Cover crops - what do you use?

[Patihum]

I've never done a cover crop but am considering it this year. I'd like to know what you prefer/works best and which one is the most beneficial.

[riceke]

I cover mine with lawnmower mulched leaves and sometimes wheat straw. Since doing it this way I have tons of earthworms as a result.

[Barbee]

Here is a link that may help you decide
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/fac...mpsoilcov.html

[Redbaron]

A good cover crop is a blend. The idea is to promote a diversity of biology in the soil. When designing a blend, categorize it like this:

1) determine if you want a cool season or a warm season blend.
2) Include both annual grasses and annual non grasses with at least 1 legume for nitrogen fixing and at least 1 deep rooted forb like radishes beets or turnips.
3) Feel free to get creative. For example: annual clover is a common cover, but you could substitute snow peas and pick a few before turning them under. Forage radishes are not so good for food but you could substitute a food radish and pull a few (not all) for yourself.
4) As a general rule never let a cover go to seed. That could turn a beneficial cover into weeds. Make sure you kill it by either tilling, mowing, rolling, grazing, mulching, freezing or some combination of the above before they seed.

Some common covers are buckwheat, annual clover, annual alfalfa, peas, rye grass, forage beets, forage radishes...

Here is a good vid on covers. Innovative No-Till: Using Multi-Species Cover Crops to Improve Soil Health

There are other ways as well. For example: The 3 sisters method developed by the native American Indians uses the concept of covers and crops combined. You start with corn. Once the corn gets 2-4 inches tall you plant pole beans. Once the pole beans start vining up the corn you plant winter squash. You get 3 crops from the same amount of space and the density of them make it nearly impossible for weeds to get a foothold, yet the fertility is improved due to the nitrogen fixing and multiple species of roots in the soil (with the biology associated). Further, after harvest there is a tremendous amount of biomass created for incorporating into the soil. After harvest you could then plant a cool season blend to maintain cover through the winter until you are ready to plant a new crop like tomatoes in the spring.

Then of course there is even another way I am developing myself where the original perennial cover is never removed. Red Baron Project

So many options!, if you describe your garden/farm better, I can better help.

[Patihum]

Thanks for the offer of help!

Garden 1 - 30x30

This one is new this year. All last winter our cattle were fed hay here. Mostly bluestem and some brome. (We do grow our own hay.) It has been tilled once at the start of the season. Weeds have been minimal but there is the Bermuda that tries to creep in from the pasture plus some crabgrass. 1/2 of the area is planted in tomatoes and the other 1/2 is beans, cabbage, herbs and a few odds and ends. As these things come out I'll be planting turnips, radishes, lettuce and brussel sprouts. The whole area has been heavily mulched with wheat straw. Everything has been producing very well and no additional feeding has been necessary. I did apply some fungicide early in the season on the tomatoes and twice a permethrin based spray was applied to the eggplants because of the thrips.

I should probably mention too that my water source is gravity fed from a several acre pond.

Garden 2 - 25x30

This is the old garden that has been in use for 15+ years. Fed hay here over the winter 3 years ago. It's dedicated to all the vining crops - pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon, squash etc. Had corn in it too until a cow jumped the fence and mowed ALL of it down. Will be replacing the fence in the spring! Composted manure was added at the start of the season only where the plants were placed. This one is weed heaven. The biggest problem is the Johnson grass. Production has been good but not great. Used wheat straw for mulch only close around the plants.

Took me awhile to read all thru your previous posts. Found them very interesting. We've talked about getting chickens and putting the coop where they could have access to the gardens to help with insect control. Right now the grasshoppers are bad but the plants are big and healthy enough to withstand the damage without using pesticides. Have lots of toads and even a few lizards in the gardens which help to some degree I'm sure. The idea of strip gardening I found not to be unlike what I did one year where we used to live. There was a lot of fescue in the area and when I gave up trying to get rid of it I just started mowing between the rows. One of the biggest benefits I had from that was it helped keep the temperature down in the garden and I needed to water less.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Patihum

Thanks for the offer of help!

Garden 1 - 30x30

This one is new this year. All last winter our cattle were fed hay here. Mostly bluestem and some brome. (We do grow our own hay.) It has been tilled once at the start of the season. Weeds have been minimal but there is the Bermuda that tries to creep in from the pasture plus some crabgrass. 1/2 of the area is planted in tomatoes and the other 1/2 is beans, cabbage, herbs and a few odds and ends. As these things come out I'll be planting turnips, radishes, lettuce and brussel sprouts. The whole area has been heavily mulched with wheat straw. Everything has been producing very well and no additional feeding has been necessary. I did apply some fungicide early in the season on the tomatoes and twice a permethrin based spray was applied to the eggplants because of the thrips.

