Avena sativa
Oat
Common names: Common oat
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Flowering
- Jun–Jul
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −5 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Sendelbach (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Description
The common oat, botanically Avena sativa, is an annual grass with loose, drooping panicles. It grows 60 to 120 cm tall, germinates even in cool weather, grows quickly and forms a dense, fine root system that keeps the topsoil crumbly. In the garden it is sown as a fast green manure for spring and summer, or in late summer as winter cover that dies off in frost. It covers the soil, suppresses weeds, captures nutrients before rain can wash them out, and leaves a large amount of plant matter for humus building. It does not fix nitrogen, but when mixed with common vetch it serves as a support for the climbing vetch. It prefers cool, moist locations and needs sufficient water in summer; in hot, dry summers it grows less well.
Care instructions
Sow common oat from March to August in a sunny spot with loose, fresh soil. Rake the seeds in about 3 cm deep, press the soil down and keep it moist until emergence so your stand comes up evenly. In summer it needs more water than other green manure plants, so water thoroughly during dry periods. Mow or cut it at the latest when the panicles appear, while the stems are still green and soft. Cut young, it decomposes quickly; old, straw-like stems decompose slowly and temporarily take up nitrogen from the soil. Leave the cuttings as mulch or work them in shallowly. As a grass it is not closely related to most vegetable crops and suits almost any crop beforehand, though it is best to avoid it before sweet corn.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–Aug
FloweringJun–Jul
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 3 °C, ideally 15 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 4 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, humus-rich, well-drained
Oat grows on loamy, humus-rich and well-drained soils that do not dry out too quickly. It likes it rather cool and moist and also tolerates slightly acidic soils; a pH between 5 and 7.5 suits it. On very light, hot sandy soils it struggles if you do not water. Avoid waterlogging and strongly compacted spots, or loosen them before sowing.
Feeding
Light feeder
Oat needs no fertiliser. It takes up nutrients that lie in the soil after the harvest and holds them before rain leaches them out. On very depleted beds you can rake in a little mature compost shallowly before sowing. It does not fix nitrogen; its benefit to your bed lies in the plant mass and in the fine root system.
Overwintering
Oat is an annual and not reliably hardy. A sowing in August grows on until autumn and is killed by frost in winter. The dead stems stay as a mulch cover on the bed, protect the soil from leaching and can easily be raked off in spring, after which you can sow or plant directly. If you mow oat from a spring or summer sowing in good time, before seeds form, it will not turn up as a volunteer next year.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You propagate oat from seed, which you buy as green manure seed. It is sown directly in the bed, from March as soon as the soil is workable, until August. Loosen the soil, scatter the seeds broadcast or in rows and rake them in about 3 cm deep. Firm the area and keep it evenly moist until emergence. In cool weather germination takes about 1 to 2 weeks; in warmth it is quicker. Mixed with common vetch, the oat serves as its support.
For your garden
Grow Oat yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
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