With more and more people gardening for the first times of their lives, so many people are waging war on their soil. STOP! Don’t use that nasty chemical fertilizer. Set it down and slowly step away from the Miracle Grow. That’s it, back up nice and easy.
We can teach you how to amend your soil naturally so that you don’t have to use harsh treatments that will burn your garden or run off into your water supply. If you prepare your soil properly and in advance you will save money in the long run and grow a better, healthier, and tastier garden than fertilizers alone can provide (think of all those micronutrients you’ll be adding!).
Cover crops:
Clovers, winter rye, peas, buckwheat. They all help to amend the dirt you’ll be growing in. Using a cover crop helps to crowd out unwanted weeds and doubles as a green manure when you work it back into the soil, thereby improving the soil composition and structure. They also play host for many beneficial insects, bacteria, and worms. Legumes like clovers, alfalfa, vetch, and peas are nitrogen fixers. Grasses like barleys, oats, and buckwheat can complement legumes. They help to add massive amounts of green manure, loosen topsoil, and help to prevent erosion.
Depending on the type of cover crop you use they can be grown between rotations, during the off seasons or as an under-planting. If you have poor soil structure cover crops are one of the best ways to go, and probably THE best if you want to be organic or vegan. They’re not a quick fix however as they require time to grow and then decompose before you can take full advantage of them. You will, however, see immediate results from under-plantings when used instead of mulch; water retention is immensely improved and that nitrogen fixing begins immediately. When used during the growing season you’ll see many more pollinators and beneficial insects to help control the nasty bugs that feed on your crops. Don’t forget those extra nutrients they’ll be sharing with your soil!
Many seed suppliers are starting to carry more and more types of cover crops. I’ve seen them available through Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seeds of Change, and Pinetree Garden Seeds to name a few. You can also check out your local farmers’ co-op or hunters supply stores for (especially) clovers. While some of these cover crops may attract pests like deer and rabbits, I’ve found I’d rather have them nibbling on my clover than on my okra and peas. They’re going to find the food somehow and I’d rather it be something I’m not going to eat myself – consider it a trap crop of sorts.
Over the upcoming weeks I’ll discuss other ways to make amends with your soil including composts, manures, and a few quick fixes.
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Do you use a cover crop?
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Jennifer (aka whirliegig) can be found over at Unearthing This Life discussing her life in rural America.
This is really helpful. We are building a house and will be starting gardens anew there. The information on prepping soil beforehand is very useful.
This is something I’m reading more about. I used a crimson clover cover crop on a new garden area last year and it’s amazing the difference it made in the quality of my terrible soil, all for a few dollars!
I’m expanding the gardens this year and plan on using buckwheat as a cover crop for the soil and for the bees.
The bees are all over our white clover like it’s going out of style. Between the locusts, tulip poplars and clover our honey is coming in fast!
We too, had awful soil. We live on top of an old Tennessee ridge – an ancient mountain scraped away to the size of a massive hill. It’s full of chert and lots of rocks. All topsoil was scraped off when the new road came through and leveled the top of our ridge. To further its ruin, the previous owners doused the land with hardcore fertilizers, creating an imbalance of, well, everything.
It wasn’t until I started using clover as a green manure and mulch that I finally noticed a humongous difference in the quality of soil and harvests. I can’t wait to see the product of buckwheat in your soil!
Can you come do a door-to-door clinic in my suburban neighborhood? Please? My neighbors are doing terrible things to their soil. The only upside is that every earthworm in the area resides within my property boundaries.
Ha! I wish I could. I tried to convince my neighbor that I’d pay for the clover to plant on his 23 acres if he wouldn’t use fertilizer – especially since he’s not planning on building there for another 10 years. No luck.
It’s too bad that people don’t realize that all of these “weeds” actually improve the quality of grass!
Two things I’ve never understood about cover crops, maybe you can help.
1. We add compost to the soil to replenish nutrients that the plants take out. When I plant a cover crop, isn’t it taking away some of those nutrients? Even with nitrogen-fixing plants, which replenish soil nitrogen… well, what about P and K?
2. We till under the cover crop in the spring before planting. I’ve always heard that you shouldn’t work un-composted material into the soil because the composting process itself ties up nutrients that are then not available to plants. Isn’t that what’s happening here?
Joshua,
I’m not a botanist so I’m going to make a few educated guesses here.
1. Yes, the plant is taking away some of what is in the soil, but for example legumes take nitrogen out of the air and fixes it inside of its root nodules. Therefore it actually acquires more nitrogen for the soil than the soil began with. And remember, anything you return to the soil is going to be giving back just about the same thing as it originally took. Plants are going to scavange whatever molecules of goodness they can get and concentrate them where they fall. For P&K I rely more on other additives like compost and so on.
2. Compost is great because it’s already decomposed. It’s actually my favorite additive because Ma Nature does all the work for you until it’s time to distribute. For the matter of tilling and planting: I personally like to chop my green manures as small as possible whether it requires multiple cuttings or using machinery before working it into the soil. I also till my garden beds twice – once in the fall and again in the spring several weeks before planting. In my mind both of those work together, I’m giving more area for beneficial bacteria and critters to work on my mulch and secondly working the soil twice aerates the ground, buries any weed seedlings and breaks up any spots of concentrated mulch.
