — one

“. that’s rich in nitrogen, phospho-

Tous and potassium — will do the
trick.

--Hardy chrysanthemums and
asters are among the flowering

perennials that help make autumn
such a colorful season. Give them
an extra spurt by fertnlizing when
buds swell and begin to show coi-
or. This will keep plants looking
their best until their blooms final-
ly fade.

Backyard gardeners usually
associate fresh vegeiables with

‘summer. But autumn, too, is a

season of rich harvests. During
the first few weeks, gardeners can
still pick tomatoes, squashes and
other warm-season vegetables.
Cool-loving broccoli and brussels
sprouts may be harvested later. To
keep plants productive, apply a
side dressing of fertilizer in very
early fall.

Crops such as spinach, lettuce,
radish and peas can be sown in
autumn, especially in regions

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‘ ing-flowering bulbs.

where winters are relatively mild
and cool. Prepare the planting bed
by mixing in some compost and
vermiculite. Then spread two to
three pounds of garden fertilizer

- for every 100 feet of soil. The fer-

tilizer pellets should be worked in-
to the top three to four inches of
garden soil. .

Fall is the season to plant
tulips; daffodils and other spr-
Fertile soil
enhances the quality of first-year

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blooms.

The heat and recreational activ-
ities of summer can take their toll
eon a lawn, Autumn is the perfect
time to do some repairs, and
prepare the lawn for the rigors of
winter,

Bare or dead patches over eight
inches across must be reseeded.
Clear the spot of dead grass, be-
ing sure to remove any sickly
sprigs along the edge. Then loosen
the soil to a depth of about six

inches, digging in some ver-
miculite at the same time.

Now the patch is ready for fer-
iilizing. For established lawns, a
specially formulated turf feed is
the right choice. After working
some pellets into the top few in-
ches, tanip the mix down by foot,
make the spot level and even with
the surrounding soil. ©

Carefully sprinkle the grass seed
over. the patch at a rate of eight to
10 seeds per square inch.

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