Green Manure..cover crop

[theboman]

What should I use as a cover crop on my garden and when is the best time to sew? etc etc etc.

The corn and beans have been picked. Still enough tomatos for a small city. The cucumbers have pickled out. The squash & pumpkins have pretty much decided they are no longer needed in this dry weather and looks like the vines are dying.

I've learned a lot. 1.5 lbs of green beans is a lot, especially when they all come in at the same time! 30 tomato plants are about 15 more than I need. 1 lb of corn wasn't enuff.

 

[gobbler]

Here in NE Missouri, I've been using winter wheat and winter rye. There are cold hardy so they can be planted in late summer - early fall. It sure has made a difference in my garden soil. I usually turn it in sometime in April. (Of course, now I don't have to borrow my neighbors tiller. hehehe)

Jim

 

[Stonewall]

I use winter Rye and put it in after the first frost. This year the garden was a total bust on the front range of Colorado. NO rain and even the well is not recovering like we need it to. Have bought water for the house 3 times already! Pull up or till in your stalks after the 1st frost and then sew in your Rye. Let it go all winter and into the spring. Till up only what you want to plant right then and let the rest go (but not to seed) and till it up as needed. It will bring up nutrients from deep in the soil and when you till it under the top soil gets fed. Next year think about staggering your plantings so you don't get hit at once with everything. You can get spinache and lettuce in the fall untill it snows!

 

[Argee]

Winter rye is the cover crop of choice for the midwest. To add a little twist to the mix you might want to blend in some hairy vetch with the winter rye seed before sowing. They are very compatible. The hairy vetch, being a legume will fix nitrogen into the soil which will be readilly available to whatever you plant in the spring. Definitely till in cover crop before it goes to seed so it doesn't become a nuisance.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Here in the Northeast, NJ, I use buckwheat until the first frost and then use winter rye for the winter. The buckwheat is grown until it produces white flowers, when it does, I till it under, wait a week for it to break down and then plant another crop until the frost hits. We usually take one row, 4’ by 50’ out of production each year, so I do this all summer long until fall. Can get 3-5 plantings until the frost. A 50 lbs bag is about $25.

Tom

 

[upgw]

Well, I planted Hairy Vetch one year, it came in thick and lush, and tilled under easy. Unfortunately, it came back in the spring, and ended up in all my flower beds...year after year. I'd try winter rye.

- Patrick W.

 

[BrettW]

Dumb question but is winter rye the same as annual rye grass? thanks. bw

 

[Egon]

I beleive annual rye grass is one of the grasses used for lawns. Its not the same as winter rye.

Egon

 

[TresCrows]

I could be wrong, annual rye and winter rye are the same thing. Often used for a cover crop and temporary ground cover. Perinial rye is a lawn grass used in some areas. Like all pernials it comes back from roots, rhzomes etc each year. It is a cool season grass similar in nature to lawn fescues. There are several new varieties of Pernial rye that are much imporved and are excellent for lawns. J