Among cereal plants, oats have green manure value. It appeared even before wheat and was one of the first crops cultivated in the fields for the purpose of obtaining grain. Currently, it is sown not only for culinary purposes, but also as an assistant in soil reclamation.
All cereals remove weeds well due to their branched root system, and also loosen heavy clay soils, protecting them from cracking and drying out.
Light sandy plots of land, thanks to regular sowing of oats as green manure, are enriched with organic matter, which is important for growing vegetables. A big plus of oats as a green manure is that it is suitable for all crops as a precursor.
Do not sow it only in front of cereals, but on small summer cottages it is not necessary. Now no one sows grain in order to process it into flour and bake bread.
Distinguish between spring and winter types. Depending on the time of planting oats as green manure, either winter grade, or spring. If you think about what to sow - rye or oats, then in arid climates it is better to use oats as a fertilizer, since rye has a drying effect. Having planted it together with vegetable crops, there is a danger that the main plant will receive less moisture and develop worse.
When the question arises what is better as a siderat - oats or rye, then according to gardeners' reviews they are often planted together, since there is a lot of nitrogen in rye shoots, and potassium and phosphorus in oats. Both crops are suitable for greening impoverished areas with high acidity or salinity. The seedling mixture will need intensive watering, as rye rye seedlings consume more water.
What is the value of oats for greening
It can be used to restore neglected areas and launch them into crop rotation. This takes time, but the effect will still appear. On average, it takes 2 - 3 years for the upper fertile layer to recover, and the nitrates accumulated over the years of using mineral fertilizers are gone. Organic matter will gradually accumulate, making the soil looser and more moisture-consuming.
Video: We sow oats so as not to dig up the soil
Oats grow on soils with any physical and chemical properties:
- sandy;
- clayey;
- podzolic;
- stony;
- peat.
Therefore, it is possible to provide plants with nutrients on an area arbitrarily poor in terms of fertility.
Sowing oats to fertilize the soil in autumn is possible after all garden crops- as an intermediate green manure. It does not tolerate diseases and is not a relative of legumes or crucifers, therefore it is considered a neutral crop for garden plants.
Oat Nutrients
Oats as green manure are used to obtain the main nutrient components - nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. There is more nitrogen in young greenery than in adult plants, therefore oats as fertilizer for the garden are cut when it grows to 20 cm in height.
There is more potassium and phosphorus in plant tissues than nitrogen. It is more profitable to plant oats mixed with vetch bean, which attracts nitrogen to its roots. This mixture is called improved manure because it provides all three nutrients for the plants, while additional phosphorus is added to the manure.
Important! Potassium is especially useful for nightshades, cucumbers, cabbage, berry plants. This makes their taste richer and sweeter.
When to sow oats
Siderata are used from early spring to late autumn. As an independent culture, they are planted on a separate bed, periodically pruned, using for the preparation of green fertilizer infused with water. Seedlings grow back again. When sowing oats as green manure in the fall, the greens are left in the garden bed. There are two ways:
- when to mow oats like green manure and embed them in the ground;
- when the green mass is left on top, and the roots remain in the soil and rot.
Both methods justify themselves, but there are supporters of sustainable agriculture who do not want to disrupt the work of soil microorganisms, therefore they do not dig up the soil. In this case, when to sow and when to bury (or not bury) green manure oats is up to the owner of the site.
Planting oats in autumn
When to sow oats in the fall depends on when the frost sets in. It is better to take seeds of a winter variety if you plan to cut the green mass in the spring, when it is still growing up.
After harvesting in the beds, it is imperative to apply complex mineral fertilizers. When mixing oat seeds with vetch, nitrogen doses are reduced by 50%. Fertilizers must be applied, because green manure - oats or other cereals in the fall must receive nutrition.
We need 200 g of grain per one hundred square meters. You can either sow oats by hand or use special tools.
In the first case, the seeds are scattered on moistened soil and sprinkled with soil. It is important to process them before sowing with potassium permanganate or boric acid to protect seedlings from fungus.
Summer oats
Spring oats as green manure to fertilize the soil in summer is used as mulch. The cut green mass is placed in the aisles, you can pour it with a solution of biological fertilizer to decompose faster and cover it with a layer of straw. Such a cover retains moisture near the roots, and soil insects gradually process plant residues and turn them into humus.
For the second time this summer, some gardeners plant seeds in strips between rows of the main crop and allow them to grow until a certain point. When the time comes to mow oats for fertilization, they are carefully trimmed with a flat cutter, without turning the soil over, laid under the roots and mulched. If you do not cover the layer of greenery with straw or sawdust, it will dry out.
