General Mix Green Manure Seeds

Overview

This general green manure seed mix consists of Forage Rye, English Early Common Vetch, Minerva Maple Peas and Italian Ryegrass. It is a good all round green manure and is especially useful for those who are new to green manuring and are a little unsure which one to use.

It provides a mix of plants with bulky foliage that adds organic matter with ones that have nitrogen fixing properties. It can be left overwinter once well established to help prevent soil erosion and nutrient leaching, but it is best for short-term green manuring through the summer.

Forage Rye
Provides good ground cover, bulky foliage and deep roots that reduce nutrient leaching and help break up heavy soil.

English Early Common Vetch
Produces a lot of bulky foliage that helps improve the soil structure/texture by adding good add organic matter. It also has the ability to fix nitrogen and suppresses weeds.

Minerva Maple Peas
Excellent at fixing nitrogen in their root nodules.

Italian Ryegrass
A good at suppressing weeds and fits anywhere into crop rotation plans. It has the ability to lift nitrogen from the soil and slowly release it to the following crop.

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Sowing months	May, June, July
Growing period	2-6 months
Ideal soil type	Most
Avoid soil type	N/A
Nitrogen fixer	Yes
How to sow	Prepare the soil by roughly digging it over and removing any weeds. Lightly tread the soil, and then sow the seeds by broadcast sowing (i.e. scattering evenly) for good coverage. Rows can be sown but are not as good for weed suppression. Rake the soil and water well. In dry periods you may need to water until the green manure is established.
Care	The green manure should be cut down before flowering when the stems are nice and soft as they decompose quicker, retain more beneficial nutrients and are easier to incorporate into the soil. They can be dug into the soil by turning over into the top 15cms or left on the top as a mulch, the worms will drag down the organic matter and help to aerate the soil.
Sow rate	3 grams per square metre.
Area covered	50g pack = 17m² 100g pack = 34m² 250g pack = 85m² 500g pack = 170m²

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