ken cohen wrote:

Alan Gould wrote in message
... It is an excellent
organic way to condition soil. We have been doing it
for more years than we choose to remember. There are a wide variety of
green manure seed available for differing uses of the area. Mustard is
very good, but as it is a brassica it should be avoided on veg. patches
to be used for cabbages etc. Similarly soil being prepared to grow e.g.
sweet corn, should not be green manured with grazing rye, or
agricultural lupins used on an area intended for peas and beans. Green
manuring should be seen as part of the garden's crop rotational plan.

The Chase/Organic Gardening Catalogue offers many varieties of green
manure seed with very helpful cultural hints, sowing times, densities
etc. at:
www.OrganicCatalog.com


Thanks for that. I am hoping to use my new allotment to grow
vegetables, including cabbages, so I will avoid mustard. But this
raises a more general question about how to rotate crops sensibly.
Is there some comprehensive database of compatible and incompatible
crops for rotation purposes? The Chase Organic Gardening Catalogue,
although full of interesting stuff, didn't seem to help on that
particular issue, but I may have missed something.

The August "Gardening Which" article on green manures also reported
particularly good results from phacelia and crimson clover. Are
there any contra-indications for using these as green manures?

Clover is technically a 'bean' eg its a legume so you could count it as
such in rotation. Phacelia isn't IIRC related to any commonly grown crop
so no probs there.. Clover is like grazing rye and beans in that you
can leave it for longer periods by cutting and regrowing. 1 or more
years in the acase of clover and ryr and several seasons in the case of
beans....

OG catalogue and many other good mail order sources do some very good
books that include the subject.. There are a number of variations on
crop rotation, eg 6 way, 4 way.. etc..

I can recommend the Encyclopedia of ORganic Gardening by Geoff
Hamilton.. However I suggest you check out your local library first,
and maybe some book reviews online, before choosing 1 or 2 and ordering
via www.bookbrain.co.uk

See also the FAQ's of URG on allotments, organic gardening etc,
//
Jim
--------------------
uk.rec.gardening - FAQ Page
http://www.tmac.clara.co.uk/urgring/urgfaqs.htm

What is organic gardening
http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFA...gardening.html
Sunday, July 20, 2003

"What is a rotational system?"
A kitchen garden will require a wide variety of crops to be grown in
fairly small quantities. If the same type of plant is grown repeatedly
in the same place, the soil will build up a resistance to it and the
crop will suffer from pests and diseases. To avoid this, the crops are
rotated so that they grow in soil fresh to them each year. The main
groups of plants are the potato/tomato family; brassicas, that's all the
cabbage range; legumes, i.e. peas and beans; roots and salad crops etc.
Ideally the plot is split into five sections and the crops rotated round
those, giving each section a rest after four years of growing. If the
amount of crop grown is less intensive, the plot could be split into
four quarters, but close attention should be paid to soil health and
fertility. Companion planting and selection of disease resistant crops
can help towards keeping a busy garden healthy.