Planting in spring
Spring planting of oats begins when the snow has just melted, that is, in the mud. At this time, it is better to use winter seed varieties. Early April or late March southern regions countries - it's time to have time to build up the green mass, cut it off and embed it in soil for decay.
Greens are ready to use for fertilization through 40 - 45 days after sowing. The process of decay of plant residues takes time - about two weeks, after which you can begin to plant seedlings on the site. Total preparatory activities take 2 months, so you need to calculate when to plant oats as green manure and when to plant in the ground in order to be on time.
Important! It is not advisable to add the entire amount of mowed greenery to the soil so that souring does not occur. Better to add the remainder to compost pit, feed to birds or animals, or put in a barrel of water
conclusions
Oats are a valuable nutritious raw material for the vegetable garden. It improves the composition of the soil and serves as food for vegetable crops... But it is more profitable to use it in a mixture with other green manures or periodically change the green manure crops in order to maintain the purity of the soil and its fertility.
Each plant "heals" the earth in its own way. What is the peculiarity of oats as green manure?
First, it enriches the soil with potassium perfectly, so oats are suitable green manure for tomatoes, eggplants, strawberries and other crops interested in potassium loading doses. Secondly, it is cheap. Thirdly, oats are green manure, unpretentious to soils. And a lot more good things can be said about oats as a green fertilizer. However, not only good things, because universal plants do not exist in principle (we talked about this in detail in the article). Therefore, before how to sow oats like green manure, find out more about it now.
Oats as green manure: what is special
Oats as green manure (however, like other green manure cereals - barley, rye) - it is inexpensive and affordable
Oats do not like droughts (unlike barley) and do not tolerate frost (unlike rye). Optimal conditions for this culture - cool wet weather... Therefore, oats are not used as a summer green manure, or a green manure before winter. His "specialization" is spring and early autumn.
Oats are cereal green manure, which means that it has almost no relatives in the garden, except for other cereals, and it will be an excellent predecessor for almost all crops. The only thing not to do is plant potatoes after oats, as its root system attracts click beetles (wireworms). But after potatoes, oats will grow well: the roots of this green fertilizer for the garden contain specific substances that prevent the occurrence of root rot, potato scab, fungal diseases, and nematodes.
As already mentioned, oats as green manure in the garden perfectly saturates the earth with potassium, not bad - with phosphorus, but nitrogen fertilizer of it - not top-notch. If the requirements for the concentration of nitrogen in the soil are quite high, it is recommended to sow not pure oats, but oats with vetch (40/60), oil radish or other crops that enrich the soil with nitrogen.
A mixture of oats and oil radish: sown at the beginning of September, by the end of October it manages to build up enough green mass Oats perfectly saturate the soil with organic matter, and a fibrous root system will have a beneficial effect on the properties of the soil. If you drop off oats as siderat on heavy soil - it will loosen it, improve its structure, increase its moisture capacity and make it more breathable. If you plant this crop on light soil, it will strengthen the top layer, protect the soil from leaching and weathering, and also increase the moisture capacity.
It is customary to sow oats as green manure more densely than oats for grain (about 2 times), because the main goal is not to get grain-fruits, but to increase the maximum green mass. Along with this, the weed plants simply will not have room to grow. And if someone manages to crawl through, then they will probably not have time to ripen the seeds before mowing. So oats - green manure, which helps to clear the area of weeds.
Oats as green manure: when to sow
Oats as green manure in spring sown so that 55-60 days remain before planting the main crop: 40 days for the growth of green fertilizer, another 2 weeks (at least) for its rotting in the soil. Most often, grains are sown immediately after the snow has melted, when the ground is full of moisture, because moisture is one of the most important requirements for the growth of oats. You can sow oats later, until early May, but in this case there is a risk of lack of moisture. The crops may need to be shed extra.
Oats as green manure in autumn sown after the main crop, in early autumn. When planting at a later date, the cereal will not have time to build up enough green mass, and your work will not bring any result. At autumn planting oats as green manure, it can be mowed and slightly mixed with the ground - this will increase the looseness and moisture capacity of the soil. But you can not mow the oats, but leave them before winter, and it will rot. Then in the spring it will be enough to loosen the ground - and the bed is ready.
Oats as green manure summer m, after harvesting early crops, it is not accepted to sow, since this culture is not drought-resistant, and will need frequent watering.
Mix of oats and vetch as green manure crops Features of sowing oats as green manure
If the plot is small, it is customary to sow green manure in rows, if it is large, in bulk. The land must be cleared of weeds and loosened. If at normal fit sow 1.5-2 kg of grain per hundred square meters, for green manure planting, the rate is increased by two, or even three times - up to 4-6 kg per hundred square meters. When sowing in rows on a "square" of a bed, 10 grams of oats is enough. After spreading, the seeds must be embedded in the soil to a depth of three to four centimeters.
