Sowing mustard in the fall - when to dig up the beds

I want to sow mustard in the fall, when to dig it up? I used to sow in the spring and by the summer the site had already been processed and dug up. And what to do with the autumn crops of green manure? Do I need to dig them up at all, or let them go into winter like this?

Most gardeners prefer organic soil fertilization. One of them is green manure, such as mustard. And if everything is clear with its spring planting, then many are interested in one nuance: sowing mustard in autumn - when to dig up the plot? And is it worth doing this at all, given that in some areas winter is early and the crops still do not have time to go into color. And until next spring, frosts will still destroy this annual crop. Before answering this question, let's remember what siderates are generally needed for, and specifically mustard.

White English mustard is used as a siderat. It is popularly known as yellow due to the characteristic color of the inflorescences.

Mustard green manure properties

The strong roots of mustard grow quickly, especially in depth. They not only provide the aboveground part of the plant with nutrition taken from the lower layers of the soil. In the process of growth, the roots loosen the soil well, improving its structure and increasing air exchange.

In addition, mustard as a siderat has many other advantages:

1. Actively growing crops prevent the emergence and growth of weeds in the sown area.
2. There is a lot of mustard in the green mass nitrogen, which, after embedding, enriches the soil with it.
3. Mustard has the ability to accumulate phosphoric acids, especially their sparingly soluble salts. This is important, because the reserves of phosphorus in the soil are rapidly depleting, and this is of great importance for the productivity of all crops.
4. Siderat is able not only to give nitrogen to the garden, but also to delay its connections longer. This prevents rapid leaching.
5. Mustard contains phytoncides, so it can be sown in problem areas to fight fungal diseases.
6. Some pests do not like mustard, which also plays into the hands of gardeners.
7. The mowed green mass is an excellent mulch blanket that will protect the beds from winter frost.

When using mustard as a green manure, you should not wait for its fruiting. Moreover, it is the green mass that is rich in nutrients that is important.

Sowing mustard in the fall - when to dig

Autumn sowing is carried out immediately after the site is vacated after harvest. Further actions depend on the climate of the growing region:

1. In the south, with warm autumn and late frosts, mustard grows quickly. Therefore, it is necessary to dig it up after the seedlings reach a height of no more than 20 cm. It is important not to let them bloom, because then the plants coarsen and then decompose poorly in the soil.
2. In the middle lane with a short and cold autumn, it is more expedient to leave young crops until spring. On the eve of close frosts, they will not have time to go into color. And it will be possible to dig up the site in spring.

If the green manure is still growing, but it is already cold outside, there is another option. You can simply mow the crops, and then they will mulch the earth and protect it from freezing.

Mustard like green manure - when to sow and mow