Green manure?

[angieh]

Do any of you gardeners grow green manure? If you do, just wondering what sort you use ..........

[Elaine]

I thought manure was more erm..... deposited than grown;)

[angieh]

Ah, no, not that sort Elaine. Green manure is a crop which you grow and dig in to improve the condition of your soil. Here (http://www.greenmanure.co.uk/sow_what.htm) is some info if you're interested.

[Elaine]

Ah I see, and you think us Scots are hard to understand, you gardeners are in a class all of your own:lol:

[yola]

Oh dear - I therefore dread meeting a Scottish gardener . . . they'll probably be totally unintelligible ;) :shock: ;)

[Elaine]

Oh dear - I therefore dread meeting a Scottish gardener . . . they'll probably be totally unintelligible ;) :shock: ;)

Oi!!! I've just about ahd enough of you today lady, first I'm gobby, then my haggis sucks and now I'm unintelligible, I warn you that you may wake up and one of your gorgeous persians will be sporting a mohawk:lol: :lol: :lol:

[dandysmom]

Well, if you can count a small backyard bed about 10' X 4', I decided to try it years ago and planted alfalfa. Truthfully, didn't notice any particular improvement so never did it again.

[SageCat]

I've never grown it myself but I thought comfrey was good for that purpose, but then again I could be totally wrong! :lol:

[dandysmom]

The beans are nitrogen fixers, so after the frost has killed off the plants I do dig them in the ground, but don't know of that actually does any good .....

[yola]

I've never grown it myself but I thought comfrey was good for that purpose, but then again I could be totally wrong! :lol:

From what I've read comfrey is good as green manure but also very nutritious if placed on a compost heap. Probably why I've grown some on my allotment . . . thing is it's taking over the space I've put it in!

I've read about Alfalfa also . . . I will stick with my cow manure as it's worked wonders on my raised beds and everything has grown very strongly.

[angieh]

I've never grown it myself but I thought comfrey was good for that purpose, but then again I could be totally wrong! :lol:

You're not wrong SageCat. I grow comfrey and harvest it in early summer and compost it and then let it grow again. I have to say that apart from composting it, I have not dug it in. It is quite deep rooted and could pop up where it's not wanted, unlike the plants that are generally sold for green manure, tares, alfalfa etc.

The beans are nitrogen fixers, so after the frost has killed off the plants I do dig them in the ground, but don't know of that actually does any good .....

They should do in theory at least, a bit like clover.

[dinahsmum]

I've never used it but several people on the allotments do.
It seems that the trick is cutting it down/digging it in at the right time; there are people who have rued letting the manure grow too big and go to seed - you can have too much of a good thing you know, and thet have more green manure plants than they really want

[pookyandjo]

Oi!!! I've just about ahd enough of you today lady, first I'm gobby, then my haggis sucks and now I'm unintelligible, I warn you that you may wake up and one of your gorgeous persians will be sporting a mohawk:lol: :lol: :lol:


I would LOVE to see that...:lol: :lol: ;)

[angieh]

I am amused and confused - how did that post get into this thread????

[pookyandjo]

post 2 - 6 on page one of this thread!...:lol:
Thanks to elaine i almost choked on my cup of tea and sprayed it over the computer screen:shock:

[angieh]

sorry, yes - I got confused. You probably haven't seen the Haggis thread yet!!! Put your cup of tea down first!!!!!