Phacelia Green Manure Seeds

Overview

Phacelia is a quick growing hardy annual green manure that germinates at low temperatures and is ideal for sowing from March until September. It will grow up to 1m in height and is tolerant of cold temperatures and may over-winter if it’s not too cold. It suits most soil types but is particularly good in dry ones.

Phacelia has beautiful scented purple/blue flowers with dense fern-like foliage. It smothers weeds and has an extensive root system that improves the soil structure. However it does self-seed very easily so if it is used as a green manure dig in before flowering or cut down and compost the foliage. It flowers from 6-8 weeks from sowing for a period of 6-8 weeks.

Phacelia is listed as one of the top 20 honey-producing flowers for honeybees and is very attractive to bumblebees and hoverflies. (Hoverflies eat a lot of aphids). A small patch could be left to flower, especially near to vegetables to attract pollinating insects to the area, but don’t have too many as the insects will feed on the Phacelia rather than the veg.

It also makes an excellent cut flower and has a long vase-life with strong stems.

Phacelia is part of the Hydrophyllaceae family so fits into any bed in a crop rotation plan.

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Sowing months	March, April, May, June, July, August, September
Growing period	1-3 months, may overwinter
Ideal soil type	Dry, Most
Avoid soil type	N/A
Nitrogen fixer	No
How to sow	Remove weeds especially perennials, rake the soil and scatter the seed at a rate of 1g per sq m. Dig in to a depth of 1cm and lightly water in.
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	1 gram per square metre.
Area covered	25g pack = 25m² 50g pack = 50m² 100g pack = 100m² 250g pack = 250m²

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