Many gardeners, having tried many methods and means, still returned to the old and proven methods of restoring the nutritional properties of the soil - with the help of plants. The most popular siderat at all times was considered lupine, now its popularity has begun to increase again. Moreover, it not only brings tangible benefits to the garden plot, but also has an attractive appearance during flowering.
The use of lupine for the garden
Most often, gardeners use annual lupine as siderat. The most popular are white, yellow and narrow-leaved. The demand for these species is explained by the fact that they have a rooted root system, which penetrates to a depth of 2 meters into the lower horizons of the soil, as well as the fact that they are equipped with nodule-fixing bacteria that absorb nitrogen from the air and saturate the soil with them.
Appearance of Lupins
When using compost, mineral and organic substances are delivered and accumulated in the soil from lupine. Loosening of the soil occurs and anaerobic microflora is destroyed.
Important! Thanks to the roots of lupine, the development of subsoil layers of the soil takes place. The plant draws hard-to-reach nutrients from the lower layers and turns them into easily digestible ones.
In blue and yellow lupins, there are many alkaloids that repel pests and destroy the pathogenic forms of fungi and bacteria, reduce the acidity of the soil, turning it into neutral or slightly alkaline.
What soils need lupine planting
If almost all nutrients are washed out of the soil (most often this is typical for sandy soil), or the productivity of nightshade crops has significantly decreased as a result of depletion of the soil, then in this case it is worth planting lupine. The plant is ideal for poor and depleted soils, uncultivated land and sandy loam.
As practice shows, lupine can enrich with nutrients, nitrogen and increase fertility in other soils, so that you can safely plant a plant on the site. In this case, the timing should be selected in each case personally, depending on the depletion of the soil.
Note! It is not recommended to plant all types of lupine on peatlands and heavy clay areas.
What crops is worth planting annual lupine
Experienced vegetable growers recommend planting lupine green manure before solanaceous, cereal crops and wild strawberries. Also, the plant is a good precursor for strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, plums, cherries, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. As a result of this, productivity increases several times in comparison with usual indicators.
Decreasing soil acidity with lupine
Important! It is not recommended to plant the plant as a precursor to legumes. This is because they have common diseases and pests that accumulate in the ground.
What varieties of lupine are suitable for the role of green fertilizer
Some summer residents are wary of lupine, like siderata. They are afraid that after planting the plant will be problematic to breed. This opinion is due to the fact that for many the plant is associated with a perennial or wild lupine, which is found in endless fields. In this case, indeed, it propagates by self-seeding, and rhizome captures all new territories.
However, it is absolutely not necessary to plant a perennial as siderat. Especially for these purposes, there are annual varieties that, despite the fact that they propagate by seeds, do not cause problems with timely mowing. These include lupine narrow-leaved, yellow, white and white-grain.
Narrow-leafed lupine (blue)
One of the most unpretentious varieties. The plant does not require special care and tolerates low temperatures and even freezing. Despite the names, this lupine can be not only blue, but also lilac, as well as pink and white. The plant reaches a height of one and a half meters.
Variety narrow-leaved or blue
The most common types of narrow-leaved lupine are:
- Crystal.
- Change.
- Nemchinovsky blue.
- Siderat 38.
They are also grown as a forage crop, but they received great demand as siderate. Of all these species, the most common is Siderat 38, which is known as a living fertilizer, due to the unique substances in the roots.
Blue lupine as a siderate is often used, not only due to its properties, but also its rapid growth, resistance to cold, deep penetration of roots, loosening and saturation of the upper soil layers with nitrogen.
Lupine yellow (Lupinus luteus)
The plant of this variety is low, grows no more than a meter in height with an inflorescence resembling a spikelet of light orange or yellow color. Compared with blue lupine, it is thermophilic, but at the same time it is still able to endure frosts to -6 ° C. In order for the plant to sprout, it is necessary that the air temperature be at least 12 ° C heat. During cultivation, lupins need to be systematically watered. It grows best on sandstones and sandy loams.
The following types are considered the most common:
- Relight.
- Gorodnensky.
- Torch.
- Siderat 892.
- Motive 369.
Important! Experts do not recommend planting lupine yellow for the winter.
Lupinus luteus
White Lupine (Lupinus albus)
The annual grows to one meter and is considered to be a unique plant. White lupine is a very beautiful flower, thanks to its openwork leaves and snow-white flowers, vertically located on the stem. In addition, the plant is used as an excellent animal feed. By the content of easily digestible high-quality protein, white lupine is superior to leguminous crops.
Just the salvation of lupins is considered for poor soils. Its powerful root rod penetrates deep into the soil, pulls out trace elements and nutrients from there, saturating the soil with them.
White lupine siderat, like all other species, has the most popular varieties. These include:
- Gamma.
- Desniansky.
- Degas.
The disadvantage of cultivating white lupine is that it is quite whimsical to the soil, requires systematic fertilizer and top dressing, but it is very resistant to drought.
Lupinus albus
Lupine annual white-grain
An unpretentious, medium-tall plant with fragrant flowers and large saturated green leaves can saturate the poor sandy, clay and loamy soils with the necessary elements and substances. In height, this species grows to 50 cm. Inflorescences are bluish-white in color with yellow tips.
