Phacelia belongs to the family of water-driven (hydrophilic) and is an annual and single-cutter plant. Phacelia is considered to be an ideal green manure, as well as an excellent fodder and honey culture.
Phacelia deserves special attention because of its very rapid growth, which subsequently brings a huge green mass. Since the soft foliage of phacelia rather quickly decomposes, it serves as an excellent nitrogen fertilizer for the soil.
Plant description
The main purpose of phacelia is fertilizer. Thus, for the most part, it is used as green manure, that is, a plant whose main activity is to be a fertilizer for the soil, for the further cultivation of other green crops.
Following decomposition in the soil, the whole biomass of phacelia is converted into easily digestible fertilizer, and the soil itself is filled with humus and organic matter. For a month and a half phacelia gains about 300 kilograms of green mass per one hundred parts, which is equivalent to the absorption of the soil, making it 300 kilograms of manure. Based on this, in one summer you can get up to 4 crop rotations on one piece of land.
It is this precocity that can allow any time independent of the weather season (and the best period is the period after harvest), without applying other fertilizers and manure, to create an excellent high-quality plot from difficult earthen soil, as a result of which you can get high yields up to the next four years without using any side additives and fertilizers.
In addition to the function of fertilizing phacelia, it is used as a feed crop for farm animals, and with its high nutritional qualities it completely replaces and surpasses other grain mixtures. Due to the high level of nutrients and nutrients in itself, the plant has a very positive effect on the health of animals in general: they get sick less and tend to gain weight much faster.
Since phacelia is a melliferous crop, good pollen and honey plants contribute to improved fruit setting and pollination. Attracts bees with its blue flowers and yields from one hectare to 300 kilograms of honey, and in quite favorable conditions the crop can reach one ton.
If we compare phacelia with other cultures, then: buckwheat gives up to 70 kilograms from one hectare, and white mustard to 100 kilograms of honey. Bees "work" with phacelia even in non-collection periods - from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn, from early morning to late evening.
Virtues
In addition to all the benefits that arise from the decomposition of phacelia (excellent fertilizer for the earth), the very cultivation of this plant on a particular soil brings many benefits.
Phacelia has an excellent root system. Thus, its root goes deep into the earth up to 20 cm over the entire period of development of the green mass. Because of this, the soil is loosened in a definitely structured. All difficult soils, such as, for example, clay, become loose and light, are saturated with air. This, in turn, has a very positive effect on the growth of plants, the ripening of their fruits, tubers and berries.
After winter, the phacelia remains protect the soil from wind and water erosion, accumulate moisture and warn against drought.
Phacelia can grow on different types of soil, as it adjusts it for themselves and improves, in every sense, it. It grows very quickly and forms a huge green mass. Variations in the soils are explained by the unpretentiousness of the plant; it can grow both on poor sandy and on stony soils. It blooms within 5-6 weeks after sowing. Phacelia - excellent honey plant.
It has good tender leaves and stem, which very quickly decompose and serve as an excellent nitrogenous fertilizer.
Phacelia has cold resistance - in the fall, it can safely tolerate frosts down to –10 ° C, so it needs to be sown almost immediately after the snow melts and the soil thaws.
Phacelia - a great fitodoktor. It is the best siderat, which is a natural healing agent for the soil and the environment. The main advantages of phacelia include:
- Soil scavenger, as it changes the level of acidity, making the soil neutral. And this, in turn, not only allows you to grow a large number of different crops in one particular area, but also helps to get rid of various "centuries-old" weeds, which mainly grow on acidic soils.
- Nectar, which is present in sufficient quantities in phacelia, attracts various types of entomophages, which completely destroy the pests: the pinworm, the leafworm, the apple tree beetle, etc.
- Locust nematodes, wireworms leave the beds, as the proximity to phacelia is unpleasant for them.
- Warns plants against the onset of viral bacterial diseases.
- When mixed with beans during sowing, phacelia significantly reduces the number of nodule weevils, aphids, pea weevil, etc.
disadvantages
There are no obvious flaws in phacelia, but you should carefully consider the process of decomposition of plant residues.
The process of decomposition and humification takes place only if there is a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil. Therefore, green manure will be effective without additional irrigation only under conditions suitable for decomposition.
Features of growing
The uniqueness of phacelia is that it can be the precursor of almost any vegetable culture. It has the ability to grow in areas of "risky" farming, while giving excellent harvest from snow to snow. You can also sow it before winter, but best of all - in early spring. You can sow up to 4 times per season, as phacelia has a short growing season.
You can not worry about the growth of phacelia in a mixture with other fast-growing feed crops, as it runs at the same level as the normal growth of the plant. And in a mixture of phacelia with legumes, it gives a greater yield of nutrients and nutrients.
Under the cover of phacelia, seedlings of cabbage, tomatoes and cucumbers can be planted, as it will take root and overtake in the development and growth of the same seedling that grows on a bare bed. It is also well used as a mulch between the rows of potatoes. Self-seeding does not occur in the next culture after extinction.
To plant phacelia, it will be sufficient to loosen the soil with a cultivator or a flat cutter. This is a fairly optimal way to cultivate the land, which improves soil fertility and retains the strength of the farmer. Organic fertilizer can be used as an additive for improved yield. Optim Humus, as well as preparations of effective terrestrial microorganisms.
But in general, Phacelia is unpretentious and grows on various sandy and stony soils. If you want to get the best results and crop yields of phacelia should be carried out from July to August. The row spacing should be 12-14 cm, and the sowing depth should be from 1 to 3 cm. 120 g per one hundred square meters will be considered the seeding rate.
Since the plant is cold-resistant, it can withstand a cold snap to -10 ° C.
In addition to its high cold-resistant qualities, phacelia is also a drought-resistant plant. Therefore, humidity does not play a special role in the growth and development of the plant. And yet, like any plant, it is desirable to provide enough moisture for better development and the sudden achievement of the last stage of growth.
All the simplicity of the plant due to the ability to grow phacelia in differently lit places. It is shade-tolerant, and therefore grows well even in ignorance of light under the canopy of trees.
After a great season and the harvest itself, it is necessary to start cleaning "after the plant". It begins in the budding phase, which is approximately 7-8 weeks from the first sowing.
The cleaning is completed at the beginning of the flowering of the plant, since the amount of nutrients and nutrients will significantly decrease later. It is necessary to cut phacelia with a cultivator or Fokin’s planer-cutter, it is necessary to water it beforehand with a solution of EM preparations.
The treatment of phacelia with such preparations will significantly accelerate the already rapid fermentation process and create more favorable microbiological conditions, which, in turn, will lead to the enrichment of the soil with nutrients and various beneficial microelements.
