Wed 7 Jan 2009
Cover crops are beneficial in many ways. Tey provide a cover to the soil in unused areas of your garden in the summer and they can protect beds in during the harsh winter months. They are also effective at blocking weeds from forming in new beds. They can also be tilled into the soil directly as a green manure.
Cover crops will also protect your garden from the effects of erosion and will aid with soil drainage. The cover crops will house nutrients that otherwise may be leached out of the soil. When you want to release thoses nutrients back into the soil simply cut down the cover crop. You can leave it on the surface like a mulch or till it into the ground.
Cover crops are fairly easy to plant. You simply sow the seeds in wide arcs over your garden. When you finishe the first pass then sow at right angles to your first pass.
The four most common cover crops are.
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Alfalfa Alfalfa is a perennial legume that makes the soil rich in nutrients. It also has a deep root system that will help your soil’s drainage and pull nutrients up from deep in the soil. Plant alfalfa in spring or late summer. You need to let it grow for a full year or longer to get the best results. Sow 1/2 to 1 oucne of seeds to every 100 square feet. It can be hard to work alfalfa as green manure into the soil by hand. |
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Annual Ryegrass
If you live in a cold region then annual ryegrass is one of the few options for fall planting since it can germinate and grow before the first frost kills it. Plant ryegrasss in early fall. Sow three to five ounces of seed for every 100 square feet.Be sure to cut it down before its growth gets out of hand. |
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Buckwheat
Buckwheat is a very inexpensive and easy to plant cover crop. It will flower after seven weeks. It will block weeds and is easy to till into the ground by hand. Plant buckwheat in spring or summer sowing three to five ouncesof seed per 100 square feet. |
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Clover
Clovers fix nitrogen defecencies in the soil and prevent erosion. Plant the m in the spring or late summer. Most will survive through the winter. |
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May 23rd, 2010 at 7:16 am
Hello i am happy to find it thanks for sharing it here. Nice wo