When to cut oats like green manure?
Most of the nutrients in oats accumulates in initial stage heading, upon reaching a height of up to 20 cm. In this phase, the oats are mowed, since then the stems will begin to coarse and will decompose poorly in the ground, and the amount of potassium in the culture will steadily fall. cut, trimming the roots at a depth of about 5 cm, and mixed with the top layer of soil. But you can not drop the greens, but leave them on the ground in the form of mulch.
To ensure the rapid decay of green biomass, you can spill the greens embedded in the soil with the preparation effective microorganisms(EM) or add ammonium nitrate. Do not plant oats too deep into the ground, otherwise, without air access, the green fertilizer will begin to acidify and acidify the soil.
When oats reach a height of 10-15 cm, an interesting agricultural technique can be used - cut the plant by 30%. This pruning will stimulate the growth of greenery and you will have more greenery to fertilize the soil.
In general, oats as green manure can be sown both in and in, especially under crops that require high doses of potassium. Please note that oats do not tolerate droughts and attracts wireworms, so oats - green manure for potatoes are not the best. We hope our article will help you avoid mistakes and get a great harvest!
Tatiana Kuzmenko, member of the editorial board
Oats with long roots are able to loosen and structure the soil well, its dense plantings inhibit weeds and suppress their growth, root exudates have a deterrent effect on pests, and cold resistance allows sowing crops as in early spring, and in the fall.
These qualities make it possible to use the cereal for the general improvement of the fertile soil layer in a wide range of time.
When you need to sow oats as green manure in the fall, so that it has time to gain green mass, restore the soil structure and replenish the site with nutrients, information on this is below.
What is the value of oats as green manure?
This cereal is considered the best predecessor: the roots of oats loosen the soil, making it lighter and more breathable. This prevents the development of root rot, from which cucumbers suffer in adverse weather. The loose soil allows the taproots of the cucumber to penetrate deeper into the soil to seek moisture and nutrition.
Oats are also a valuable precursor for other crops that do not belong to the cereal family. The green mass crop sown on 2.5 acres is equal to 500 kg.
Characteristics by which oats can attract the attention of gardeners:
It is important for a gardener to know that oats do not like heat, they should not be planted in late spring or summer.
Autumn terms of sowing oats without embedding in the soil
When to sow oats as green manure in the fall? Planting can begin immediately after the main crops have been harvested, as long as the soil is not dried out by the wind or clogged with rain. Planted at such a time, the cereal has time to build up a sufficient mass of green shoots.
Before the onset of cold weather, you can do the following:
- mow oats and lightly embed them in the ground;
- when mowing, leave greens on the surface like;
- if there are no ears, the oats remain unmown, gradually rotting over the winter.
By leaving the cut grass on the surface as a protective layer, the grower prevents destruction natural forces(water and wind) of the top layer of the soil and its drying. In the spring, it remains only to loosen the beds and plant early vegetables or.
It is not worth sowing oats as siderat in autumn too late; unlike rye, it does not like frost and is not suitable for winter planting.
How are oats sowed and cared for?
If the areas are large, it is better to sow in a fan manner; in small areas, we will use the row method. The plot must be loosened and free from weeds. The seeds must be buried in the soil, for this you will have to fence the site.
Oats sprout amicably and grow quickly in a humid environment, so if seasonal rains are not enough, you will need to organize 3-4 waterings.
Oats are less whimsical than, they will grow well in peatlands, clay soils, areas with high acidity.
Spring sowing dates for oats as siderata
When to sow oats as green manure in spring, given its cold resistance and early maturity? As soon as the soil warms up slightly and allows you to go out into the garden, you can start sowing. There is no need to wait for the soil to dry out, given that oats are moisture-loving.
Early spring is the most optimal time for planting oats. If necessary, accelerate ripening, experienced gardeners the cereal is mowed when it reaches 10-15 cm and thus stimulates further active growth and increases the amount of green mass output.
When the heading phase begins, oats can be cut, during this period its greens accumulate the greatest amount nutrients... After mowing, the mass remains on the soil as a mulch layer. In order for the fermentation to take place at an accelerated rate, green manure is mixed with the ground or treated with preparations of effective microorganisms.
Sowing oats in the spring as a siderat is possible at a later date, but the time must be calculated so that it has time to grow before the onset of heat. It is not necessary to wait for the oats to grow, they can be mowed at a height of 20 cm and slightly plowed into the ground. If the cut greens are buried deeply, due to the lack of oxygen, it will begin to acidify, which will harm the soil.
