Over-winter Green Manure

Green manures are fast-growing plants sown to cover bare soil in productive areas such as allotments, or vegetable gardens, and when dug into the ground while still green, they return valuable nutrients to the soil and improve soil and improve soil structure. They are especially useful in crop rotation and provide a natural, organic method of improving soil nutrition and structure for follow-on crops. Green manures are usually sown in late summer or autumn and store nutrients, preventing them from being removed by winter rains and cooler weather weeds. An excellent alternative to mulching, heavy-handling of bulky organic manures, and cost-effective. A mix of cereal rye and vetch plants from seed for summer growing and improving soil structure and fertility over the winter months. The overwintering ryegrass scavenges excess nitrogen from previous crops and prevents nitrogen from washing away with winter rainfall. The vetches 'fix' and store nitrogen in plants releasing them naturally as they break down, returning nutrients back to the soil in spring. We recommend cutting back and digging in prior to flowering. Growing instructions: Sow seeds into a prepared tilth by broadcasting them across the soil and raking them into the surface. In spring, and prior to flowering, cut down, turn over or cultivate into the top 20cms (8'') and leave to break down for a minimum period of three weeks prior to sowing or planting of any main crop. Alternatively, leave on the surface as a green mulch where worms will recycle the organic matter and help to aerate the soil. Sow: September to October Harvest: April to May