Life Happens!

Cover crops are an integral component of no-till gardening and play an essential role in building soil fertility, suppressing weeds and relieving soil compaction. To receive all their benefits, however, gardeners should ensure their cover crop has been terminated properly prior to planting their seedlings. Tilling can disrupt soil structure and negatively impact soil organisms like earthworms that provide pore space in the ground. There are other effective means to kill cover crops without having to till. Smothering There are various cover crop species suitable for home vegetable gardens, each offering their own set of benefits such as soil protection,

Continue reading

Cover crops provide many advantages in a home vegetable garden. They help maintain and improve soil structure and fertility, suppress weeds, and support beneficial wildlife. There are a wide variety of cover crop species to select, depending on your priorities and goals. Legumes such as clover or winter field beans may be particularly suitable as they fix nitrogen into garden soils that has become depleted over time. 1. Prepare the Soil Late summer and fall cover crops are planted into empty or fallow garden beds and allowed to mature throughout winter before being tilled up again in spring. Cover crops

Continue reading

Cover crops provide many environmental and soil fertility benefits: organic matter production, suppression of weeds and reduced erosion; improved nitrogen fertilization of the soil; as well as other advantages depending on species chosen. Winter annuals that make an excellent addition to raised beds include sudangrass, buckwheat and hairy vetch. Seeded late summer for maximum yield before frost arrives; no-till and zone-till systems work perfectly well with these winter annuals. 1. Oats Oats make an ideal option for covering the ground in your raised beds, helping protect it from erosion and suppressing weed growth. Oat roots break down to add organic

Continue reading

Home vegetable gardens often go fallow between harvest and spring planting, creating the opportunity for cover crop planting to enrich soil health and build healthier gardens. Cover crops — such as buckwheat, forage radish, winter rye and cereal oats — help build organic matter and aerate soil. Legumes like crimson clover form nodules which work symbiotically with beneficial bacteria in the soil to fix nitrogen efficiently. 1. Nitrogen Fixing Cover crop plants contain high concentrations of nitrogen that are released back into the soil when they die, helping maintain an ample source of plant-available nitrogen (PAN) for subsequent vegetables to

Continue reading