Properties of phacelia grass as green manure and when to sow, its cultivation and care

The green manure group includes many plant species that belong to different families. Accordingly, their characteristics are also different. One of the most interesting green manures is phacelia. Let's consider the description of this plant, its types and varieties. A list of advantages and disadvantages, before planting, time and planting technology. How to follow the rules of care, how to comply with mowing deadlines.

What is phacelia

Phacelia is a biological genus that includes 186 plant species that belong to the Aquifolia family. This plant can be either 1-year or perennial, depending on the species. Perennial or annual can grow 0.5-1 m, looks like a herbaceous bush with branched succulent and fragile shoots. The leaves are dense, bright, green, pubescent on the underside.

Phacelia flowers are small, the petals are colored in shades of lilac, pink, blue, and light purple. Collected in spike-shaped inflorescences, of which there can be 2-4 dozen on 1 plant. Due to the many flowers, phacelia bloom lasts 1.5 months. During it, the grass attracts bees, because of this, some species are grown as honey plants, for example, Ryazan phacelia or tansy. The fruits of the plants are in the form of a box, small, 700 pcs. weigh 1 g.

Types and varieties

As green manure, you can grow several types of phacelia. Let's consider the description and features of the varieties.

Silver phacelia (Phacelia argentea)

The species is native to California, where it grows on sand. When grown in the garden, the stems stretch up to 0.5 m.The leaves of plants of this species are covered with white pubescence, which gives them a silvery appearance. Flowers with white petals.

Phacelia bolanderi

The species also originates from California. The shoots are flexible, the plants bend to the ground. The inflorescences are cone-shaped, consist of bell-shaped flowers, they are lavender in color.

Phacelia hastata

A species from North America, grows in coniferous forests. Plants grow up to half a meter. The shoots are flexible, the inflorescences are short, with white or pinkish flowers. On the leaves of this species you can notice light veins and pubescence.

Silky phacelia (Phacelia sericea)

The height of the plant is up to half a meter, there is one or several stems, with pubescence of a silvery hue. The flowers are light purple, bluish or lavender, thanks to this color the plants resemble lupine.

Phacelia campanularia

The plant is low, 25 cm in height. The shoots are straight, but fragile, with a light red tint. The leaves are green with a bluish tint, with a thin border of brown-red color. Bell-shaped phacelia has racemose inflorescences, bell-shaped flowers, bright blue.

Phacelia congesta

The species is named so because its inflorescences seem to be twisted. The flowers are small, 0.5 cm in diameter, blue. The height of the stems is 0.5 m, the leaves are green, with dense pubescence.

Phacelia purshii

Plant height is 0.5 m, leaves are pubescent. Flowers are 3 cm in diameter, the lower part of the petals is greenish, the upper part is lilac.

Pros and cons of the plant

Advantages of culture:

• universality, can be a predecessor for all crops and any crops can be planted after it;
• fills the soil with easily digestible organic matter;
• stops the growth of weeds;
• the short growing season allows you to sow phacelia at any time from spring to autumn and up to 4 times per crop growing season;
• gains green mass in 1.5 months (up to 3 centners per hundred square meters);
• cold-resistant, can withstand frosts and spring colds.

This plant has many useful properties, there are no disadvantages, except for the high cost of the seeds.

What crops are they used for?

Phacelia can be the predecessor of any type of agricultural plant. Since it belongs to a family that does not include other green manures and cultivated species, it cannot be a distributor of infections and pests. Therefore, it is permissible to sow and grow it in front of any garden or garden crop.

When to sow green manure?

The time for sowing will vary, it depends on the purpose of growing phacelia. In spring, you can start sowing after the snow melts. Shoots should appear no later than 2 weeks, then the plants will begin to rapidly increase in mass. For crops grown in open ground, after mowing, the greens can be spread on the beds as mulch or buried in the soil.

Due to its ability to attract bees, it is recommended to sow phacelia all summer in the inter-rows of beds with crops whose pollination rate needs to be increased, or in tree trunks.

