Gardening

One of the greatest pleasures of gardening is reaping your harvests. While warm season crops such as cucumbers, tomatoes and southern peas should be planted outdoors after their last frost date has passed, you can extend their growing season using a cold frame. Grow leafy greens like spinach and lettuce for easy harvesting. Or try …

Cold frames create an ideal microclimate to shield annual flower and vegetable seedlings from frost during their first winter in their garden, helping ensure successful overwintering for an abundant garden come spring. When used correctly, this simple garden structure ensures successful overwintering – creating vibrant gardens every spring. Construct a basic wooden-framed enclosure and cover …

Cold frames are affordable structures that can extend the gardening season by protecting plants from frost. Constructed from recycled materials, they maximize warmth when positioned southward. Considerations like microclimate, wind breaks, and proper ventilation are crucial for success. Experienced builders can enhance home designs for efficiency and resilience in cold climates.

Cover crops increase soil fertility by fixing nitrogen in partnership with Rhizobia bacteria. Leguminous plants such as clover and peas provide effective weed suppression capabilities as well. Select species that will winter kill in your zone and work well in crop rotation plans, such as grass-legume mixes in northern climates or low-growing clover or hairy …

Weed smothering with tarps is an efficient, low-maintenance way to prepare your garden for planting. Tarps also help protect fragile soil ecosystems from disruption by mechanical devices like rototillers and ploughs. No-till methods rely on maintaining healthy soil structures to create quality topsoil, and tarps help increase plant-available nitrogen for crops. 1. Put the Tarp …

Cover crops such as yellow mustard can improve soil quality while simultaneously suppressing weeds non-toxically and loosening heavy, compacted soils. Brassica cover crops containing mustards and/or rapeseed can effectively inhibit the growth of pigweed, hairy nightshade, puncturevine, green foxtail grass and barnyard grass. Once in place they can be terminated in spring by spraying with …

Oats grow quickly in cool fall weather, making them an excellent way to cover ground newly planted with slow-growing vegetables like kale and spinach. They are also an effective choice for covering beds that have become overgrown with chickweed, henbit or other cool-weather weeds. As oats break down in spring, they release organic matter and …

Joe Thomas is known as one of the greatest outdoorsmen of his time and currently focuses on both big game hunting and food plot creation. This winter, he is using frost seeding techniques to establish clover in his food plots. Frost seeding is an effective and straightforward way to disseminate clover seeds during late winter …

Weeds that go to seed can serve as an effective cover crop that protects and feeds the soil, provided they’re cut before they sprout and spread. Start with plain brown cardboard (bike shops and kayak or canoe stores often provide huge boxes that you can collect free). Next, add a layer of carbon such as …

Many vegetables require direct sunlight for best growth, while there are fruits, herbs and leafy greens which do well under shade conditions – just keep in mind they may take longer to mature! Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum, USDA Hardiness Zones 5-8) makes an attractive ground cover that thrives in shade conditions. This perennial provides dense …

Legumes such as peas and beans act as natural nitrogen fixers by creating a symbiotic relationship with bacteria found in their roots. Rhizobia-containing bacteria create nodules on legume roots that have pinkish or red interiors to indicate they’re effectively fixing atmospheric nitrogen. To maximize nitrogen fixing, legume cover crops must be inoculated with appropriate rhizobia …

Cover crops can help prevent erosion, improve soil structure and boost organic matter. They may also serve as habitat for beneficial insects while suppressing weed growth. When selecting species for erosion control purposes, grasses like winter rye or oats provide excellent erosion protection; while legumes such as crimson clover or hairy vetch provide organic nitrogen …

Jack describes that cover crops such as vetch, crimson clover and oat straw make an ideal selection for no dig gardens. Once harvested before flowering begins, these cover crops can easily be tilled back into the soil or mulched in place to complete this task. This minimal disturbance approach gives the soil time to rest, …

Under hot, dry conditions, living mulches compete with crops for essential resources such as soil water. According to research at UW-Madison, broccoli yields were significantly lower when treated with living mulches than when grown in traditional conditions. Some cover crops have allelopathic properties (they inhibit the growth of other plants), however this effect usually dissipates …

Once your vegetable crops have come to an end, use cover crops as an effective way of adding organic matter and protecting soil against erosion and compaction. Aside from providing organic matter benefits, cover crops can also serve to suppress weeds while decreasing root-knot nematode pressure. Grains like annual rye, oats and wheat build biomass …

Cover crops provide protection from erosion, aeration, suppression of weeds, addition of organic matter and recycling of nutrients in soil. When managed effectively they form the basis of healthy vegetable production for next year. Legumes such as crimson clover, field peas and hairy vetch can act as nitrogen “fixers,” drawing up nutrients through their roots …

Cover crop mixtures should include species that provide desired services (such as weed suppression, soil erosion control and nitrogen sequestration). It is also crucial that growth periods, forms and strategies for nutrient acquisition be balanced to optimize the entire mix as a whole. Winter grains such as winter rye, barley, oats and wheat (emmert, spelt …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Structures such as walls and fences can have an immense effect on microclimates by shading and moderating the weather in their immediate area. A light colored wall reflecting sunlight onto plants nearby could warm them considerably on sunny days, for instance. Shade cloth, frost blankets and insect netting are temporary ways of controlling microclimates in …

Simple field fixes such as cover crops, residue retention, buffer strips and careful machinery use can dramatically decrease runoff and erosion while simultaneously helping protect soil fertility and water quality. Infiltration testing is an integral component of designing stormwater infiltration practices, providing us with an idea of the amount of water soaking into the ground. …

Backyard chickens can be lively little workers. Given time and the right coop, these hardworking birds will provide hours of entertainment, eliminate pests, improve soil health and produce delicious fresh eggs! Though chickens may occasionally damage plants in your garden, many gardeners love working with them and cannot imagine going back. They’re Eco-Friendly Chickens in …