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Just wondered if and what type of green manure anyone puts on their brassica, potato and onion bed?

My beds are now empty and want to put the goodness back in for next season.

Many thanks

MEW

I put mustard seed on my potato bed as it helps deter wireworm. The downside is that you can't plant brassica's in the same place the next year if you are working on a rotational bed system.

I also have a big bag of rye grass seed to try out soon and I will use that on the majority of my plot.

I have just bought some fenugreek, apparently there has been a rush on green manures at the local nursery and they have only got about 10 packets left!!

A mixture of phacelia, red clover and rye grass. The phacelia and red clover provide a good late crop of flowers for bees to work as well, but ideally you need to get them in during August. They'll still be fine planted now but you might not get much in the way of flowers, depending on the weather.

GQT says that nitrogen is only fixed until the plants flower - so digging them in at bud stage is favourite.
None of our local nurseries carries green manure - how ridiculous! There are dusty and empty spaces labelled up for clover, etc., though.

Ive just looked on Ebay for some seeds but theyre not for over winter. I thought the idea of green manure was to cover the ground, stops the weeds & then be rotovated in for the spring?

I order my green manures from Moles, who do bulk seeds very cheaply. I use mustard (but not before brassicas), red clover (but not before legumes) and rye grass for everything else. I'm going to try some phaecelia next year... here's the link for the green manure pages on Moles. Some of them are for overwintering.

Thanks for that link Hedgie (good to see you!) - just what I've been looking for.

I order my green manures from Moles, who do bulk seeds very cheaply. I use mustard (but not before brassicas), red clover (but not before legumes) and rye grass for everything else.

Hi Hedgewizard
What do green manures do you use before brassicas and before legumes then?
Could do with putting in a order to get some goodness back into the beds for spring asap.

Also do I need to put a green manure in where there have been legumes as I understand these are nitrogen fixing?

thanks again
Mew

Moles are, in my opinion, the most efficient seed supplier out there! Although their quantities are too much for most (sometimes me included!) their service is super quick.

Most times I have run out of seeds, I have ordered late in the afternoon and the seeds have been with me the following morning. Not many other firms manage that!

I'm looking to plant 200m2 of oats and 600m2 of malting barley and I cant find an organic supplier who can supply the sort of qttys I need.
Any ideas anyone?

Also for green manures and any organic veggie rotation read Elliot Colemans 'The New Organic Grower' ISBN 0-9300031-75-X

but be careful - I gave up work because of this book

MadTom wrote:Elliot Colemans 'The New Organic Grower' ISBN 0-9300031-75-X

but be careful - I gave up work because of this book

Hehe - Mandy Pullen's Valuable Vegetables made me quit!

Gardener's world did green manure this week. I think you can replay it via the BBC website.

only 1.15mins and it cuts before he gets to the end

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/chec ... =1&bbram=1

and

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/chec ... =1&bbram=1