Green manure

[compostpope]

Thanks for your detailed reply this morning – I missed it whilst submitting responses to Charles and Ros. You are right – it does take a bit of getting used to but the effort is well worth it.

Your response contained lots of really valuable information – particularly good was reading which green manure crops you’ve found work and your estimates regarding space devoted to them. I wonder if you could clear up a few things for me?

I’ve looked in an old HDRA catalogue for rye seeds – do you use “Hungarian grazing rye” or “annual ryegrass”?
If you are not digging in the roots of the rye grass and the alfalfa do you simply cut the stems off at ground level and let them die off or pull them out or smother them with another layer of compost?
If you cut the alfalfa twice – when do you do this?

Thanks again

Compostpope