we had such issues with soil fertility this year that we decided cover crops were a must for us. if we're lucky, the cover crops will help take care of our weed problem, too.
i love organic grower's supply handy dandy chart, which tells you all about the cover crops available. we selected two for our two gardens.
winter rye
and morton oats.
we simply sprinkled the seeds in all of our raised beds, even if there were still vegetables growing. a great place to use a cover crop is in your garlic bed, as soon as you harvest. broadcast your seeds, watch them grow, and then turn the cover crop under the soil before planting your garlic in october. cover crops definitely give your soil a boost, which in turn gives your vegetables a boost. win-win.
do you have any experience with cover cropping?
this sounds like a fun idea... I have containers on a patio. Some of my containers soil looks like it needs an overhaul too. Would this be something I could do in containers?
ReplyDeleteI plan to do this myself. It will be the first time I have done it. My soil definitely needs a boost!
ReplyDeleteI have resisted using cover crops because I worry about the difficulty of the turning over part in a raised bed. I'll look forward to watching how you do it first!
ReplyDeleteI do hope that I get somewhat of a cover crop effect when I grow beans. I cut the stalks away when they are finished, but I leave the roots (and those N fixing nodules) in the beds.
We're in love with crimson clover. We broadcast it over any open ground in the fall (sept-oct here in Portland), it grows a bit before the weather gets cold and the days short, and is lovely to look at through the winter. Then it really takes off come spring, and blossoms with the most striking crimson flowers. The chickens love it and it handles a little grazing just fine. It is also a nitrogen fixer. I wrote a post singing it's praises last spring: http://4happyhens.blogspot.com/2011/05/ode-to-crimson-clover.html. Good luck with your cover crop experiments this winter!
ReplyDeleteWe've just done an oats vetch pea crop through winter - green manure - they have taken a lot of turning in. Hopefully will all be worthwhile
ReplyDeleteoh, i want to try this! i put kale and romaine seedlings in this past year's garlic bed, but the tomatoes are winding down fast so maybe i can try some there. if you aren't planting in the fall, do you let the rye and oats grow all winter and then turn in the spring?
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