While I’m not saying that the statement is false, I do want to remind everyone that seedlings don’t actually require much of any nutrients the first few weeks of life. That’s why we can manipulate them by growing them in coir and soiless mixes. As the soil warms up and bacteria, worms, and other decomposers get moving, you’ll be ready to plant out, while decomposition continues.
Think of your grass, if you have any in your yard – this is exactly what happens when we cut our lawns. The little bits of grass and roots decompose into topsoil or humus and it survives just fine as long as it gets plenty of sunshine and water in most cases.
Does cilantro count as a cover crop? We sure grow lots of it, and easily.
Only if there’s limes and tomatoes involved!
Honestly, cilantro is a great plant to grow -
When planted with peppers it acts as an umbrella stablizing humidity and temperature. They’re also a fabulous insectary plant attracting benefitial insects to your garden!
So when I grow a cover crop in the spring, do I till it under and then plant seeds right away? or do I need to wait a while? Should I grow the cover in the fall, till it under, and let it rot through winter? Will it still act as a mulch then? Clearly I have many questions! LOL maybe i’ll just have to google it – thanks for the post!
It really depends on the type of cover crop you’re growing as some will die back in the winter while some are winter growers!
I personally try to give my beds several weeks to rest before I plant – and chop that stuff up good! If you have a big ball of plant in the soil in a few weeks you’ll end up with a big ball of mush. Chop it up, spread it out, and dig about 8 inches into the soil.
We till our beds twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring to give our beds plenty of time to rest and work on the stuff it’s fed before planting.
I just received an email from a friend with this link. I don’t know if you have heard about this bill but it sure sounds crazy
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/s-510-is-hissing-in-the-grass/
@Roblynn: Please do a thorough research into what s-510 really says. There is a lot of hyperbole and just plain lies going around, saying that it will outlaw home gardening and such. My conclusion has been that the bill is not totally benign, but that it also is nowhere near as scary as people are making it out to be.
We do a lot of buckwheat because the bees simply adore it! Super post, Kim
Do you harvest any of it for breads and so on?
I would suggest not using winter rye-it is a grass. I made that mistake and am still pulling out rye from my beds, despite all attempts to remove it before it got a good hold in the spring. I would recommend buckwheat too – the bees do enjoy it. Or just use a good mulch that you can incorporate into the soil in the fall, like old newspapers, hay, straw, or the paper mulch that comes in rolls from such suppliers as Johnny’s or Seeds of Change.
I thoroughly suggest anyone planning on a cover crop to research the plant(s) they’re planning on growing. Robin is correct that rye can be a hassle to remove, especially when it matures. Consider your needs and purchase from a reputable location if possible. Most places you’d want to purchase from should be able to direct you toward a solution for your needs whether it be a grass or legume, a seasonal grower, or an annual vs. a perennial.
Oh and btw…LOVE the title to this post! Kim
<3
Would you do this in raised beds also (i.e., square foot gardening)?
Yes!! I grow clover underneath many other plants and where it’s not growing I add it to. I actually cut it back and mulch around my tomato and pepper plants to help keep the moisture in the soil and to add all those good particles back into the ground. Every year my tomatoes get better and better.
I don’t have raised beds, however I do divide my garden
into beds. My crops are happier every year for it. If you think of a raised bed, you’re separating (normally) bagged soils for your own topsoil. The plants you grow will continue to deplete even the bagged soils unless you add something back to it. A green mulch or cover crop will do just that. And FYI, I allow one of my beds to rest every year so that the microorganisms can have lots of time to do their job with all the compost and green mulches I give to them.
Thanks – I’ll give is a try.
Unfortunately, due to the size of my garden beds, letting one bed rest cuts my garden in half. I have two raised beds plus I do some edible landscaping.
I have to be sneaky though – our HOA is not bad, but I don’t want to attract attention either. We also have a gazillion little nosy boys around. Last year’s zucchini under the front holly bushes looked pretty much like big ol’ elephant ear plants. This year will be the bush green beans instead.
This past fall we planted cover crops for the first time, hairy vetch and winter rye. We had virtually NO spring garden prep needed. Absolutely amazing. No weeds, just turn or till the cover crop under and plant. So easy! So we got a super early start on planting…which means earlier veggies fresh from the gardens for us. Yippee!
Lisa
Great post..thank you.
We’re trying to be alterative here in Crete.. the plots around us are sown 3-4 times a year so the locals pour fertilizer over their plots..
We’ve used alot od donkey poo and am looking forward to impementing some of your ideas..
If you use rye for a cover crop, use cereal rye, not rye grass. Great for holding fallow soil over winter and for its allelopathic properties to combat quack grass.
I’m using oats, dutch white clover, red clover, peas, and fall rye this year as cover crops. All for the first time. Many of Johnny’s cool ones can’t be shipped to Canada, unfortunately, and I’m still finding sources here for others [vetch specifically].