Because gardening is an intensive cultivation, it is rarely possible to devote considerable areas for lengthy periods to the growing of cover crops to turn under. Cover cropping or green manuring is therefore less extensively practised by gardeners than by farmers. Nevertheless, its possibilities must not be overlooked. Ordinarily the gardener's green manures must be kinds that grow quickly and can be incorporated with the soil in a few weeks, or at most, a few months from the time of sowing.
Only under exceptional circumstances can he consider a crop - such as lucerne or red clover - that will occupy the ground for a year or more. Among the most satisfactory green-manure crops for gardens are leguminous plants such as tick beans, field peas, New Zealand blue lupins, cowpeas, purple vetch and lucerne. Good non-leguminous ones are rye grass, oats, millets, barley and mustard. The general procedure is to prepare the beds and then add one part by volume of superphosphate to four parts of seed, mixing in thoroughly.
Alternatively, add one ounce of superphosphate per square yard of soil. Broadcast the seed or sow in drills in moist soil. Leguminous crops should be turned in when beginning to flower, as the storage of nitrogen is greatest at this time. Other crops, such as oats, can be dug in when about 18-24 in. high. Knock the crop down in one direction, chop up into short lengths with a spade and mix into the soil as thoroughly as possible. Alternatively, cut it down to the ground in 6 in. stages with a pair of hedge shears, then dig in. Decomposition is accelerated if a light dressing of sulphate of ammonia or blood and bone is given. A crop of lupins sown in March will be ready to turn under in July or August. Gardeners with restricted space may prefer to sow green peas from which a picking can be had before digging under. |
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Sowing Seeds in Patches -
Seeds can be sown directly on the permanent site by broadcasting or scattering them over a prepared patch of soil, , Mulching Roses where informal groups of flowering plants , Fresh Tulips such as annuals , Topiary are grown in a border, or where seeds , Mulching of biennials , Moving Your Roses or perennials , Plague Thrips are sown in frame...
Plants for Window Boxes -
Plants in window-boxes tend to have a somewhat hard life, with periods of drought , Bamboo Flooring and wind, draughts and little protection. Certain hardy plants , Temperature and House s are, therefore, almost synonymous with window-box gardening. , Bonsai - Buy or Grow? Choose Chrysanthemum Frutescens (Marguerites), Pe...
Growing Herbs -
Most herbs , Scale and Perspective in a Japanese Garden are hardy and adaptable. But, when growing herbs , Hand Feeding Koi ,like all plants, , Growing Roses they perform best when provided with conditions most closely matched to their individual needs. Many of the herbs , Lawn Repair we use today originated in areas around the Medi...
Kitchen Improvement -
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Crack the stone , Permaculture Design a little - just enough to break the sides open slightly. Then plant , Creating A Vegetable Garden it in a 4 inch pot , Growing Peaches, Apricots and Nectarines From Stones of compost, , How to Lay Floor Tiles about 1 inch deep. Put the pot , Medicinal Tea - Catnip in a warm, shady place , Medicinal Tea - Catnip and keep the compost , Garden Design damp. After some months, a little shoot should appear. Place , Low Voltage Lighting the...
Choosing House Plants -
When choosing house plants, , How To Sow Australian Native Seeds consider first their shape, habit, texture and colouring for the place , How To Plant Trees they will occupy and in relation to each other. For a group of plants, , Bonsai Shaping choose a tall specimen to give height (dracaena or schefflera), a climbing variety (p...
How To Transplant Seedlings -
Weather conditions at the time of transplanting are important in successful establishment of plants, , Growing Trees from Nuts and transplanting should not be done in the middle of the day or in hot , Dianthus spells. The best time for transplanting is late afternoon. Before starting, make...
Sowing Seeds in Pots -
Seed can be sown in boxes, pots, , Indoor Plants for Warm Rooms seed-pans or flats , Bonsai Propagation (shallow boxes or trays). Sheets of glass and pieces of paper (newspaper will do, but thick brown paper is better) are needed to cover the receptacles until germination takes place. , Growing Tomatoes The glass is placed o...
Seed Sowing and Germination -
The actual sowing is governed by the same rules as for outdoor , Hand Feeding Koi sowing. Scatter flat seeds , Cleaning House Plants - such as those of lilies, hippeastrum, and grevilleas-thinly and evenly over the soil , Planning a Garden or other medium, and press each seed , Summer Bulbs gently on one side with a pencil or point...
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