Cover Crop Techniques for Improved Soil Health in Your Garden

Cover cropping is a great way to improve soil health and fertility. It can also help with weed control, erosion prevention, and water retention. Last year, one gardener tried out a tillage radish winter cover crop in his 200 sq. ft no-till garden. The taproot went deep into the soil and drainage seemed very good. The only downside was that the foliage decomposed quickly, leaving bare ground from April through May. To combat this issue, he added 12- 40 pound bags of cow compost.

This past weekend, the gardener pulled up all his plants and mowed down the grass mulch he used during the summer. He then used a garden fork to loosen the soil without turning it over before scattering tillage radish seeds and adding hairy vetch for coverage until he could plant tomato and pepper plants. In the past, he has killed off the vetch by simply mowing it down before planting into it.

The forecast called for moisture in the coming weeks so germination should take place within a few days to a week. However, due to being two weeks late in planting this year, he hopes to get good growth from his radishes and that the weather holds out for the next five or six weeks.

Other gardeners have had success using cereal rye and peas as a winter cover crop. They cut it down when the rye heads appear in early spring. Wheat/rye/lupin mixes have been attempted but lupins don’t survive long enough if planted too late in cold weather. Radishes need 60 days to grow large so they may not reach desired size if planted too late in colder climates.

For those living in areas with low to mid 20s overnight temperatures and warmish days, diverse cover crops are possible since most plants won’t die over winter nor will they grow much either unless planted far enough ahead of cold weather setting in. Grandchildren can keep us young and busy but napping more during the day after they leave is sometimes necessary!