Natural and inexpensive remedy for aphids, slugs, caterpillars and ants

1. How to make mustard fertilizer
2. Using mustard as fertilizer
3. Nutritional properties
4. How to sow and use
5. What not to do
6. How to choose

Mustard is an annual plant of the cabbage family (Brassicaceae), which is rightfully considered one of the best siderates.

For reference, green manure is vegetation that is grown to improve the quality of the soil. That is, after gaining green mass and getting stronger, the green manure is mowed and plowed into the ground, or it is left on the surface as protection from frost. Siderat enriches the soil with nutrients and structures the soil. This review will show you how to make mustard fertilizer.

Ways to use mustard in the garden

White mustard is of particular value for gardeners as a fertilizer and pest control agent. Its well-developed root system brings nutrients from the depths of the soil to the surface. With the onset of autumn, the mustard is mowed and left to refill right on the site or laid in a compost pit. Then all the accumulated nutrients are converted into a nutrient mixture.

Mustard accumulates nitrogen and phosphorus, which are necessary for the development of fruit crops. They are converted into a form that is easy for plants to assimilate and pass to them. The plant contains essential oils and phytoncides that disinfect the soil when digging. During decomposition, plant residues provide nutrition for soil microorganisms.

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Growing mustard on the site is useful for organizing the correct crop rotation. This plant is sown in the fall after the harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers. The mustard plant destroys dangerous bacteria accumulated during the cultivation of tomatoes. Then in the spring you can again plant tomatoes or cucumbers in the same area.

Mustard green manure properties

The main property of this culture is that it can easily convert indigestible substances into easily digestible ones. They get organic matter from the soil that other crops are not able to get. After the mustard is cut, it will be available for all crops.

It is also worth noting that the roots of mustard go 3-4 meters deep. Thanks to this, the beneficial components are not washed out of the soil. The decomposed mustard mustard forms up to 22% of organic compounds. Phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen are also formed. But there are no more than 0.9% of them.

Due to the high content of allyl and fatty oils in mustard, the soil is freed from cartilage larvae and slugs. Essential oils help fight fungi, infections, and mold.

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Application against the Colorado potato beetle

To combat Colorado beetles, mustard is used in different ways:

• planted in the aisles of potatoes and other plants that attract the pest;
• they dilute mustard powder in water and process the aboveground part of the plants, paying special attention to the lower part of the leaves, where females often make egg clutches;
• the remaining tops of mustard plants are dug up in the fall along with the soil to destroy the hibernating larvae.

On a note! You can simply spread the cut mustard branches between the rows of potatoes. Colorado beetles do not tolerate the smell of this plant and will soon leave the planting.

Most often, a remedy based on mustard powder and table vinegar is used:

• 200 g mustard powder;
• 150 ml of table vinegar;
• 10 liters of water;
• 100 g of laundry soap.

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How to cook:

Mustard powder is diluted in water and left to brew for 24 hours. Then pour in table vinegar, mix with grated laundry soap. The prepared agent is sprayed on plants infected with the Colorado potato beetle. Processing is carried out in dry weather in the evening, when there is no active sun.

Improving soil fertility

Gardeners use mustard as a green manure - it drains the soil, enriches it with useful substances - nitrogen, phosphorus. If you sift the seeds between rows, the roots of the mustard will be:

• loosen the topsoil;
• scare away the wireworm;
• protect plants from late blight and scab.

Green manure properties
If you plant a plant before planting the main crop, and then close up greens in the soil layer, then it will work as a natural fertilizer with nitrogen, phosphorus, iron. Mustard cake is especially useful for the soil when planting:

• potatoes;
• cabbage;
• tomatoes;
• strawberries.

The mass is added to the prepared well in about one teaspoon. Oilcake is a natural remedy, its properties are more effective than manure, vermicompost. The tool cleans the soil layer from rotten roots, reduces the risk of diseases in plants.

