Caliente 199 Mustard Blend for Biofumigation

Every so often we come across a gardening technique that is so wonderful we have to stop and ponder "why in the world have we not been doing this in the past"?
This is one of those techniques, one that is used by large crop growers and is now available to gardeners with small growing areas. It is as simple as sowing a fast growing blend of mustard seeds when your gardening season is about over with, then chopping up the mustards and tilling them into the soil.

Everyone who has a garden or flower bed that is used season after season should seriously consider improving their soil by green manuring with Caliente 199 Mustards Seed Mix.

This is a natural way to import excellent disease, weed and nematode suppression in future plantings and not have to rely on chemicals and fumigants. Ideal for organic growers.

This mustard blend can be used in small beds, gardens, truck patches and crop fields.

Being a member of the mustard family, it grows vigorously in a short period of time, ready to chop and till in about 100 days after sowing seed.

Caliente 199 Mustard Blend has been bred specifically for biofumigation and green manuring. The naturally occurring biofumigant gas (ITC) is produced by the plants when the crop is chopped, incorporating this compound and the green material into soil results in many benefits including improved soil structure, health and fertility, suppression of various soil-borne diseases and pests and increased soil microbial activity.

When you chop and till Caliente 199 into your soil, you receive the following benefits: Naturally occurring biofumigation
Improves soil fertility and structure
Adds nutrients and organic matter
Improves soil aeration
Increases water infiltration and holding capacity
Reduced soil erosion from wind and water
Increases soil biodiversity by stimulating the growth of beneficial microbes and other soil organisms
Ideal for organic crop rotations and conventional systems where ICM (Integrated Crop Management) and reduced risk inputs are used. Suppression of a range of soil-borne diseases, including Verticillium wilt, Rhizoctonia spp., Pythium spp., Fusarium spp., and Sclerotinia spp.
Suppression of a range of nematodes

What is biofumigation? Biofumigation is the suppression of various soil borne pests and diseases by naturally occurring compounds. Caliente Mustard Blend produces isothiocyanate (ITC), which is a natural gas released from all brassicaceous plant tissues. The gas is produced when plant cells are damaged (by crushing, mowing or chopping)and compounds called glucosinolates (present in all brassicas) come into contact with an enzyme (myrosinase) in the presence of moisture in the soil.

It is believed that this mechanism was originally developed by the plant as a defense against sucking and chewing insects, but over time many of the glucosinolates ( the compounds that make certain brassicas taste hot or spicy, such as some really spicy radishes ), have been bred out of brassica crops to make them better. Today, most varieties of mustard, cabbage, cauliflower and rape seed have low levels of glucosinolates, Caliente Mustard Blend is exactly the opposite, it offers the highest possible level of glucosinolates.

To create the best biofumigation effect, Caliente Mustard plants must be chopped as finely as possible before immediately incorporating into them into the soil, simply plowing the mustard under with a breaking plow will not give the same effect. For large fields, disking and then breaking under works fine. For small gardens, mowing with a bushhog, or lawnmower, then tilling into the soil works fine. For very small beds, we actually use a weed trimmer to chop up the mustard and a small hand held tiller to turn them under.

What makes Caliente 199 Mustard Blend different from other green manures? The most important difference is that Caliente 199 Mustards are bred specifically for biofumigation, they contain very high levels of the correct glucosinolates (there are many different types, and some do not produce lots of ITC), and high levels of the myrosinase enzyme, in addition they have the potential to grow into large plants producing high levels of biomass and therefore more green tissue to produce ITC when chopped.

They are very versatile and grow in almost any climate and soil. Caliente 199 Mustards have been developed over many years, with new blends and varieties developed for performing specific functions, and for growing in different climates and situations. They are not simple green manure or cover crops and should not be confused with fodder mustard which is commonly available as a green manure and will not generate the same biofumigation effect.

When considering disease suppression, it is important to note that the biofumigation aspect is not the only important factor. It is a combination of the biofumigation plus the incorporation of green material into the soil which encourages beneficial microbe multiplication. These beneficial soil microbes play an important part in 'out-competing' pathogenic microbes for space in the soil profile, helping to keep soil disease levels down.

How and when to sow Caliente 199 Mustard Blend? Caliente 199 Mustard Blend is a very beneficial green manure as it produces lush foliage that helps smothers weeds; improves soils fertility & structure and retains moisture. This mustard also provides a good source of nitrogen for the following crop and increases it yield. It is also may improve the appearance of the skin of potatoes and may deter wireworm populations. We strongly encourage it's use where tomato and tobacco crops will be grown the following year.

Caliente Mustard can be sown in spring or late summer and incorporated 2 weeks after flowering has just started. Sow anytime from early spring to mid fall. Sow seeds onto cultivated soil, and gently rake in & firm to ensure good seed to soil contact. Water the seed in lightly ( or sow just before a rain shower ) and keep moist until germination has began. Keep the soil moist throughout the growing cycle as periods of drought will cause it to flower early and mean less bulky organic growth. A balanced N:P:K fertilizer ( 8*8*8 works just fine ) can be applied before or just after sowing to ensure best growth, keep in mind the Caliente Mustard will return these nutrients to the soil when dug in, so you are really just adding fertilize to future crops.

How much Caliente 199 Mustard Blend do is need for your garden? We sell Caliente 199 in different size packs to accommodate all gardens.

Our smallest pack is 35g, ( a little over an ounce ) and will cover 275 square feet of garden.
Our 88g ( about 3.1 ounces ) pack will cover about 850 square feet, our 175g pack will cover about 1,700 square feet.
Our one pound package will cover about 4,400 square feet and our 5 pound package will cover a half acre.