Between the periods of embedding green manure in the soil and planting a garden crop, it should take 2 to 3 weeks for the stems to start the decomposition process.
VIDEO: about oats as a siderat
Find out more about exactly how oats are used as green manure in the fields:
There are often cases when the land in the garden does not meet the desired requirements: it contains too much clay or sand. To improve its physiological qualities, the method of planting green manure crops is used. These plants are designed to make humus, which improves the composition of the soil and saturates it with micronutrients. Sow different types plants can be used from early spring to early autumn. As siderates, cereals and legumes, alfalfa or clover. Oats are widespread in this quality, which has a number of advantages over other plants.
Benefits of oats as a greenery
Oats are a crop common as green manure. It has its own merits, therefore it is recognized among summer residents.
- Low cost. Oat seeds are common in the assortment of shops and can be found not only in highly specialized departments, but also in the market.
- High potassium content. This mineral is essential for all plants for balanced growth: it is formed from the green mass of oats. In young plants, its content is 3–5 times higher, so many people mow green manure without waiting for the seeds to ripen. The most favorable soil after planting oats for tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. It is not recommended to plant potatoes, due to a large number wireworms caused by cereals.
- For getting more nitrogen use mixed sowing, combining with cereal vetch, alfalfa or clover.
- The root system of a cereal crop produces special substances in the soil that prevent the formation of rot and fungus.
- The roots have a lobe-like structure, which helps them to loosen the top fertile layer, making it lighter and more breathable.
- The high germination density of seeds drowns out weed growth, clearing the area.
Oats as siderat are planted from the earliest spring until autumn. He is important organic fertilizer, in its composition and value is similar to manure.
Sowing time
Oats are a cold-resistant crop; it can be sown from the earliest spring after warming up the soil. There is no need to wait for it to dry, oats love moisture, so they plant it without waiting for the soil to dry out. Adequate amount of water will ensure active growth of the cereal and an intensive gain of green mass. Therefore, if droughts are characteristic of spring and summer, then additional watering should be provided.
Oats do not tolerate hot periods, so sowing in the heat of summer is not recommended.
Possesses fast speed ripening, about 30-40 days, when sown in early spring, it can be harvested before high temperatures air.
Oats as green manure can be sown in early autumn, before the onset of frost. It is only necessary to calculate the time for its growth, since although it is cold-resistant, it does not like frost. For the same reason, it is not sown for the winter like rye. Oats planted in autumn are mowed and left directly on the ridges, sprinkling with earth a little. It is permissible to leave it unmown: during the winter it will rot and form fertilizer. One plowing will be enough to crush and mix it with the soil.
Seeding and collecting procedure
Sowing oats as green manure is carried out by scattering or in rows on plowed soil. Then they are buried in the ground to a depth of 3 cm. With mixed sowing, rows alternate with other green manure crops. The consumption of seeds when sowing for fertilization is slightly higher than for seeds, and is approximately 6 kg per one hundred square meters. This density provides protection from weeds, because it becomes much more difficult for other plants to break through the dense layer of oats. Also, the planting density forces oats to start root system in depth, which has a positive effect on the condition of the soil: looseness increases, oxygen and nutrients enter deeper layers.
To accelerate the growth of plants, use a cut of the tops of grown cereals with a flat cutter. This stimulates the development of the green mass required for fertilization. They mow when the oats begin to spike and the greens have reached their maximum volume. After beveling, it is left on the ridges, mixing with the ground. In cases where the crop of cereals was plentiful, its surplus is taken to a compost pit, or in the fall to the beds that require fertilization. For accelerated decay, it is spilled with a solution of EM compost.
Oats - valuable fertilizer improving the properties of the soil. It gives the earth a friability, increases the content of nutrients and minerals, and also enhances moisture capacity. To improve the quality of the soil, it is necessary to grow plants with a developed root system and a large amount of green mass containing potassium and nitrogen. Also, green manure plants bring such important elements like phosphorus, calcium, magnesium. Sowing green manure land in need of rest will prevent the washing out and weathering of nutrients from its composition, preserve and improve the structure for further planting.
Sowing green manure allows you to restore the structure and improve the composition of the soil, enrich it useful microelements and improve your health. Various agricultural crops are used as green manure crops: legumes, cereals, buckwheat, mustard, rapeseed, sunflower, calendula and others. It is impossible to name any plant that would be universal. But from the total it is worth highlighting oats. It has a lot of advantages that experienced gardeners know about.