Growing features

It is necessary to plant green manure often, 300-400 grams of seeds are consumed per one hundred square meters. Additional processing of the site before planting is not required, it is necessary to scatter the seeds, cover it with earth a little, walking on top with a rake. For the best effect, it is recommended to add manure or ash. It is necessary to water the plants for the sprouts to appear. Tip: do not plant green manure in swampy or acidic soils.

Mustard seeds

It is recommended to dig up the green manure in the period from the 6th to the 8th week after the first shoots appear in the field. If you plan to use fertilizer as mulch (shelter for the winter), then grinding is recommended 50-60 days after sowing. It is necessary to mow the shoots, chop them, spread them out on the site. After a couple of weeks, the stems will rot and give the soil the necessary nutrients.

The use of mustard to kill snails and slugs

These pests are very difficult to drive out of the garden. They are nocturnal, like to settle in humid places where plants are densely planted. Most often, strawberries and strawberries suffer from slugs and snails. Pests devour their berries.

For the destruction of slugs, mustard is used dry. The powder is scattered on the plants and sprinkled on the ground. Insects do not tolerate contact with the burning substance and die or leave. You can prepare an aqueous solution of mustard powder by mixing 150 g of mustard in a bucket of water. Plants are sprayed with this composition from above.

White mustard care

At the beginning, we already briefly wrote that white mustard will show its positive properties in the best way on light and sandy, medium and loamy, well-drained and chernozem soils, even if the chernozem is strongly compacted. On heavy soil, it will grow extremely poorly, and there will be little sense from it. As for acidity, there are no special preferences, it can grow on acidic soil, and on neutral, and even alkaline, the spread of a suitable pH level goes off scale - from 4.0 to 8.5, but, of course, 6 is considered the ideal pH. ,five.

Mustard seedlings appear very quickly, after three or four days, if the temperature is about ten degrees Celsius, you can see the first shoots on the soil surface, but then growth slows down. It will take about a month, and sometimes a little more, to completely occupy the area allocated to mustard. Those who want to wait for the buds will have to endure about five weeks, and after a week the buds will open wide, exposing yellow flowers.

For good growth and development, it is advisable to water the mustard at least once a week, pouring a bucket of water per square meter.

Sowing white mustard

Mustard versus wireworm

Wireworms are the larvae of the click beetle. These insects infect potato tubers and gnaw long passages in them. Mustard is used to cleanse the area from them. Its seeds are sown between rows of potatoes. With its smell, the plant scares off the pest, and thanks to the branched root system, it loosens the soil.

Wireworms live in the soil. Therefore, to protect against it while planting potatoes, a little mustard powder is poured into each hole. It will scare away the pest and protect the crop.

You can use mustard plants as green manure. For this, seeds are sown after harvest or in spring in April. The plant saturates the soil with its essential oils and phytoncides and gets rid of the wireworm.

Rules for sowing mustard as a siderat

How to sow mustard correctly in the fall? It is enough to follow some sowing rules.

1. The plot of land must be completely sown with seeds. It is not worth saving and reducing the number of seeds per one hundred square meters. If the ground is sloping, seed washout may occur. Therefore, it is better to take seeds with a stock.
2. Crop rotation rules should be observed even when planting green manure. It is worth remembering that mustard should never be alternated with cruciferous plants. These are cabbage, turnips, etc. Otherwise, problems with pests cannot be avoided.
3. The land needs feeding before planting.

Many people ask, phacelia or mustard, which is better as siderat? It is impossible to answer unequivocally. It all depends on what vegetables will be planted in place of green manure, how depleted the soil is. It's just that the phacelia is planted more often in the spring. It attracts many pollinating insects to the garden. Mustard - in summer or autumn, less often in spring.

To protect against aphids

Currants, raspberries and other fruit bushes are often attacked by aphids. These insects inhibit growth, reduce the number of ovaries and severely reduce yields. In places where the plant is affected by aphids, swellings appear or the leaves curl, turn black.

