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Today is August 29. As I enjoy the delights-in-progress of the summer garden I can't help but begin planning for the killing frost in the back of my mind. I am hoping to get a good 60 days of dahlia blooms, a few pumpkins, and a good crop of gourds.
Gardening is all about planning…projecting out a month or two and mentally preparing our "to do" task lists. Proper timing of good gardening practices work in tandem with nature's own calendar to ensure successful results.
So…around the garden I tour, and into the sheds I head to make plans for the next month. There are perennials that will need to be relocated, others will need to be divided, and yet others will be tossed. There are many tools in need of repair, cleaning or replacement. In the corner of the potting shed I spot a round little black mouse helping himself to something in a brown paper bag on a shelf. Upon closer inspection I find the remnants of last year's winter rye grass seed - a reminder that planting a cover crop must be added to the "to do" list as now.
Most of us are committed to maintaining our compost pile as a source of humus. We use this matter to add organic material and nutrients to our soil. Other natural ways to add humus and further benefit is to grow green manure and/or cover crops in our gardens. Here are definitions and the difference between the two concepts.
Green manure are plants grown to be chopped, tilled, and spaded into the soil while they are still green, but before they produce their seeds. This plant material will break down very quickly, providing us with the benefit of additional nutrients and an improvement in our soil's texture. Green manure is grown in the main gardening season, after a harvest or in-between maturing crops.
Green manure is also known as summer cover crop. Best to use are Buckwheat, Millet, Oats and Soybeans. The area should be fertilized before planting. Other plants to use include legumes such as soybeans, cowpeas, and clovers. The later plants have nodules on their roots that house special nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genus Rhizobium. The bacteria take free nitrogen from the air, convert it to forms usable by plants and hold it. When legumes are used for green manure added nitrogen is not needed. Green manure is planted between March and June, and typically plowed under between May and August.
Winter Cover Crops are grown for a different reason. They are grown when the soil contains no crops - either before or after harvest. This is a very important organic gardening practice. Other than adding critical organic matter, cover crops increase absorptive activity and stimulate the biochemical processes in our soils. The cover crop will also assist us by choking out weeds and preventing soil erosion during winter months. Cover crops are planted in late summer/early fall, giving them an opportunity to cover the soil surface before the winter. Between August 15 and September 15 is the ideal time to plant Winter Cover Crops. The best plants to utilize are fast growing rye, wheat and rye-grass…non-legumes. These plants have large fibrous root systems, again assisting in the prevention of winter erosion and adding organic material to our soil when plowed under. Plowing under occurs on May 1 in preparation for our May vegetable and flower planting. Rye-grass is not as coarse as wheat or rye and has a darker green color. Of special note, rye-grass seed can be easily scattered in the garden on August 15 without interfering with your current crop activities. This is my cover crop of choice because of the resulting appearance over the winter. Quantity to spread of rye-grass is 1/2 to 1 lb. per 1,000 square feet. If you would prefer to use rye or wheat, seed at 2 1/2 lbs per 1,000 square feet.
As spring unfolds the cover crop will be ready to be mowed. Yes, like a lawn. Keep the material mowed with a lawnmower until it is time to till it under May 1st. Be sure to leave the clippings on the "lawn". A second tilling is also recommended to thoroughly break up growth. These practices will assist the material to decompose quickly, allowing us to plant our vegetables and flowers in late-May. The resulting plant material introduced to the soil is equivalent per acre to a ton of high-grade fertilizer.
Properly grown cover crops will contain approximately 2 percent nitrogen, 0.5 to 0.8 percent phosphorus and 3-6 percent potassium. There is a challenge of temporary nitrogen deficiency after turning the winter crops over. A supplement of 1 ounce of ammonium sulfate or sodium nitrate per square yard can be used. I haven't found the need to do this, though I'm sure value would be gleaned from this practice. Maybe I'll try this next spring.
I hold a special place in my gardening program for winter cover crops. You see, our family never had a front lawn. When I was a child the front 1/2-acre was designed with beautiful flowerbeds. One day my father decided the back yard had become too shaded for his vegetables. Then came the switch. The front yard was dug, compost was added, and organic vegetable gardening took hold in full view for all that passed by. The magic of a beautiful front lawn (which was very much in vogue at the time) became a reality for us and the envy of our neighbors each October through April as the winter rye took hold as a beautiful, absolutely perfect carpet of green. We've been enjoying this wonder every winter over the last 30 plus years.
For now, I think I'll let the little black mouse enjoy last year's winter rye seed as he fattens up and hides his treasure for the upcoming cold season. This weekend I'll buy fresh for 2008 and immediately seed it into the garden. A final note: purchase your cover crop seed early -- the garden centers run out very quickly!
Acknowledgements: Lessons learned from my Dad, Vincent P. Raiola and Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, 1959, J. I. Rodale
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Copyright© 2007-2008 The Guilford Garden Club Last modified: 08/17/2008 |
