Winter cover crops

[damummis]

Does anyone grow a winter cover crop? I am trying to figure which is best for zone 6. I am looking into winter rye but it seems it can cause some issues.

What about a cover crop that can be harvested for a food source.

Educate me people.

 

[digitS']

Your concern about winter rye is perhaps that it may be hard to kill, right? That's certainly true if it is too short to be pulled in the Spring.

If I can find room for seeding by the 1st of August, winter rye (cereal rye) will be waist-high by May! It has a tremendous root mass but I find that it is very easy to pull.

Planting later in the growing season here means that it will make very little growth before real cold weather sets in. Small plants are difficult to pull by hand and may take repeated tilling to kill. Otherwise, you have planted a weed crop :/!

Winter wheat has the same issues . . . maybe a little, less so.

Nothing much else makes it thru a sub-zero winter. I've tried winter peas -- about 10% survive to Spring. Mustard dies, altho' it might be a choice for you.

Steve

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Buckwheat and plain old clover is popular at our elevation. 2100 ft. Sierra foothills.

 

[hoodat]

I'm using a red clover/chicory mix on a particularly bad piece of ground. The clover adds nitrogen and the chicory has a long tap root that brings mineral up from deep in the ground so they can be used. I'm hoping this will do the job and make that patch productive.

 

[obsessed]

how big is your garden? Do you have a tiller? I have 3 8x4 beds that I planted Parks cover crops mix in last winter. It had some rye in it. Well anyway. I found that it was not easy to pull up by hand and ended up through my back out and having a cyatic nerve problem with after trying. So I didn't get it all out and now I have it growing every where and not just in the garden. So I guess if you have a larger garden that you can actually but a tiller on and not raised beds it could be good. I won't do it again though. I was hard on my back and I will probably be dealing with it for a while.

 

[hoodat]

Sounds like what you need is a Mantis type tiller. They only weigh 21 pounds and are maneuverable enough to use in raised beds. I like the electric best even though they have less power. You don't have to worry about all that mixing fuel and starting.

 

[damummis]

I have 4 gardens ranging from 8x10 to 40x50. I do have a tiller but I am trying to get away from tilling. That is now the chicken's job.

 

[wifezilla]

I don't till anymore either. All it does is invite bindweed and goathead invasions. Ever step on a goathead seed pod in your bare feet???


Now I just lay down newspaper or cardboard and cover it in partially composted duck bedding. I am getting ready to do that now. The ducks have nastied up their straw nice and good for me They are helpful like that!

 

[lorihadams]

Does anyone do this in raised beds?

 

[wifezilla]

Some of my beds are raised. I made some of the raised bed by putting using timbers for edging, laying cardboard on grass, covering it with duck compost and then adding topsoil. Hardly any weeds to speak of. Great lettuce crop too.