Mustard is used to get rid of aphids or as a preventive measure. To do this, prepare a solution of 10 liters of water and 100 g of dry mustard. The liquid is left to brew for a day and diluted with the same amount of pure water. To make the solution stick better, grated laundry soap is introduced into it.

Important: Spraying the bushes against aphids is carried out only in dry weather. It is advisable to do this after the end of the flowering period after 2 weeks. If necessary, you can repeat the spraying after a few days.

Mustard for sores and as fertilizer

Helps dry spice from various gardening diseases. Here they use the method of sowing mustard seeds between rows of potatoes, tomatoes, legumes. Spice sprouts protect vegetables from diseases such as late blight, scab.

You can also plant mustard prior to planting major crops. After its shoots appear, the soil is dug up and mustard is embedded in the soil. So it works as a nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur fertilizer.

For reference: the rhizomes of sown mustard scare away the wireworm. In addition, the mustard color attracts bees. This is good for all crops in the garden.

Mustard to protect cabbage

In summer, cabbage is affected by white butterflies, scoop and cabbage moth. The fight against these insects begins 15 days after planting the seedlings in the ground, giving time for rooting.

To prepare the infusion, the following ingredients are used:

• 10 liters of water;
• 1 glass of tobacco chips;
• 1 cup mustard powder

How to prepare and apply:

Dissolve dry components in water and leave in a sealed container to brew for 72 hours. Then the infusion is filtered and poured over the soil between the rows of cabbage. The processing is repeated three times a month until the crop is harvested.

Another dangerous pest for cabbage is the cruciferous flea. Mustard infusion with vinegar is used against it:

• 100 g of mustard;
• 10 liters of water;
• 1 tbsp. l. acetic acid 70%.

How to prepare and apply:

The mustard is diluted in water and left to brew for 5 hours. Before use, add acetic acid and mix thoroughly. To eliminate the pest, the plants are sprayed with the resulting solution. If necessary, after a few days, the treatment is repeated.

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How is the landing

Mustard as a fertilizer for the garden is not whimsical. No preliminary soil preparation, fertilization and digging are required. To improve yield indicators on depleted soils, the use of rotted manure is allowed - this way the plant will give friendly shoots and will develop faster.

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Mustard seeds used as fertilizer do not need to be pretreated or germinated. Sowing is carried out in any way convenient for you. The easiest way is to simply scatter the seeds over the site, followed by embedding in the ground. The depth of the backlog is 1-1.5 centimeters; when planting in winter, this indicator can be slightly increased. The mustard is planted in a pre-moistened and leveled bed, sprinkled with earth and watered. If necessary, weeds are removed from the site and dug up for better aeration of the soil. During the growing season, the plant needs regular watering, but thanks to the deep root system, finding moisture is not a problem for it. Additional feeding and thinning is not used, and the growth of weeds is drowned out on its own.

Mustard against carrot and onion flies

These insects appear in warm weather when onion sets are planted. To protect the vegetable from the pest, even during planting, a mixture of 3 parts of wood ash and 1 part of mustard powder is poured into the hole. After germination of seedlings and regrowth of feathers to a length of 5 cm, the treatment is repeated. Now a mixture of mustard and ash is poured between the rows. In total, three treatments are carried out with an interval of 2 weeks.

This same ash-mustard mixture helps to cope with carrot flies. But this insect is active throughout the summer. Therefore, for its destruction are not limited to three treatments. Row spacing continues to be sprinkled until harvest.

Mustard varieties for growing on a windowsill

Not every variety of mustard leaves on the windowsill will grow. Early types are suitable for growing at home:

Plant lovers are more likely to choose a salad variety. It has delicate leaves that do not get rough over time. Variety Volnushka and Muravushka will appeal to lovers of unusual spicy dishes.

Add mustard leaves to your food?

