Lupin Seed (Green Manure)
Lupin Seed is ideal as a green manure that will improve your soil naturally. Green manure is a crop that's grown before planting vegetables or other plants. The green manure crop is then cut and left to break down in the soil, providing nutrients and other benefits.
Green manure helps to control weeds in otherwise 'empty' garden beds, preventing soil erosion and helping to prevent nutrients from leaching. It also adds nutrients like nitrogen, etc, to the soil.
Many species are suitable for use as green manure; typically, these are plants that provide abundant, fast-growing leafy material and are also nitrogen-fixing, which are highly beneficial.
The crop is grown until it begins to flower (you don't want to create weeds by letting seeds mature) and then slashed. They are allowed to decompose and enrich the soil before planting a 'real' crop.
Some examples of green manure crops are lupins, rye, corn, oats, tic beans, and grey peas.
Green manure crops have quite a few benefits:
- Stabilise the soil. Winter rains won't wash out the garden beds.
- Capture the nutrients that the rain would otherwise wash out.
- Add organic matter to the soil when it is dug under in spring before planting, which adds fertility to the soil.
- Lupins, peas, and tic beans are nitrogen-fixing plants. They enrich the soil with nitrogen, which fertilises subsequent crops.
- Help keep the moisture in the soil, and this can reduce the need for irrigation in subsequent crops.
- Reduce water evaporation & drainage.
How to Grow Green Manure Crops.
Sow the seeds of these nitrogen-fixing plants at a ratio of approximately 0.5 kg per 10m2.
Allow them to grow for approximately 8-10 weeks, then cut before flowering and allow them to decompose in the garden bed before planting your vegetable crop.
For an 'express' green manure, allow to grow for only 4-6 weeks, then slash. Add a few handfuls of blood & bone to aid in breakdown, then add water and cover with black plastic for two weeks. After this, the crop should be broken down enough to be turned into the soil.
Sow in early autumn for best results.
In autumn, most crops have been harvested. Next season's tomatoes, potatoes, corn, pumpkins, and so many others will only be planted in half a year, or even later. Our garden beds have supplied us with food, and it's a good idea to give something back in return, to plant something for the benefit of the soil rather than for our immediate use. We sow green manure crops during autumn and early winter to improve soil quality.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Are your lupin seeds inoculated?
A. These lupins are not inoculated since they are sold as poultry feed and not especially for growing. Nevertheless, inoculation does not affect the germination rate of lupin seed.
About Inoculation: The purpose of inoculation is to make sure that there is enough of the correct type of bacteria present in the soil so that a successful legume-bacterial symbiosis is established.
Q. Could you tell me which species of lupin seed you are selling?
A. According to our supplier, it's a "narrow leaf albus lupin". (Disclaimer: May change without notice)
Q. Are these lupins the same ones fed to horses?
A. According to our supplier, these lupins are the same type fed to horses.
Q. Are lupins suitable for making heat packs (heat bags)?
A. Yes, they are, and many customers report that lupins are better than wheat for this purpose.
Q. Are the lupin flowers coloured or the white variety?
A. According to our supplier, they will most likely produce coloured flowers.
Q. What is the germination rate for these seeds?
A. There is no set or guaranteed germination rate since these seeds are not produced specifically for planting. However, many do still grow these lupin seeds.
Disclaimer: Some of the answers on the page may be outdated and no longer current. Please email us if you want to confirm any of these details.