My new experiment

[bodnsoul]

This year I expanded the garden to 50 x 150 and so I have a massive soil improvement project on my hands, as well as a lot more rock picking then I anticipated. So I am trying to make a bed do some serious double duty. I bought a lb of petit pois peas and planted a mixed bed of peas, white and crimson clovers, and winter wheat for the peas to climb on. So after the peas are spent out the clovers will remain until I decide to till them in. I always keep a bag of white clover around and use it to plant in my walkways after a few cultivations and I underplant many crops with it, when the crop is finished I have a cover/green manure crop already in place. This year I am going to try the same thing with crimson clover on my taller crops like corn

 

[Beekissed]

I too will be planting cover crops for composting this fall. Hope to plant buckwheat, as it winterkills and I can plant right into the roots. I am going to attempt a no-till garden from now on.

 

[Southernsibe]

Can you elaborate a bit more on this? I don't know anything about it, and I'm having a hard time finding information that isn't published in a book to buy.

Thanks
Rachel

 

[bodnsoul]

not sure which part you wanted elaboration on, but my bed is just petit pois peas, red and white clover and winter wheat for the peas to climb on. Buckwheat is a summer cover crop hpwever and thrives on warm weather. For a fall cover crop I use the soil builder mix I get from Peaceful valley farm supply, www.groworganic.com, or winter rye, but the mix is legume based and fixes nitrogen and has huge biomass if it has enough time to grow. With my experiment, when the peas are harvested and play out I will till in the whole works and probably plant brussel sprouts or another fall crop in their place.