In autumn, this green manure is sown after harvesting; at this time, it can be sown from late summer to the 2nd half of autumn. Autumn phacelia heals the soil and restores, nourishes and improves the composition and structure. If you leave the stems on the surface of the beds, they will become mulch and save the soil and roots of perennial crops from freezing.The soil is strengthened, erosive processes are weakened, nutrients are not washed down after rains or snow melts.

You can sow green manure before winter before frosts so that it does not have time to germinate. The seeds will overwinter in the ground and germinate in the spring. For pre-winter sowing, the amount of seed must be increased in order to cover the possible loss of some seeds that may freeze in the cold.

Sowing technology

Phacelia seeds germinate well, so they do not need stratification or soaking. Planting seeds is not difficult: after removing plant debris and digging the beds, the soil needs to be loosened and leveled with a rake. Make 5 cm grooves and, for ease of planting, mix the seeds with coarse sand. The use of sand allows the seeds to be more evenly distributed over the area of ​​the beds. Approximately 200 g of seeds should be spent per hundred square meters. Cover the furrows with soil. If the soil is dry, it is necessary to water it with water.

Features of care

Phacelia is a generally unpretentious plant. Does not need fertilizing if it was sown in fertilized soil; it grows worse on poor soils. A single application of fertilizer when preparing beds is enough for it to develop well.

Green manure blooms 1.5 months after it emerges. Active growth stops by this time, the green mass no longer grows so quickly.The first flowers open gradually, over 1.5-2 weeks, after which a period of mass flowering begins, which lasts at least 45 days. If green manure is intended to be used as a honey plant, then it can be sown 4 times per season, a week after mowing.

Phacelia is considered resistant to pests and various diseases, and can itself protect nearby crops from them. You can even plant seeds between beds with vegetables, herbs, root vegetables, and strawberries.

Timing for mowing crops

Green manure is cut at the stage of bud formation. At this time, it gains sufficient mass, but the stems still remain flexible and not rough. If you mow later, when the plants are flowering, they will become rougher. After embedding into the soil, the rotting process will be slower, and it will take more time to completely decompose the residues.

You can mow green manure manually, but this is only convenient if the area is small. On an area of ​​several hundred square meters it is more profitable to use a cultivator or walk-behind tractor. The unit will allow you to immediately cut off green manure and plow it into the soil. Processing the beds will not take much time.

To make fertilizer for the garden as quickly as possible and of better quality, the mass should be sprayed with an EM preparation. The product helps accelerate the fermentation of greens, the grass rots faster, and pathogenic microflora does not multiply in it. The minimum period after mowing before planting the subsequent crop in this place is 2 weeks. But, on average, at least a month must pass for the grass to decompose to a homogeneous mass.

Why doesn't it sprout?

Properly sown phacelia seeds under the required humidity and temperature conditions germinate within a week.If it is dry, the germination process may take 2 weeks. Therefore, if the weather is dry after sowing, the area should be watered to moderate moisture.

Seeds may not germinate if they are old, that is, they are more than 2 years old. After 2 years of saving, germination rate decreases. The ability to germinate is adversely affected by non-compliance with storage conditions: if you keep the seeds in plastic bags without perforations, the inside may begin to rot. Especially if they were not dried enough before storing. The smell can also indicate suitability for sowing: if there is a smell of rottenness, then there is no need to sow such seeds.

Low germination is also observed if the seeds are not sufficiently covered with soil in the grooves. The seeds not only dry out quickly, but also end up in direct sunlight.

Phacelia is known to gardeners as a universal green manure that can be sown in all types of areas after or before any crop. Plants grow quickly, do not require heat and light, and can sprout on any soil, even if it is not always fertile. Phacelia is used, like other green manures, for organic fertilizer of beds and for structuring the soil. And also as a preventive plant that reduces the likelihood of diseases and the number of pests, as an excellent honey plant. You can plant seeds in areas located near apiaries or gardens, and time the sowing so that the green manure germinates by the time the trees bloom.

There are several types of phacelia used as green manure on dacha and personal plots; there is plenty to choose from. The crop is convenient because it can be sown in spring, up to 4 times in summer and autumn, and before winter. It overwinters well under the snow, germinates vigorously in the spring, and almost never freezes.Thus, you can sow free areas whenever you want, without waiting for a certain period.