Glossary
Green manure
A soil improvement method that involves sowing specific plants (e.g. phacelia, white mustard, lupin) and incorporating them into the soil. Green manures improve the soil in numerous ways:
- Their root growth loosens the soil structure
- They add nutrients to the soil (legumes fix nitrogen, for example)
- They boost humus formation as they rot down
- They suppress weeds and protect against erosion
The plants are generally cut down before flowering and worked into the soil or left on the surface as a mulch. Green manures are especially useful for regenerating fallow land or beds that have been intensively cultivated.
