STRIKING GOLD with GREEN MANURE

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Second, consider which of the two basic groups of covers you'd like to grow: legumes or grasses and grains. All add a certain amount of organic matter (though grasses and grains tend to add more). Legumes decompose rapidly when turned under and are unsurpassed as nitrogen-catchers, securing more of this important element in the soil than any other cover crop.

Grasses and grains, on the other hand, often germinate and grow quicker than legumes, making them the first-choice for fast, effective ground covers. They are also especially valued for the bulky organic matter they add to soil, as well as for reducing nematodes in the garden.

But why not grow a mix so you can have the best of both worlds? Your fast-growing grains will act as a nurse crop to help sustain and provide support for your slower-growing vining legumes. Plus, the legume-grass/grain combination holds nitrogen in the soil better than either grown alone.

When to Plant

Depending on where you live, you can plant cover crops anytime from early spring through late fall. Spring or summer planted covers can be used as part of your rotation, grown between rows or underneath established vegetables. Frost-tolerant covers like bell bean, Austrian peas and oats can be planted as soon as your soil can be worked. For others, like cowpeas, buckwheat and soybeans, wait until all danger of frost has passed.

Fall and winter covers are sown as early as August in cold climates and as late as November in the deep South.

Since I sow a variety of cover crops, I'm usually planting throughout the year. In the spring I might sow nitro-alfalfa and spring oats, which are turned under in midsummer, before I plant my fall crops. Buckwheat is an excellent green manure for summer (I plant in May or June, tilling under six to ten weeks later). Fava beans, Austrian peas, crimson clover and vetch are my favorites for planting in the fall (September or early October here in our mild zone 8 Oregon climate) and then tilling under in spring.

Together, these crops provide erosion protection against our considerable winter rains, organic matter to loosen our heavy clay soil, plus nutrients - specifically nitrogen, but also phosphorus (supplied by buckwheat) - in which our soil tends to be lacking.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print