Green manure

[oldswitcheroo]

I've just started to read about green manure and I'm slightly confused how to use it in a vegetable patch. Do you just use when the soil is bare or can you use it around and beneath vegetable crops until you are ready to harvest the veg? I'm considering red clover and I'm growing tomatoes, courgettes, leeks and cucumbers. I'm not sure of the soil type but my bed is built using the huggelkultur method.

Thanks so much! Gardening novice so all tips welcome.

I'd use it on bare earth in between harvests to keep down weeds - so over winter mainly. Otherwise it'll compete too much with the veggies.

I used phacelia successfully which the bees loved. Then dug it in when the frost killed it.

I usually try and cover my beds over winter with manure and cardboard (or strong weed fabric that I re use) - let the worms do their work over the winter and the beds are pretty easy to plant straight into and have had a refresh.

I can really notice the ones where I've just left them over winter - they go wild quickly.

Ah thank you that's so interesting.