Caliente Mustard

Caliente Mustard:

• improves soil structure - as a green manure
• suppresses soil disease and weeds - as a  biofumigant

green manure

Caliente Mustard produces a naturally occurring biofumigant gas (isothiocyanate (ITC)) when its plant cells are damaged (by crushing or chopping).

This gas suppresses a range of:

• soil-borne diseases, including Verticillium wilt, Rhizoctonia spp., Pythium spp., Fusarium spp., and Sclerotinia spp.
• nematodes (eelworms)
• wireworms

To encourage the production of the biofumigant gas ITC:

• chop the Caliente Mustard plants as finely as possible - the finer the chop the greater the effect.   Either, use a rotary mower,  a strimmer or garden shredder
• incorporate the chopped mustard into soil immediately, simply digging in the whole crop, un-chopped, will not give the same effect.  Mix the shredded vegetation into the top 15cm (6in) of the soil either with a rotovator, or by digging in with a fork
• seal the soil surface, at once, to keep the gases in, using polythene
• the soil temperature should be warm, between 10-15°C (50 - 59°F)
• autumn or late spring incorporations are the most effective

To grow Caliente mustard:

• Sow spring to late summer - it will be ready 60 to 90 days after sowing
• To cover areas of bare soil over winter, sow early October (no later than mid-October) & the crop will be ready for incorporation in early to mid spring
• 200g of seed covers approx 120sq.m
• 1kg covers approx 600sq.m
• Caliente mustard is available from Tozer Seeds