Green manure is also called green manure because it is grown for mowing and digging in the ground. Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of barley as green manure, when and how to sow seeds, how to grow plants, rules for mowing and digging greens. What can be planted in place of green manure, what is better to grow in garden beds - barley or oats.
Pros and cons of barley as green manure
Cereals, which include barley, are one of the most popular types of green manure. The advantages of using barley are as follows:
- after digging, it becomes an environmentally friendly and nutritious fertilizer (greens eventually form a mass containing all the nutrients);
- roots loosen the soil and at the same time strengthen it;
- improves soil characteristics, it becomes structured and becomes more breathable;
- reduces the level of weed infestation, since barley sprouts early and thickly, it prevents weeds from growing;
- disinfects the soil - the roots secrete substances that inhibit viruses and bacteria;
- reduces the number of pests: aphids, nematodes and leafhoppers, attracts beneficial insect predators;
- increases the level of productivity and quality of fruits; they accumulate more sugars, mineral elements, vitamins, proteins, and starch.
The result of using barley can be compared with the effect of applying manure, but the cost of buying seeds and planting, and then mowing, will be less than when using manure.
Barley as a green manure has many advantages, but it also has a disadvantage - the roots attract wireworms. If there is this pest on the site, it is better to replace the crop with some other green manure.
Sowing and growing crops
You need to sow barley not when it is necessary, but approximately at the time when its development will be most favorable. You should also consider how many seeds will have to be spent on a certain area, and how to plant green manure seeds correctly.
Optimal planting dates
Spring barley is sown in the spring, when the snow has already melted, but the soil has not yet dried out. This is a cold-resistant crop; the seeds germinate even in soil that has not yet been completely warmed up. Sufficient soil temperature is +5 °C. The sowing time for barley seeds, depending on the region, falls on the 2nd half of March or April.Green manure can be planted throughout the summer, when the beds are free of early crops.
The winter variety is sown at the end of August or in the fall - in September. It is sown after harvesting the crop that was grown in the garden this season. By the time cold weather sets in, the barley will have time to take root and grow. Winter barley should not grow too much before the cold weather, so that the greens do not freeze in frost. The growth of winter barley actively begins in the spring.
Seed consumption
For 1 sq. m. area you need to spend 20-25 g of barley seeds, if it is used to suppress weeds, then the seeds can be sown thicker - 25-30 g per square meter. m.
Sowing process
How to plant green manure: clear the beds of plant debris, dig with a shovel. Level the ground and make shallow grooves at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Sow seeds in them, cover them with soil and, if the soil is dry and there is not enough moisture in it for germination, water the beds with water.
When and how to dig?
Winter barley is left for the winter, cut only in the spring, 2 weeks before planting the crop in this place. The mass of greenery is immediately buried in the soil or left on it as mulch. Plowing improves the condition of the soil and allows you to get green fertilizer right in the layer where the roots of the plants are located.
The deadline for mowing green manure is when the plants enter the budding period. If left to grow further, they will become coarse and begin to rot slowly in the soil. On average, the growing period for green manure barley is 2 months, by which time it can grow 60 cm.
What to plant next?
Barley reduces the number of nematodes and can fight scab, so it is recommended to grow it before potatoes and root crops, if, of course, the area is free from wireworms. After it, you can also plant cruciferous and legume crops; there are also no contraindications for crops of other families, except for the cereal family - these plants have the same diseases and pests.
Which is better to use: barley or oats?
In arid regions, it is better to sow more drought-resistant barley; on peat bogs and acidic soils, it is recommended to plant oats. This crop saturates the soil with potassium; nightshade crops can be grown in place of green manure.
The roots of both green manures inhibit weeds and pathogens that can spread to crops. The roots penetrate deep into the soil, to a depth of less than 1 m, and draw nutrients from there. After the mass rots, they remain as fertilizer for the crop. In winter, the soil under the green manure does not freeze so much, does not erode or erode.
If you plant barley in free areas, you can solve several problems at once: obtain fertilizer that is not inferior in quality and impact to manure, reduce weeds, structure the soil, and make it more permeable to air and moisture. Sowing barley can replace many agricultural works on the site, which will no longer need to be carried out. The cost of purchasing seeds will be recouped by profits in the form of a large harvest of fruits, roots, tubers, heads of cabbage, vegetables or herbs.
