Cover Crops

I have been reading up on sustainable gardening methods... I have been reading Eliot Coleman, his wife Barb Damrosch, Terra Brockman's new release; 'Seasons on Henry's Farm' most recently, not to forget the usual Rodale's Organic Gardening line up, etc. ...

Today this article Improve Your Soil with Cover Crops from Mother Earth News came to my attention. Always good to gain information from as many sources as possible...this helps to sharpen the focus as I'm trying to gain a grasp of the direction I want to go. Each writer may make just one more statement that makes a certain point more clear for me.

I have been thinking of the use of cover crops for several years. In the vege garden (of course) I have been dealing with the weed problem...mostly keeping somewhat of a grip on it by mulching with flakes of old hay. This does biodegrade and adds to the organic matter in the soil, which is good. It is labor intensive at certain times of the year, when I would rather be doing something else. I cannot handle it by myself as quickly as it needs to be done and must enlist the help of DH. Growing cover crops at the right times would be far less work, I think. And would do more for the health of the soil in the long run...especially by repairing compaction problems and then aeration.

I have some leftover legume seeds that it may not be too late for...not for a harvest, but soil improvement. It's a nice sunny day and have been working in the kitchen garden-- even though the soil is yet a little too damp than ideal after yesterday's three inches of rain. I will make a point of sticking some of those peas throughout some bare spots though as it couldn't hurt and might help.
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Read the book 'Managing Cover Crops Profitably'.  You can order a hard copy, or download it in HTML or as a PDF and read it online.