How to use lupine as a green manure?

The use of green manure for improving the soil and saturating the earth with nutrients has become widespread for a long time. Despite the fact that there are quite a few crops with similar properties, lupine still stands out among them for its exceptional properties - it is not picky about care and is able to grow on anyone in the group. We will tell you about the features of using lupine as an effective green manure in our review.

Research data carried out by agricultural scientists have confirmed that plowing green fertilizers into the soil according to its nutritional value for the planting substrate is in no way inferior to the usual introduction of organic substancessuch as compost, manure, and mullein and bird droppings. Not to mention the complex mineral preparations. Moreover, in some cases, green manure even surpasses the manure popular with gardeners in their effectiveness, thereby relieving the owners of the land plot from unnecessary spending of time and effort on its purchase and its further composting.

We can safely say that planting lupine is one of the most effective methods of changing the composition and structure of the earth for the better. In addition, lupine itself has many useful properties that also benefit the soil. So, the roots of green manure are quite powerful - they are able to literally dissolve deep monohydrogen phosphates, making them more accessible to garden plants. In addition, with its long and branched root system, annual lupine perfectly loosens even the most compacted soil and actively saturates it with nitrogen.

It is generally accepted that lupine is a truly optimal green manure culture for those substrates that are poor in micronutrients or have high acidity parameters, as well as for sandy soils - that is, empty and too loose. The alkaloids present in the biomass of one-year lupine immediately after digging and decaying in the ground, even if not as actively and quickly as we would like, nevertheless still contribute to some deoxidation of the soil, and with prolonged cultivation, the soil even acquires alkaline parameters.

The same substances - alkaloids, which are present in excess volume in lupine, can neutralize wireworm activity - one of the most dangerous insect pests of garden plants.

Due to the fact that immediately after the mowing of this culture, the green mass is fully embedded in the ground, as it decays, it turns into high quality green fertilizer and thus enriches the soil with nitrogen. Therefore, in the planting plots where lupine is grown, after the use of green manure, the yield increases many times over.

It is important that due to the active growth of one-year-old lupine, the desired effect can be achieved within a month after planting. If we add to this the fact that the culture almost does not need care, then it turns out that this fertilizer is really convenient for those gardeners and gardeners who do not have the opportunity to work on their personal plot every day.

Lupine is able to saturate the soil with nitrogen at the rate of 20 g / sq. m of substrate. In addition to nitrogen, it able to release nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus, and organic matter - this makes it an ideal precursor for plants such as cereals, strawberries, strawberries and potatoes. Experienced gardeners note that siderates can significantly increase the yield of tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, as well as gooseberries, cherries, currants and plums.

Also it grows poorly on lands with an acidic soil structure. If you are going to plant a plant on such a site, then at the end of April or the first decade of May, it is imperative to add a little sulfur to the ground for digging (5-10 g per square meter).

Immediately before planting, the soil should be loosened and all remnants of rhizomes and weeds should be removed. It is not necessary to apply any nitrogen-containing preparations before or immediately after planting.

Lupine maybe annual and perennial. If you intend to plant it exclusively as a siderat, then its annual varieties should be used - it is in their composition that they contain a sufficient amount of alkaloids, the action of which helps to suppress harmful microorganisms.

This variety has the ability to self-pollinate. Siderat is always planted in an illuminated area open to sunlight, since white lupine belongs to thermophilic plants. The height of some varieties reaches 2 m.At the end of flowering, a fruit is formed in the form of a bean, each of them contains from 3 to 6 seeds of white cubic color.

If you constantly plant white lupine, then the soil will be worked out and saturated with useful microelements.

Such a culture also has the ability to self-pollination. The height of the stem reaches 1.5 m, the flowers are colored with delicate shades of white, light pink, as well as lilac or blue.

The planting material is usually barrel-shaped or round in shape; a marble pattern is expressed on the shell of the seedlings.

Lupine of this type is characterized by high growth rate. It grows a powerful root system rather quickly. The branched rhizome penetrates into the ground by 1-2 m, therefore, the plant takes all the microelements necessary for its development from the low-lying layers of the soil, without affecting the upper ones, so the garden soil remains unimpressed.

This culture is different cross-type pollination. The stem can grow up to 1-1.5 m, the inflorescences are spike-shaped, painted in a pale orange or yellow color. Each bean contains 5 beige seeds.

Yellow lupine is classified as a thermophilic crop. In order for the seedlings to germinate, it is important for him that the average daily air temperature stops at around 13-15 degrees, although short-term frosts up to -5 degrees are not critical before it. When growing plants, very it is important to provide them with periodic watering and good illumination of the land plot. Best of all, this type of lupine grows and develops on neutral and sandy soils.

Let's dwell in more detail on the agricultural technology of planting and growing lupine as a green manure plant.

Before planting seedlings the earth must be dug to the depth of the shovel bayonet and must be leveled. As for fertilizing, at the very initial stage, even when the soil is rather poor, it is not necessary to add either organic or any other nitrogen or complex compounds. The fact is that nitrogen-fixing bacteria, immediately after the start of growth of one-year-old lupine, rapidly develop on their own, and excess nitrogen will only inhibit this process.

The lupine planting technology is quite simple. The only thing that is required of the owner of the site is to dig it well and level it. After that, it is necessary to make grooves, deepening them by 3-5 cm, the distance between them should be 20-25 cm in width. Seedlings are placed in them so that about 10-12 cm of soil remains between them. The standard consumption of one-year-old lupine seedlings for each acre of land is usually about 3 kg, although if the seed is too small, less seeds may be required.

If the seed material has been stored for 12 months or more, or in the case when you do not know the exact time of its storage, it is best to scarify the seeds in order for them to sprout as quickly as possible. For this, the shell of each family is slightly damaged.

It may seem that this is quite simple - in practice it is not, since the seed coat of lupine is very tough. Surely experienced gardeners more than once could see how young shoots that had emerged on the surface of the soil could not free themselves from their cotyledons. That is why in the process of scarification you need to be very careful and not get hurt yourself.

Usually, in order to speed up the process of seed germination, 2-3 light cuts with a sharp scalpel are enough; alternatively, you can lightly process the seedlings with the finest sandpaper.

Lupine does not require any special care. 3-5 days after planting in the ground, it is necessary to burrow with a rake or a light harrow. And if you are dealing with soil with a low sand content, then harrowing should be performed only after the plants have formed 4-5 full-fledged leaves. It is best to do this after 4 pm.

It is necessary to water the plants only if a dry crust appears on the surface of the earth., if desired, you can add biological products with active microorganisms.

If you intend to plant lupine as a siderat, then you need to mow it before the onset of mass flowering. In most cases, some gardeners dig up the beds, but this is not at all necessary - it is quite enough just to mow the green mass, chop the roots and sprinkle everything on top with earth. If the weather is dry and hot, you should additionally water the beds. The microorganisms will do all the further work for you.

In conclusion, we will give an answer to one of the most common questions of novice gardeners - for some reason, lupine does not want to grow on their garden plot. Most often, the cause of such an unpleasant phenomenon is increased acidity of the substrate... As we have already noted, on acidified soils, not all types of lupins successfully take root, develop and grow. And if you are dealing with blue lupine, then it simply will not rise.

In all other cases, there is only one advice - be patient. Sometimes in the very early stages of their development, garden lupins grow extremely slowly. By the way, this is often used by farms and industrial enterprises, sowing crops for winter crops, oats or annual grasses. After mowing, lupine usually begins to develop rapidly, so you can even get a couple of crops on one field.

In the next video, you will learn the features of growing white lupine.