Singapore Daisy as a green manure crop?

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by annette, Apr 23, 2012.

  1. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    I was just reading some articles and one was Life at Zaytuna-trees, trees and more trees. In the article it talks about the forest being planted and a good green manure mix was planted between the saplings including vetch, white lupin, mixed pea and SINGAPORE DAISY! Can this be true?:think:

    now where I want my garden up the top, singapore daisy is everywhere and I was going to try and pull it out as it is rampant. But now it looks like it is a good green manure and maybe I should leave it and just keep cutting it back?

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. pippimac

    pippimac Junior Member

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  3. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Yes I almost choked when I heard it, but I'm told its true. I have renegotiated my relationship with my Singapore Daisy and have started a chop and drop program. Too soon to report results though.
     
  4. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Well there you go! Read the thread and now am quite happy to see how it goes. We will have to compare notes eco!
     
  5. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Oh thanks for the thread Leila. Most interesting!
     
  6. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Yes - it is one of the rare times that Geoff Lawton has dropped in on a thread!
     
  7. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

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    Ha, ha I forgot about that thread - Geoff, Butcha Steve and BS. Classic.

    Geoff's posts are pure gold, even for those of us without Singapore Daisy. Am wondering what the NZ equivalent is though, esp regards creating fungal soil when a ground cover... any thoughts pippi?
     
  8. pippimac

    pippimac Junior Member

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    I know 'wandering Willie' gets mentioned as a good orchard groundcover and that's another plant that freaks people out a bit, myself included:think:
    I don't know about it encouraging fungal-dominance, but it certainly has no problems growing in pure chipped-tree mulch!
     
  9. chhenley

    chhenley New Member

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    Funny thing, but I intentionally introduced this "pest plant" into my yard in southeast Florida about two years ago and I am glad I did. I have long admired the esthetic beauty that this plant where it has taken over as a groundcover in useless lawn areas. I did not know its name (Singapore Daisy) until watching a Zaytuna Farm Tour video, where Geoff Lawton mentioned it.

    So far, I have had no issue in keeping it contained to the areas where I want to encourage its growth. It is no more "invasive" than lawns, which I am eager to irradicate. The only reason I haven't completely replaced the lawn is because I plan to sell the property in the near future, and I want to maintain the property's conventional "curb appeal".
     
  10. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

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  11. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    chhenley thanks for reviving this! It goes down as one of the best threads in my time on the board. I'm still working with my Singapore daisy. At the moment it acts as a ground cover in parts of the garden that I'm not ready to do much with as yet. When I want to remove it (there are parts of the garden where it is forbidden!) the process that is currently working for me is to pull it out by hand and toss it into the chook run. They keep it moving so it can't root and it dries up and dies. Once it has composted down in the chook run I can use it in the garden.
     
  12. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    and for pebble asking about fungal dominance, as long as you can put organic materials on and into the top few inches of soil, keep it slightly moist, the fungi will dominate if the soil is then left undisturbed and the area is topped with more organic materials. worms will help move things around at a much slower pace than digging.

    it is the plowing and disturbance of soils which helps shift the balance from fungi to bacteria when it comes to those where they've shifted from woodland plants/perennials to annuals and farmland type practices (tilling, turning, scraping, amending with lime, fertilizers, etc.). of course stirring the soil and increasing oxygen levels will also change that balance.
     
  13. John Morrison

    John Morrison Junior Member

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    singapore daisy

    I visited zaytunba farm and asked about this plant and was under the impression it made good goat food. However even the gaots would not totaly clean it out.
    So i think if you have it and can use it thats great but i dont reckon ill go out of my way to get some.

     

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