I can't really give you a recommendation on what to do in winter since your zone/location is so different than mine. So someone else will have to be of help there.

However, I did want to say that if you have a small garden, growing a cover crop doesn't make much sense. In theory it sounds good but it's just too impractical. Or at least it was for me when I tried it. Cover crops tie up too much garden space because you have to wait for them to decompose in spring before sowing your seeds. Unless you pull them up roots and all, which defeats the purpose of growing a cover crop.

"I want to protect the soil in my raised beds during the winter, so that they don't get compacted and hard by the time spring comes around."

Cover crops will protect your soil. But it sounds as if you don't want to till or dig your garden in spring. In which case a cover crop is even more impractical. Most cover crops are meant to be dug into the soil. You could smother them and wait for them to decompose but that takes time.

Here in zone 5b/6a, what I do to prep my garden beds for next spring is I add a bunch of organic matter to the soil (leaves, grass clippings, half finished compost) and then put a layer of shredded leaves on top. The leaf mulch protects the soil while the added organic matter adds nutrients and keeps it loose.

Rodney

This post was edited by theforgottenone1013 on Sun, Oct 6, 13 at 0:09

If you plant a cover crop, they have to be turned over and get back to where they belong. But if you let them grow then pull them , it is going to more harm than good, by sucking the nutrients from the soil. And the rain will get in ther anyway. Plus, it is too late, I think, to plant cover crop in your area (Portland. OR)

I also live in PNW(Seattle area). I am also thinking about this LOOONG rainy months ahead, that will drench the beds and leach out the nutrients and pack the soil . I THINK I WILL PILE UP SOME LEAVES, BRUSHES OVER THE CENTER AND THEN COVER THEM WITH PLASTICS(making sure that they are wind proof). Then I will take the plastic away lik in May.

It's not too late to plant cover crops. With the recent rains, your beds should be perfect. I would do both...some overwintered veges and a cover crop like crimson clover or fava beans. Not in the same beds. Go to the nursery and get some seedlings, they will help you decide which ones will work. (Bok Choi, Kale, Cabbage, Brussel sprouts etc.)

In the Spring, you can just cut the cover crops down at the soil level...composting the tops. Depending which crops are going in, you can loosen the soil with a spading fork (or not) This is NOT something you should put off though. Get your garlic in ASAP

Posted by lonmower zone8 Western Oregon (My Page) on
Sun, Oct 6, 13 at 0:28

It's not too late to plant cover crops.
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lonmower,
What cover crop or fall/winter crop can you plant from seeds now(In Portland, in Seattle )? I would like to know.

Recent heavy rains have saturated the beds and though it has been unseasonably cool, the first frost is several weeks away. After the morning fog clears, the sun is now warming my beds nicely.

I have planted crimson clover and all those seeds are up. I planted fava beans earlier in the week and I am waiting for those to emerge. I still have pepper and tomato plants in the ground and plan to plant more fava beans in those beds when I clear them (maybe at the end of this week?) I think that a person could plant whatever they wanted (still) for cover. We will have more warm sunny days before the freeze. (and more rain)

Don't assume that it is an either/or situation. Some good cover crops ARE winter vegetables. Turnips and fava beans are two that are often used - eat what you want and let the rest go to turn in the spring. Kale is another off the top of my head.

The article linked below from Wash. State extension gives you a whole list of things that do well in your area and that can still be planted. Check Oregon State extension for more suggestions.

It doesn't matter if frost eventually kills them as the benefits to the soil are still there.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: WSU - Cover Crops

note that fava leaves, or greens, are edible and in fact quite nutritious, so you can really have both. they are good both raw and cooked, and you do not need named varieties, their leaves are identical to cover crop favas.

I have 9 raised beds. During the winter, I plant three of them in cool weather crops: 1 bed of broccoli, 1 bed of leafy greens, and 1 bed of root crops. This gives us all the fresh vegetables we need for the table through the winter plus broccoli for the freezer.

