Cover crops, anyone?

Hello DG Family:

Garden season is coming to a close for me. I've still got tomatoes coming by the basket fulls, but my corn is finished. I am starting to do some research on cover crops for the fall.

I have read that rye grass is a good cover crop and that legumes are a good cover crop. I am looking for something that will grow through the winter months. Has anyone done cover crops? If so, what did you use, and did you till it into the ground in spring, or kill it with a contact herbicide?

I need as much information as possible. I am (as I write this) doing a google search on it.

Thanks so much in advance!

Noobs

I use rye, The grain. sown in September- October and plowed down in February as a green manure. Rye grass will work, but can be a bear to kill without using a herbicide. Other small grains like wheat, barley or oats will also work in some conditions but are not as vigorous as rye, The legumes (clovers) are great for the soil but under my conditions interfere too much with my growing seasions. Crimson clover is the most popular. This photo is rye in october

I was thinking of using alfalfa for a cover crop on the veggie garden. Anyone ever use this?

Alfalfa is not a quick crop, good if you are using a 2-3 year rotation.

Thanks, Farmerdill. This may sound like a dumb question, but when you buy the seeds how do you differentiate between the grass and the grain seeds?? I want to make sure I buy the right one.

I usually ask for Abruzzi. Some of the young fellows in the feed and seed only know it as deer rye, since it is planted extensively for winter browse for deer. Annual ryegrass is also considerably more expensive. Rye ( sometimes called cereal rye) is a grain. Annual ryegrass is a small grass seed.

Grain rye

Farmer, I am guessing that the rye might not grow so much further north and be ready to plow under early so as to not interfere with normal planting in the spring.

I know we don't plow here in February nor March nor early April here as it is too wet. I wonder just how well it would till up ?

Indy, It grows better further north than it does here, because the winter is longer. In the New River Valley of Virginia (Zone 6) I could plant it a month earlier and plow it down in April. Here I have to put down very early, because I need to start planting summer crops in April. I have done some with a roto-tiller but it is a bear. Have to mow it first. However with a moldboard plow, it is a breeze. The key is to put it down before it starts to head. Early spring crops of course get no winter cover. They go in as the winter crops come out.

are there other cover crops that are less labor intensive to get rid of??

A few years ago I read an article in Progressive Farmer about planting vetch as a cover crop to enhance the soil in the off season. They then mowed the vetch which would die down in the spring season and not till at all. They simply planted thru the dead foliage of the cover crop. It would then act as a mulch. I have thought often of trying it but have never seen it done...

Works as does most others in no-till farming. But the cover crop is burned down with a herbicide like paraquat which I don't recommend for home gardeners. Corn farmers in Virginia usually used rye, hit it with paraquat, and use no-till planters. Takes pretty powerful equipment to pull no-till planters as they essentially are chisel plows, with the planter placeing seed behind the chisel.

Dad always used 7 TOP mustard greens...they grew all winter and we had plenty to eat...he turned them under before they bolted.

Thanks, Melody.....can you buy them at any co-op or similar place?

Actually Seven Top http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60035/ is a turnip grown for greens, usually sold in bulk at seed and feeds. Winter mustard http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/133963/ is pretty strong for eating but holds through cold weather pretty well. Best holding of the winter brassicas is rape http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/79575/ , with kale running second. They don't have the green manure punch of other winter cover crops, but will hold your soil in place. I usually have patches of turnip, mustard, kale, rape and rutabagas in the winter garden, but just don't think of them as cover crops.