No way

How to choose quality mustard and where to buy it

You can buy a good product anywhere.Sometimes in large supermarkets they sell a frank surrogate, and in the markets they sell an excellent seasoning. You need to look not at the place of purchase, but at the appearance of the mustard, its packaging and composition indicated on the label. The fewer ingredients the better. Even the vinegar from the recipe described above is poorly suited to industrial mustard. Therefore, discard:

• mustard sauces;
• seasonings in bags and plastic packaging;
• product sold by weight.

Photo taken from the site

It is recommended to buy only the mustard that is packed in sealed glass jars. But even in this case, look at the expiration date - an expired seasoning, even if it does not lead to poisoning, will spoil the taste of the food for sure.

Features of growing mustard leaves on the window

After preparing the soil and seeds, they begin planting. The seeds are immersed in the substrate to a depth of 1 cm, watered. Then the flowerpot is covered with cling film for 5 days. Every day, the shelter is removed for 15 minutes for ventilation. After the first shoots appear, they are opened. If a small container is chosen for planting, after the formation of 2-3 leaves, the plant is transplanted. It is referred to as annual, therefore, having given shoots, it immediately departs. After plucking all the leaves, the bush is left in the flowerpot for another week. The planting of seeds is repeated every 2-3 weeks.

It is not recommended to grow a plant on a windowsill in the heat. For this period, a shaded cool place is selected.

Beneficial features

Mustard is a storehouse of useful microelements. In the complex, the effect on the body looks like this:

• vitamins E and B contribute to the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, contributing to their rapid and effective assimilation;
• calcium normalizes salt metabolism, while providing strong teeth and bones;
• organic acids help the process of soft tissue formation;
• potassium strengthens the heart;
• iodine eliminates hormonal problems;
• iron contributes to productive blood formation.

Together, all these substances support human health in an acceptable form by strengthening the main organs and systems, as well as beneficial effects on immunity. And that's not all: mustard is a good natural antiseptic that can destroy some bacteria and viruses, though not in such quantities as drug antibiotics.

Interesting! In the middle of the twentieth century, a group of enthusiasts conducted surveys of the long-livers of the Caucasus. The goal was to find out the details of their diet. And almost all of them said that they often eat mustard, using it as a condiment. By the way, many were a little over 100 years old!

Harm and contraindications

If there are no health problems, then the seasoning can harm the body only if it is unwisely consumed in food. A large amount of the product instead of disinfection will bring a lot of problems to the stomach in the form of irritation and food burns, which will result in indigestion. The main contraindications for the use of mustard:

• gastritis and stomach ulcers;
• nephritis;
• inflammation of the stomach;
• problems with the large intestine.

It is also not recommended to eat mustard for allergy sufferers. The product contains a lot of essential oils, in rare cases such a blow to the body ends in anaphylactic shock, in such a situation only emergency medical care can help.

Important! If you are allergic to mustard, then most of the foods that contain it, for example, mayonnaise and sauces, should be excluded from the diet.

Chemical composition and calorie content

Quite a lot of mustard varieties are known, but their chemical composition and nutritional value are almost the same. Do not forget that all species have one ancestor, which means that the genetic code of all these plants is the same. Here is a list of the ingredients that make up the seasoning we are used to:

• essential oil;
• proteins;
• carbohydrates;
• fats;
• alimentary fiber;
• starch;
• sugar;
• myronic acid (derivative in the form of a salt).

Mustard leaves, especially young ones, are rich in vitamins, the main of which belong to groups E and B. They also contain a decent amount of mineral salts.

The nutritional value of mustard directly depends on what form it is in. If we are talking about a fresh plant that has not yet begun to wilt, then the calorie content is 162 kcal per 100 grams of product. If the mustard is already cooked in the form of a seasoning, then the value is lower - 67 kcal. However, the plant acts as an auxiliary "dish", so it will still not be possible to satisfy the daily requirement for calories, proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins with its help.