Crimson clover adds nitrogen and organic matter to the soil once dug in come spring. pic Amanda Jarrett
Cover Crops, Green Manures: No Bare Beds, Benefits of Cover Crops, How to Use Cover Crops,
When to Sow and Harvest Cover Crops, Common Cover Crops
When to Sow and Harvest Cover Crops, Common Cover Crops
No Bare Garden Beds Allowed!
A fallow field is flooded compromising soil health.
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This field sits next to the fallow field above. There is no flooding or erosion due to the cover crop.
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Cover Crops, Green Manures
Soil should not lay bare, it’s unnatural. Rain and irrigation causes erosion, nutrients are easily leached, the sun evaporates any moisture, organic matter is lost and the essential organisms within the soil don’t flourish.
Smart farmers know that soil needs to be covered. Instead of fallow fields, they sow a cover crop. A cover crop fills the soil with roots, holding it together, while reducing erosion, improving drainage, leaching and provides an environment for beneficial micro-organisms.
Unlike other crops, cover crops are not harvested, instead they are dug into the soil to replenish nutrients and to build soil. That’s when the cover crop stops being a cover crop and becomes ‘green manure’.
Home gardeners also benefit from using cover crops for the same reasons farmers do. Sow seed of crimson clover, fall rye and other cover crops after crops have been harvested. To prevent veggie beds from being bare during winter, sow seeds no later than September. They will establish themselves in fall and are cut down and dug in when they are actively growing in spring. It is composting in situ!
Soil should not lay bare, it’s unnatural. Rain and irrigation causes erosion, nutrients are easily leached, the sun evaporates any moisture, organic matter is lost and the essential organisms within the soil don’t flourish.
Smart farmers know that soil needs to be covered. Instead of fallow fields, they sow a cover crop. A cover crop fills the soil with roots, holding it together, while reducing erosion, improving drainage, leaching and provides an environment for beneficial micro-organisms.
Unlike other crops, cover crops are not harvested, instead they are dug into the soil to replenish nutrients and to build soil. That’s when the cover crop stops being a cover crop and becomes ‘green manure’.
Home gardeners also benefit from using cover crops for the same reasons farmers do. Sow seed of crimson clover, fall rye and other cover crops after crops have been harvested. To prevent veggie beds from being bare during winter, sow seeds no later than September. They will establish themselves in fall and are cut down and dug in when they are actively growing in spring. It is composting in situ!
Benefits of Cover crops
A farmer's field in January during torrential rain isn't flooded because it has been planted with a cover crop.
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Plants suitable for Cover Crops
Legumes have the ability to grab nitrogen from the air and attach it to their roots.
For most home gardeners, cover crops aren't needed until fall - after the crops are harvested. Therefore any cover crops need to be cold hardy so they can survive the fall and winter.
Seeds are sown no later than September with seeds that sprout quickly so they can establish themselves while crowding out winter weeds.
Selecting the cover crop depends on what your soil needs. Clover and other legumes, convert nitrogen from the air into a soluble form that plants are able to absorb. Other crops gather phosphorous and other essential nutrients. When tilled into the soil, their stored nutrients are released back into the soil.
Seeds are sown no later than September with seeds that sprout quickly so they can establish themselves while crowding out winter weeds.
Selecting the cover crop depends on what your soil needs. Clover and other legumes, convert nitrogen from the air into a soluble form that plants are able to absorb. Other crops gather phosphorous and other essential nutrients. When tilled into the soil, their stored nutrients are released back into the soil.
Cut back the cover crop and mix it into the soil in spring.
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Cocoa loves the crimson clover.
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How to use cover crops
- To make compacted, dense soils, including clay, more workable.
- When establishing a new bed to build soil, increase soil nutrients, bulk and organic matter.
- When establishing a new bed.
- After harvesting crops during the growing season.
- In the fall when all crops are harvested.
- To improve poor soil that has little organic matter.
- To protect the soil in winter.
Crimson clover is a very pretty and effective cover crop.
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Red clover seedlings sown in August.
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When to sow and harvest cover crops
- Follow the instructions on seed packages for the ideal time to sow seeds and when to dig them into the ground. Generally most cover crops should be sown in late summer into early fall for effective coverage during the winter.
- Mow cover crops with your lawn mower, or cut them back with a line trimmer or hedge shears in spring before or during flowering but before they set seeds.
- Rototill, fork over or dig the remnants of the cover crops, including the roots into the soil. Water well and don't rake the bed smooth as the unevenness helps with the decomposition.
- Wait for two weeks then with a garden fork or rototill work over the soil again, rake level, water. Plant your crops once the cover crops have thoroughly broken down.
Common cover crops
Grasses: winter rye, fall rye, barley, annual ryegrass, oats
- They enrich and build soil by adding organic matter.
- Their dense and extensive roots break up clay and compacted soils.
- Grasses improve the friability of soil making it easier for plants to establish themselves, especially seeds.
- Superb erosion control due to their fibrous root system.
- Their rapid growth suppresses weeds.
- It's a good idea to plant with clover and other legumes in fall to add nitrogen.
- Grasses are hardy and they overwinter well up north, even under snow cover.
- It's important to plow or dig under before going to seed to prevent them from reseeding.
- Legumes fix nitrogen from the air making it available to future crops.
- Their flowers are a favorite of pollinating insects.
- To increase the nitrogen production in legumes, use a soil inoculant (Rhizobia bacteria) when planting.
- It's a good idea to sow with annual rye, oats or other grasses to build soil.
- Sow seeds in July, August and/or September.
- Legumes are usually cut back in late May.
- Brassicas grow quickly reducing erosion and prevent weeds
- Their flowers are beneficial to pollinating insects.
- All brassicas, especially oilseed radish, bear long taproots that ‘drill’ into soil reducing compaction and aerating soils
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