Dear gardeners, have you tried organic fertilizers for your vegetable garden as a tool for garden agriculture? What are the characteristics of a cover crop, and how does it affect the soil and future crops? The Deavita.net editorial team would like to share a few gardening secrets with you and tell you all about organic fertilizers for vegetables! Are you in?
What Is an Organic Fertilizer?
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Organic fertilizers are a group of plants and plant seeds that enrich the soil, protect it from scouring and rain erosion, and have the ability to smother weeds. Plants are sown in the vegetable garden when it is dormant, i.e. when it is not being used for any crop. It covers and protects the soil before or after the main crop. Examples of organic fertilizers include clover, oats, and buckwheat.
Each plant has the power to fertilize the soil. By using organic fertilizers, the soil will not remain bare between two crops, but will be aerated by the roots. They loosen the soil and encourage water infiltration. An organic fertilizer provides humus and other nutrients as it decomposes.
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How to Use an Organic Fertilizer for Vegetables?
In fact, the technique of sowing organic fertilizer is easy, simple and fun to do! Start by removing the soil residues in the vegetable garden, dig them in with a rake and begin the sowing process. The seeds will germinate in around two weeks. An organic fertilizer is usually sown between or after several crops. After sowing, try to keep the soil cool and moist.
When to Use Organic Fertilizer?
The organic fertilizer seed mixes available in sachets can often be used in any soil and during any season. The best times to sow organic fertilizer in the vegetable garden are spring and fall. Take advantage of the process during September or before mid-October to give them time to germinate.
You can leave the fertilizer aside over the winter and plough the following spring, after April. When spring arrives, you’re likely to leave the organic fertilizer behind, sow it in the fall and grow vegetables. Organic fertilizers for intercropping will help control the spread of stubborn weeds.
What’s the Best Organic Fertilizer for Vegetables?
The most common organic fertilizers are buckwheat, mustard and phacelia, which are easy to grow. Their abundant flowering attracts pollinating insects. Buckwheat, for example, is a plant that smothers stubborn weeds and protects against erosion. The plant can assimilate some of the phosphorus present in the soil. This process occurs thanks to mycorrhizal fungi. Buckwheat is generally sown in spring or late summer, after the harvest.
Also read: Best Fertilizer for Vegetable Garden: Choose the Right One! Can You Make Your Own Nutrition?
Clover is another effective organic fertilizer that can be sown in early fall. It grows slowly and can be placed in an intermediate spot. Did you know that legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen and are an excellent choice for organic fertilizers? They can be red clover, beans or white lupins.
Fast-growing plants such as oilseed rape, Italian ryegrass or forage turnip are suitable for organic fertilizers. Oats are practical and easy to plant. Oats are best sown in early September and can withstand fall frosts. They will probably not survive in winter.
What Are the Advantages of Organic Fertilizers?
The advantages of this type of fertilisation are numerous and environmentally friendly for any gardener. They will take care of the rapid stretching of crops and the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. They will protect against weeds, so don’t hesitate to sow them between tomatoes, for example. This will provide them with the nitrogen they need. What’s more, as they decompose, they enrich the soil with organic matter, creating a natural fertilizer. Decomposition attracts microorganisms that help break down the fertilizer particles in the soil.
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