I should probably mention too that my water source is gravity fed from a several acre pond.

Garden 2 - 25x30

This is the old garden that has been in use for 15+ years. Fed hay here over the winter 3 years ago. It's dedicated to all the vining crops - pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon, squash etc. Had corn in it too until a cow jumped the fence and mowed ALL of it down. Will be replacing the fence in the spring! Composted manure was added at the start of the season only where the plants were placed. This one is weed heaven. The biggest problem is the Johnson grass. Production has been good but not great. Used wheat straw for mulch only close around the plants.

Took me awhile to read all thru your previous posts. Found them very interesting. We've talked about getting chickens and putting the coop where they could have access to the gardens to help with insect control. Right now the grasshoppers are bad but the plants are big and healthy enough to withstand the damage without using pesticides. Have lots of toads and even a few lizards in the gardens which help to some degree I'm sure. The idea of strip gardening I found not to be unlike what I did one year where we used to live. There was a lot of fescue in the area and when I gave up trying to get rid of it I just started mowing between the rows. One of the biggest benefits I had from that was it helped keep the temperature down in the garden and I needed to water less.

For Your gardens I recommend mostly a weed barrier under the straw mulch. But since you are eliminating pretty much all the species growing in the soil besides your crop, I recommend growing companion crops in your rows to help beef up the diversity. Remember nature wants to grow something, better to make that something into what you can have a use for. Between the rows can be a mix of native species if you wish. Just try to include a legume of some kind. If grasses try to creep in from the edges over the mulch, then grow a thick but short border companion crop or something like a marigold. Those creeping weeds search for the sun, and if something is already growing there they are far less troublesome.

If you do want to experiment with including livestock or chickens, the key is controlling them very precisely with electric fencing, chicken tractor, and/or timing. I very much like the way you used a future garden area as a hay feeding station for cattle. That principle will serve you well. For example, allow the cattle to take down your winter cover crop in spring. Follow that with chickens until the area is properly prepared. Then cover the whole thing with a weed barrier of cardboard and mulch and plant into it. (optional to leave strips of forage between rows the same width as a chicken tractor or mower.) I think you get the idea. In fall after all harvests, let the cattle back in to clear out all the debris and any weeds, and then scatter sow a winter cover crop that will be ready for the cattle to eat next spring. and start your cycle again. I think you'll find that not only is the garden cooler in summer, with less need of irrigation, but also the soil stays warmer in winter too...with all that biological activity providing significant heat. Won't change the air temp or frosts in spring, but the soil definitely benefits.

[joseph]

My most vigorous growing cover crop, and the easiest is weeds. About the only intentional cover crop that survives the winter around here is winter rye.

[MrBig46]

I use Phacelia tanacetifolia good for bumblebees and weeds anyhow as Joseph
Vladimír

[tomatoguy]

Last Fall was the first time I had grown a cover crop. I used crimson clover. I can't say for sure whether it was the clover, the solarizing or the amendments I added but the garden is doing great. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we haven't had many days over 90 degrees, which is most unusual in Middle Tennessee.

mater

[mari.beth]

I am so glad to see this topic!!!

I have two small raised beds (4x8). I was thinking about planting kale once the tomatoes come out. The variety of seeds I purchased said it does well even in the coldest weather. I was wondering if that would be beneficial to the soil at all. I am intrigued by RedBaron's info above and may do a combination. I was hoping to plant some kale because I love it, but I can fill empty spots in my asparagus bed instead of planting it in my raised beds if it will not help improve the soil.

Regardless of what I plant, if I wanted to put tomatoes in using Walls O' Water in early April, when would I till under the cover crop?

[Patihum]

Thanks for all the all the great help! I'm thinking of going with a combination of rye, peas and turnips. Considered a clover but I have an old horse that runs with the cattle and it could present a problem for him. You wouldn't believe how much a horse can drool after eating a bunch of clover. My husband recently shut down his company and there's a lot of cardboard boxes left so will be using those next year under the mulch. Can't beat free stuff. Hopefully in the spring we can acquire some chickens to integrate into the plan. Already have my eye on a mobile chicken coop.

[WhippoorwillG]

I mix it up, with most of my covercropping happening during the fall/winter. I do a blend of two, as someone had mentioned in an earlier post. It has either winter rye or rye grass mixed with Austrian winter peas or mammoth red clover.

If I need a smother crop, I plant Dwarf Essex Rape, but have had mixed results with it. I also plant turnips for greens (heavy application) , which serves double duty as a smother crop.

If I cover crop the rest of the year, it is normally buckwheat.

[Alfredo]

Hello Patihum,

I've used Peas, Oats, Bush Beans, and Borage as cover crops. All of which I eventually cut down and amend the soil with.

~Alfredo