Important! This annual variety is recommended to be grown in areas where there is no shadow. Refers to cold-resistant and hygrophilous plants.
How to grow lupine as a siderate
Depending on the content of alkaloids in the plant, alkaloid lupins and non-alkaloid are secreted. Their difference lies in the fact that the former are bitter, and the latter are sweet, which is why bitter and sweet roots are most often used as fertilizers, and exclusively sweet varieties are grown for animal feed.
Alkaloid lupins are generally recommended to be planted in autumn or spring. But you should not do this in the early spring. This is explained by the fact that the plant will develop slowly and the weeds will simply crush it. You should not leave the planting too late, as this plant also will not tolerate cold weather. When landing, all these features must be taken into account.
When to sow
Lupine should be sown so that before the plant mows, it has time to bloom and beans begin to form on it, since it is during this period, according to the descriptions, that the siderat accumulates the maximum amount of useful components.
Mostly summer residents try to plant their garden with lupins around the second half of May, as in June it will be too late to do this. After growing any crops, you can sow the lupine seed until mid-August. In the spring, you can plant any variety, but in August it's time to pick up those that will be resistant to cold.
Growing seedlings
When to dig
Many novice gardeners who grow lupine as siderat do not know when to sow and when to plant a plant, therefore they face certain problems. As practice shows, the most optimal time for planting is considered mid-May and early August.
As for plant instillation, it is also important to do it on time, before flowering begins. Otherwise, the plant will give seeds, which will subsequently be difficult to produce, since they spread throughout the entire area of the plot by self-sowing. To avoid this situation, it is necessary to conduct timely cleaning of the plant, that is, its mowing. The most favorable period is considered the beginning of flowering, in the phase of the appearance of buds.
Note! It is necessary to mow the culture at the same time throughout the territory, after which plowing is necessarily done.
Under favorable conditions and timely moistening of the soil, Lupinus grows before budding for about 50 days, most often about 60 days pass on average before this point.
Basic care rules
Departure is not difficult. The most important thing is that the soil is suitable, and then the plant can easily master completely different areas. You should pay attention to the fact that basically weeds appear before the plant sprouts, so they should be systematically and timely removed.
Flowering lupins
Watering and humidity
If the summer is not dry and the rain passes weekly, then there is no need to additionally water the lupine. Otherwise, if it is hot and the earth systematically dries up, then the plant needs to be additionally watered abundantly. The plant can be watered both by the rain method and under the root. To prevent the appearance of earth crust, it is recommended to take care of the mulch after each watering.
Fertilizer and fertilizing
Often gardeners ask themselves how to feed lupins grown as green manure. The answer to this question is very simple. Since the roots of the plant are saturated with nitrogen, it does not need additional fertilizing. The only thing that can be done is to apply potash and phosphorus fertilizers in the fall.
The main problems when growing lupine as siderata
It would seem that there is nothing easier than growing a weed on the plot, which feels excellent in the wild and propagates by self-sowing. But when growing lupine in your garden. Nevertheless, certain difficulties may arise. This can happen as a result of certain factors.
Before planting a flower, you need to make sure that the soil is not alkaline, since it is likely that it will not grow on such soil. At first, the plant will be buried in weeds and slowly develop, so they will have to be removed. But you should not worry about this, as soon it will grow, and no weeds can interfere with its development.
Diseases and their prevention
Like all plants, lupine is susceptible to certain diseases. The most common are:
- Rot - a disease can reduce the yield and quality of a plant from 17 to 50%. Rotten roots and cotyledons testify to the development of the disease. Fusarium fungi can provoke the disease. The early application of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and seed dressing can prevent the problem.
Anthracnose on a lupine
- Anthracnose - leads to the destruction of plants up to 70 percent. The development of the disease is indicated by the appearance of brown or orange spots on the cotyledons, which subsequently begin to spread along the main stem.
- Sentoriosis - spots of a languid brown or pale yellow hue begin to appear on the leaves of the lupine.
Also, the plant may be exposed to bacterial and viral diseases, such as bacterial spotting and mosaic.
Frequent pests
Lupine is considered a hardy plant, but despite this, during its cultivation, certain problems associated with pests and diseases may appear. The most common pests are aphids and larvae of the germ fly. Aphids most often appear during the time when buds are tied on the plant. The larvae of the germ fly appear later in life when the first germs appear. You can get rid of the problems by treating with insecticides.
Aphids on a Lupine
Other problems and their solution
Often gardeners are faced with a problem such as slow plant growth. An improper soil composition can provoke it. In order to exclude such a probability, it is necessary to check the soil for acidity before planting. If an alkaline reaction is detected in the soil, the flower will not grow.
Gardeners often prefer to use lupins as siderata to increase soil fertility. The plant is considered useful and helps to improve the biological characteristics of the soil and its productivity. In this case, the most important thing is to choose the right variety of plants and grow it using technology. Otherwise, lupine self-seeding will fill the entire area and will not bring the expected result.