Benefits of oats as green manure
Oats as a green manure are suitable for growing in temperate climates, as they easily tolerate positive temperatures and close to zero. He loves moisture and light, but he is not so picky about the type of soil, although he bushes less on infertile soils. This grain crop stands out among most other green manure plants for its advantages:
- It stands out for its availability and low cost. Oat seeds are always available not only in agricultural firms and specialized stores, but also on the market. The price of seed is affordable even for families with below average incomes.
- When the green mass of oats decomposes, the soil is saturated with potassium and phosphorus, which are necessary for normal plant growth. Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers are especially demanding for potassium. The content of the trace element in young shoots is almost 5 times higher than in old ones, therefore, it is necessary to mow the green manure before the seeds ripen.
- It is an effective green fertilizer, as it easily competes with manure in its ability to fertilize the soil.
- The fibrous roots of the cereal loosen the upper fertile layer, improving the air and moisture permeability of the soil. At the same time, they strengthen light soils and prevent weathering and soil leaching.
- Oat roots release special substances into the soil to prevent root rot and fungal infections.
- Thanks to high density the germination of the cereal crop is suppressed by the growth of weeds.
- Oats as a green manure will be a good predecessor for almost any garden crop, except for corn and root crops.
- Differs in rapid growth - 30-40 days after sowing, the cereal can be mowed and embedded in the ground.
- Easily combines with other green manure plants. To increase nitrogen in the soil, it is sown in a mixture with legumes - fodder peas, vetch, alfalfa or clover.
- Unpretentious to soil characteristics - it can grow on clay soils, peat bogs and soils with high acidity.
One more thing can be added to all the advantages of oats as green manure. It gives aesthetic pleasure - lush young greenery, which has sprung up in early spring, looks beautiful on bare ground. But it is necessary to sow oats on time. Gardeners practice sowing both in spring and autumn.
Do not plant oats as green manure for potatoes. Legumes (alfalfa, vetch, peas, lupine) are more suitable for this vegetable. During the decomposition of oats, nitrogen is not released, which is so necessary for the root crop. In addition, there is a great danger of wireworm infection of potatoes - this pest appears due to the cultivation of cereals.
Sowing in spring
The optimal time for sowing is early spring when the snow melts and the ground warms up a little. It is believed that dirt is not a hindrance to agricultural work when it comes about oats. After the snow melts, the soil contains enough moisture for the seeds to germinate. Grain seeds germinate even at temperatures of 0-1 ° C. If you miss the right moment and wait for the soil to dry out, you will have to take care of additional watering. You can sow oats later, but you need to calculate the time so that the cereal has time to grow before the onset of heat.
Although this culture is distinguished by good germination, to improve the result, it is recommended to pickle the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes before sowing.
On the large areas sow oats in a fan-like manner - scatter thickly over the surface. In small areas, the line method is used - in rows:
- Before sowing, the site is cleared of weeds and loosened.
- The seeds are buried in the soil by 2-3 cm.
- If in the process of greening it is necessary to increase the nitrogen content in the soil, the rows of cereals and legumes alternate.
- With a small amount of seasonal precipitation, at least 3-4 waterings are organized - moisture-loving oats will respond with rapid growth.
Oats as green manure are sown much thicker than when grown for grain. A dense seeding stimulates the plants to stretch upward and bush, preventing weeds from breaking through. The recommended seed consumption is 5-6 kg per one hundred square meters.
To accelerate ripening, experienced gardeners practice mowing the cereal when the stems reach a height of 15-20 cm. This procedure stimulates active plant growth and increases the final yield of green mass.
The oats are finally mowed at the beginning of the heading phase. It is by this moment that the maximum amount of nutrients accumulates in the tissues of the plant, and the green manures cut before flowering decompose faster.
The cut mass can be left on the surface of the site as a mulching material - it perfectly protects the soil from drying out and weed growth.
To obtain green fertilizer, the mown oats are mixed with the top layer of the soil, cutting the fibrous roots at a depth of 5-7 cm.Do not dig up the area with the mowed cereals on a shovel bayonet, otherwise soil acidification and the development of pathogenic microflora will worsen the condition of the soil and will not benefit, but harm ... To speed up the fermentation process, the mowed mass is treated with EM preparations (EM-1, Baikal EM-1, Shining-1).
2-3 weeks after mowing the oats, the main garden crop is planted.
Sowing in autumn
In summer, it is not worth sowing oats - the culture does not tolerate a hot climate, does not give the expected tillering (growth of stems). But in early autumn after harvesting, you can have time to get a portion of green fertilizer. Autumn sowing technology does not differ from work in spring. The main thing is to calculate the time required for the growth of green manure.