Summer residents often wonder: is there any point in sowing a plot of mustard in the fall? Some clearly believe that this is a waste of time. But there are also people for whom this method is of great benefit in the spring.
What are the benefits of planting mustard before winter?
When the area is cleared after harvesting, summer residents dig up the ground. Sometimes it is left loosened, which makes it easier to sow crops. And sometimes gardeners prefer to sow it with mustard. What's the use of this?
- A mustard carpet appears on the site quickly. This leaves no opportunity for weeds to break through, which makes spring sowing comfortable.
- An overgrown plant does not allow the soil to freeze during severe frosts.
- Improves soil cover due to the circulation of air and moisture in the garden.
- Raises useful microelements from the lower layers.
- Enriches the soil with nitrogen molecules.
- After the crop rots, the earth is saturated with fertile substances.
Do these benefits make any sense?
But along with these advantages of planting this plant, there are also completely useless ones.
If we talk about weeds, then preventing them on the eve of cold weather is completely useless. In May, after several warm days, they will quickly cover the area, since the crop will already rot, saturate the soil with useful substances, and there will be enough moisture after the winter.
Also, all microelements raised from the depths, after the first flood or ordinary snow melting, will again return to their original position.And before frost there is no point in moving them.
Careful air and moisture exchange on the eve of cold weather is also considered useless. This is because by spring, after the snow has completely melted, the soil will already be filled with moisture. And you can enrich it with oxygen after ordinary digging with a shovel.
It turns out that the point of sowing a garden with this crop before winter is only to protect the area from freezing due to the dense carpet of the plant, as well as to ensure that it rots by spring.
When is it more beneficial to plant mustard in the garden?
In order for all the benefits of planting described above to be preserved, the plant should be planted in early spring. After the snow melts, the ground needs to be dug up and sown. There will be enough moisture and air in the soil, the mustard will sprout quickly.
By May, when the period of planting the main crops begins, the soil will be as ready as possible. All useful microelements will be present in sufficient quantities. You don’t have to fight weeds and waste time and effort on it.
This year I sowed all the areas with white mustard, we will check the method next year and make sure of its usefulness.
There are benefits. Plant in August, mow in September and cover with cut hay. In the spring, without digging, cut furrows and plant potatoes, cabbage, and onions. Tried and works.
not “plant”, but “plant”, or at least “sow”
Strange.
And I always do this in the fall.
Ugh ugh ugh... everything seems fine...
I have never sowed green manure either before winter or in spring. And there are almost no more weeds in my garden than all my neighbors who sow mustard before winter. I don’t see any point in sowing at all.
The fact that the soil does not freeze so much in winter is a minus. Pests such as the Colorado potato beetle and others can safely overwinter in the soil.
The fact that the green manure itself rots in spring and summer will not add microelements to the soil, because the green manure took these elements from the same soil.
I prefer to work! I dig up the entire garden in the fall and spring. And the harvests are always no worse, there are no more weeds, and the soil is always loose.
I plant mustard every year before winter. Weeds do not grow in spring. We have a flat area and, I think, there is no “washing off” of useful substances. Both in autumn and spring, the beds look neat. There are some advantages.
In the Stavropol region, potatoes are already being planted in mid-March. Until this time, it is unrealistic to sow and grow mustard. But after embedding in the soil, you need to wait a couple more weeks. That's why we plant in September. There are fewer weeds, the soil is richer, and it does not interfere with the spring planting of potatoes and other crops.
I sowed mustard before winter, in the spring there was greenery and a carpet, we plowed up some sprouts here and there, I didn’t cut them off when I finished and miraculously the bindweed disappeared, only a few remained, but before I carried it in bags all summer, and there was no sow thistle where it wasn’t sown and the tail disappeared. In general, I couldn’t be happier with that corner where all these weeds grew clear.
I advise everyone, you won’t regret it...
We struggled with wireworms on our plot for many years, they advised us to sow mustard, and we were pleased with the results. For five years now we have not encountered this problem.
Don’t “plant”, but SA-ZHA-E-TE!!!
If there had been manure, I might not have planted mustard. But there were no state or collective farms left in the vicinity; they disappeared into oblivion along with the livestock farms. That's all the hope lies in chemical fertilizers and green manure.
This year, for the first time after harvesting potatoes, I sowed white mustard in the same area. I just scattered the seeds and raked over the top. The mustard sprouted quickly - juicy, strong shoots. It grew to about 30 cm, and I dug it up. While digging, I discovered that there seemed to be less field bindweed (birch) in the area. Since I plant potatoes on this piece of land every year, but there is no way to fertilize the land with manure, I hope that next year the potatoes will thank me for the mustard. In the spring, I scatter the mustard seeds on other beds; before planting the main crops, the mustard will have time to grow green mass. Good luck to all gardeners!
The only plus is that the soil becomes looser and there is organic matter for the same worms. ABSOLUTELY the same can be achieved by plowing up the mown grass.And by burying the weeds to a depth of 10-20 cm (you can add a little fresh manure), you can add additional nutrition for the plants, while most of the roots and seeds will rot. As for weeds, a few diggings in the spring and before planting, mulching with film and grass - that’s the solution to the problem.
The main advantage of autumn sowing of green manure (they do not need to be dug up, but should be left so that they lie down and cover the soil from frost) is the protection of the land in winter from erosion. The bare ground becomes weathered and turns into salt marsh. It is not for nothing that nature tries not to leave the earth bare, populating it with weeds.
I also never understood the point of green manure, unless of course there is nothing to do, then yes.
I always plant mustard in the fall. After this in the spring the earth is very good. loose and full of worms. But I’ll be careful not to sow in the spring because it attracts the cruciferous flea beetle. It multiplies and reproduces incredibly quickly on mustard. Then all summer you will have to fight on radishes, lettuce, arugula, etc. Therefore, in the spring, plant other green manures, such as oats, vetch and phacelia. I always plant a mixture of different green manures.
A person shares gardening tips, but you only pay attention to spelling. Do you need it?
“We plant and plant”...!
If late blight is raging when growing tomatoes and potatoes, then
in autumn, be sure to plant mustard in these areas. In the spring the hay that
obtained from mustard, will create hay bacillus and significantly reduce the influence of late blight
We have planted and will continue to plant!
For the first time this fall, after harvesting potatoes, I sowed the plot with mustard. Let's see what happens. Many of us sow this way in the fall. Otherwise, the wireworm and this infection have tormented the birch tree, and there is no way to get rid of them. True, I sowed it a little late, it grew 10 cm, but very thick It turned out that you couldn’t even see the ground.
The post is reminiscent of an argument (remember Gulliver's Travels?) Which side should you break eggs on, the blunt side or the sharp side?
Both are useful! If only there was time!
By the way, is the author still digging with a shovel? Have you adapted the pitchforks and others? It looks like you are a beginner, but you are giving advice to experienced people.
I always planted mustard in the fall and I have a great harvest in the spring. Mustard is lovely.