Price range: £1.85 through £65.00
Very quick growing, can be used from March to September but treat as a brassica in the rotation.
1Kg covers approx. 500m2
Rate per acre: 8Kg
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Green Manure, Mustard
Latin name Sinapis alba
Approximate coverage 500m2 per Kg, 8Kg per acre
Green manures are plants grown specifically to improve the soil. They do this in a number of ways: by being deep rooted; by covering the soil to prevent leaching of nutrients; by fixing nitrogen; by breaking up the soil with fibrous root structures. In all cases they are dug or mulched back into the soil adding organic matter which helps retain moisture and feeds the soil’s beneficial organisms. To dig in chop up the green manure with a spade and turn it into the top few inches, 10-12cm or so, of soil. Mulching out is the easier option, cut down if necessary and leave the clippings on the soil then cover to exclude the light using cardboard and grass cuttings or a biodegradable ground cover. Keep covered for at least 6 weeks, but longer if you do not need the ground, by which time most of the green manure would have broken down and incorporated into the soil by earthworms.
Good soil is the major and underlying principle for organic growing and green manures play a vital role. Use them to cover bare ground particularly over winter.
Mustard is a member of the brassica family, treat it as such in your rotation system. It is very fast growing making it useful to plant where the ground is bare for just a short time between crops. Dig in only 4 – 8 weeks after planting while the leaves are still soft and green. Woody material takes longer to break down and actually uses nitrogen from the soil in the process.
How to grow
Sow March – September
Normally you would have recently harvested a crop from the ground where now you are going to grow green manure. In which case not much cultivation is required. Fork or rake over to get a fairly good tilth and remove any weeds. Scatter the seed over evenly and lightly rake in. Water the seedlings if the weather is very dry.
When to dig in
Mustard is not suitable for overwintering as it is not frost hardy. Dig in or mulch out 4 to 8 weeks after planting and before flowering.