The other six beds I sow in crimson clover. Am adding daikon radish this year to the clover. I let the cover crops grow all winter, and about a month before my last frost date, or just as soon as the clover starts to set blooms, whichever comes first, I take my shovel and turn the clover over. After about two weeks, I turn the soil again to be absolutely certain that no clover goes to seed. It does miraculously good things for the soil and I find it takes very little effort. I absolutely disagree with the poster who said it's not worth the effort in raised beds!

The one drawback to raised beds that I have found is the way the soil level falls each and every year. The cover crops is an inexpensive way to restore some of that lost soil
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I rotate the beds that I use for winter crops each year, so that they only miss the cover crop once every third year. When spring comes, I am sure to add homemade compost to those three beds first. They don't seem to suffer at all.

Just as a note, I have decided not to grow onions or garlic in my beds anymore. At least here, they have to stay in the beds for 8 full months, which is twice the time that virtually any other food crop I grow takes, and I have been disappointed in the quality of the produce I got. I think that I get more food from the space by planting other, quicker, heavier yielding crops. Just something for you to think about.

Zone8 , when it comes to PNW (like Portland Or, Seattle, WA) can be misleading number. I know it, because I live here and have lived and gardened in Zone 7B/8A in GA.

Right now, nothing (cole crop, cover crop) will grow here from seed. If you wanted to do it should have done it early September. Right now day highs are 50ish and nights 40ish. Nothing will germinate and grow in this kind of weather.

It will take just about 10 to 15 days for the seed to germinate IF IT WAS WARMER.

donnabaskets- I believe I was that poster you were referring to. :) And actually what I said was "if you have a small garden, growing a cover crop doesn't make much sense". When I said that I was just giving advice based on my own experience (I even put that disclaimer in my post).

I plant cool season veggies in the spring when the soil is just warm enough, which is in April. I prepare my beds in the fall so that I don't have to dig them in the spring. That also means I don't have to wait for the beds to dry out fully before planting. All I do is rake my beds smooth and plant.

When I planted the cover crops (red clover and winter rye) in the fall I had to wait until late April for the soil to dry out enough before I could turn them over, then I had to wait even longer for them to decompose some before I could plant. That's a lot of time waiting around when I could have already had stuff planted and growing.

My garden is only about 150 square feet. I cannot afford to lose time planting by waiting on cover crops to decompose. Although I will admit that I wasn't even thinking about edible cover crops when I wrote my previous post.

Rodney

seysonn...

The clock is running for seed starting here in the PNW for sure. But, seed germination depends on soil temperature, not ambient. The overnight temperature you report are cooling the beds, but the afternoon sun is warming them back up. You really have little to lose to plant a cover crop...just the price of the seed.

lonmower ;

I am not disputing what you said. Let us know how your sowing will do. Please check back here. My thinkink is that EVEN IF things like RYEI already have some fall/winter crops: ONIONS, GARLICs, LEEKS, WINTER RADISH, PARSLEY.
My onions are in pots right now. I started them from seeds in mid August. I thin I got the perfect timing on those.

FOR THE FALL:
I will just amend the vacant beds and will rain proof them up until 2014 planting time. I will also try to make a sort of hoop on one the beds, to experiment.

Hello everyone,

I planted some dutch white clover and crimson clover in the beds, around the time I first posted originally started this thread. I wanted to let everyone know that I read your advice and thank you very much for responding to my post.

I also would like to provide some pictures on how they are doing. Most have 2-3 leaves on them. I hope they survive the winter and grow normally and aren't stunted come spring. Hope you can click on the pictures to enlarge them and get a closer look.

These pictures were taken this week. I wish we could post more than one picture in a post, instead of doing it this way.

I'm growing garlic in the middle bed. This is my first time planting garlic in the fall. The cover crops seem to be growing more and more each week.

Thanks for checking back, Gardengirl.

