Autumn is here. Here are some tips from Jacky Mercier, our organic market gardener, in Frontenay sur Dive.
We tear up all the remaining tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and courgettes.
However, the soil should not be left bare all winter. We sow ground cover: wheat, barley, oats… Also think about “green manure” plants such as white mustard or phacelia. The main thing is that the ground is well covered all winter.
- claw the ground before the seed
- broadcast sow (white mustard and phacelia seeds are very very small)
- scratch the ground afterwards to leave them on the surface
- let the plants live
- prevent them from flowering
At the end of winter (or before if they have grown too quickly because of the mild temperatures), mow the “fertilizer” plants, grind them and incorporate them into the soil, then digging.
Remember to give a little hoe in the garlic and beans already lifted to avoid small weeds. (which normally are destroyed by the cold)