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when to plant cover crop?
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Posted by
egganddart49 6a NY (
My Page) on
Thu, Jun 28, 12 at 11:43
| I have a couple of beds that never got planted, so I want to grow something that will improve the soil by adding organic mass and nutrients. We're just getting into the hot part of the summer so I don't know if I should plant something now and again in the fall? Or is there one crop that can be planted now and will overwinter? There are about 9 or 10 months until I'll plant vegetables there, and I'd like to get the maximum soil building benefit I can.
I was thinking a leguminous crop mixed with a bulking crop, but which one? I'm wary of rye b/c i read that it's hard to remove in spring, but I'm open to learn about any crop.
Thank you |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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| I plant buckwheat. It only takes 70 to 90 days to mature. I turn it under and plant crimson clover over the winter. But I am 7b SC, different conditions. |
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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| Forage [tillage] radishes can be planted from early August on and winter kill in northern areas. Don't plant too thickly for best results and and if planted early enough, they can get gigantic roots. |
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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| evertone is going to have their favorite and each has.a.set.of.advantafes and disadvantages...if nothing else, making one choice precludes others. whatever you plant...if it seeds, it may be hard to get rid of. i have radishes continuing to pop up two years later. and buckwheat...considering i haven't planted it four years it still hangs around. i typically seed rye in early sept. and plow it under come spring...might have.to disc again a couple weeks later. just examples. if i had mowed or tilled the stuff before the seeds set, i'd have no reseeding. unless you have specific.soil issues and know precisely what crop you are planting where...just plant. anything. if you get really wild, plant rye or oats and peas\limabeans\sweet peas. my choice qould be...whatever i can find local...unless i get a deal on shipping from elsewhere, but that's rare. |
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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| Is there time to plant a quick hot weather cover crop that will be done in time to do an overwintering crop? Or one that will continue to grow after I add in an overwintering crop? I guess I need a cold hardy crop for overwintering, and a heat tolerant one for now... Or are there any all-weather cover crops? I've read about it but I'm confused. |
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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Plant a cover crop anytime you will have soil left bare and exposed to the ravages of the sun, wind, and rain. There are a number that can be planted in the spring and early summer, Oats or Buckwheat for example, and even more for the winter. Oats and Buckwheat are fairly fast growing and can be cut down often 30 days after planting, 60 days if you wait for blossom stage.
Given the weather we have been having if I planted now, probably Buckwheat, Io would most likely need to water daily to get germination and early growth. |
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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| this link may be of help http://www.hort.cornell.edu/bjorkman/lab/covercrops/index.php |
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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Here is a link that might be useful: cornell cover crop info
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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| Thanks for your responses. I understand the need for increasing organic material and adding N by planting legumes. But erosion is mentioned as a benefit of cover crops and I don't really get this on a home garden scale (The garden is 45x45', with mounded raised beds.) I guess rain would leach nutrients off the soil on the mounded beds and into the paths? Or drive it deeper down? In any case it'd end up getting used up by microbes? Dry heat would... kill off surface microbes...? It's a very basic question, but important. I just don't really get it. |
RE: when to plant cover crop?
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Rain fall is not the only method of soil erosion, wind is also a factor and can peal off a goodly amount of your soil in a short time. Stand downwind of a baren soil field on a day when the wind is blowing in the 30 mph range and feel the stinging of the soil particles that are being blown about.
The sun beating down on uncovered soils also creates future problems by speeding up the digestion of the organic matter in those soils. These are all reasons why Ma Nature grows what we call "weeds" on bare soils, to help protect those soils from the ravages of the sun, wind, and rain. |
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