I hope your COVER crops will really COVER the beds. Tonight we are getting the coldest weather of the fall, so far. Have not had yet the first frost. But it is the typical rain, rain, more rain and drizzle. I hope your cover crops like this kind of weather. Onions (allium family) are the only ones that seem not to mind this kind of wet and cold.
Instead of cover crops, I stuffed some of my beds with fall leaves and COVERED them with plastic.Thats some cover.lol

O' yes, my garlics are up. I planted them a bit early(late September). I wanted them to have a head start in the spring. You never know, if we get a milder and drier weather , with a bit more SUNSHINE(haha), thing could look brighter. Otherwise FOUR MORE months of rain and drizzle.
I want to hibernate. (grin!)

I tend toward the idea that for a few small beds like these it is very feasible to simply keep them covered for the winter with a thick layer of OM, like leaves or hay/straw, or even coarse/unfinished compost. This will feed the beds much better - over a mild winter of constant leaching - than a cover crop.

Cover crops are a strategy for keeping much larger areas in decent shape without spending a lot of money.

Thank you for your help and advice!

If I put shredded leaves on top of the cover crops, would they die? Or are the cover crops not going to survive anyway and I should just cover them with leaves?

Do NOT cover your beds with leaves at this juncture. It would kill your emerging clover. A killing frost in the next few weeks might wipe out the young seedlings and then you could think about putting leaves on your beds.

I have two areas in which I planted fava beans as a cover LAST WEEK. I soaked the beans for several days inside by the wood stove and I have high hopes that they will soon emerge. The beans were softened and sprouts beginning to form when they were planted. We have no freezing weather in the ten day forecast. I will keep you (all) posted

This post was edited by lonmower on Mon, Nov 18, 13 at 11:01

lonmower, .. good luck with the fava bean. I don't know their growth habit. But I would think that peas like cool weather.

gardengirl, I could be wrong but I don't think your clovers are going to make a contribution as GREEN MANURE. Leaves, on the other hand are good soil conditioner but not much of ferftilizing source. I would till in lots of leaves. Not just pile on top. When you till in they will break down better. And if you have worms, they will speed up the process by converting them into worm casting. And needless to say, I would also add some more on top and cover with clear plastic. This will do two things" Keep the rain water out and solarize the bed to keep the soil warm so that micro organisms and the worms stay active.

Fava Bean Update...

I planted very late Fava Beans for cover in November (see above post) Since then, we have had unseasonably harsh cold winter weather with 8 inches of snow and at least three nights of (record) sub zero temperatures. In the last week, the weather has moderated some, but the daytime highs are only near 40 and the overnights near freezing.

I had pretty much given up on the late planted fava beans and today I noticed they are beginning to emerge from the soil. Oh my...what a wondrous thing patience is!

Hi lonmower, Congrats on your Fava bean.

Glad to see you back and reporting on your fall cover crops.
As you know, I have been of the opinion that as of MID OCTOBER, it was too late to start any cover crop from seeds.But I could be proven wrong. I mixed some fall leaves in my beds and covered them with plastic, to keep the rain our and hopefully to keep it warmer for the micro organisms to stay active. I won't remove the cover untilll April 014.

Anyway, we have had one of the coldest Decembers on record around PNW. However, October and November were normal. Our weather is good for cold crop, BUT I think you have to start them early so they can get them established by early October. Otherwise they will just hang in there. I am looking forward for spring cool crop. And for that I have built a cold frame where I can germinate seeds early. This is going to be a new experiment for me here. It is quite a challenge to germinate seeds in cold soil. But once the cool crops germinate(indoor , cold frame ..), they will grow in cool spring weather.

lonmower - do you like eating favas? A November sown crop should give you beans in late spring. They are our earliest vegetable other than overwintered brassicas and other greens. It always seems a pity to me to miss out on a delicious vegetable by digging in the bean plants before you get a harvest. On the left favas (broad beans) in May from 3rd Spring sowing.