Green Manure/Cover Crops

[JackJ]

It's been a while since I've been serious about vegetable gardening, but I want to start upping my game for next year.

I'm in southern Indiana, with heavy clay soil. I regularly work in compost, but I'm interested in learning more about a late season planting of a fall "green manure" crop. I see some of the main mail-order seed companies offer seed mixes for this purpose, but they get kinda pricey when shipping is factored in. I don't see anything similar from Rural King/TSC, though they do sell "forage" mixes which seem to be marketed as ways to attract deer. Last thing I want is more deer! (Though my garden is fenced.)

Anybody put together their own seed combinations for soil improvement? Any tips on when to plant, and when and how to eventually work the results into the soil?

 

[Creature Meadow]

I plant a mix of oats and wheat which I purchase from my local farm supply store. About $15 to $17 a bag each. I could buy cheaper from local farmers but then you run the risk of spreading more weeds, you get what they grow!

During the winter it will only get about 6" to 12" tall here in NC and in the spring when it starts to grow I set my mower height at 6" and cut it 2 or 3 times. I then disk it in.

For the summer buckwheat is an excellent choice for putting organic mater back into the soil. As it grows cut it again and again.

I have 2 gardens side by side. I use buckwheat on a 3 year rotation in each to help build the soil and all the leaves each year I can put in and disk in.

Keep a check on the ph, critical for plant growth and yield. If the plant cannot take in the nutrients due to ph being out of wack then all the work for neal.

Good luck.
Jay

 

[Bulldog777]

With heavy clay I would use lime. Of course, a soil sample is always helpful. Mushroom compost is great if you have access to it. I planted elbon rye last winter, supposed to work on nematodes. I plant peas, but I have a solar powered electric fence. I benefit from peas, and the ground gets the nitrogen. If you have a local extension agent, they should be familiar with your area and what works the best for your soil. In my opinion($0.02), lime and vegetative matter are the key to conditioning the clay soil. And it will take a little time and work, but the results will get better each year.

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[Tim Horton]

Here in the GWN in our part of the bush, we are no better than a zone 2. That means we have an average of last frost to first frost of about 50 days. Like said that is average, some years more, some less.

With that in mind we garden raised bed and containers. Works best for us. We compost rabbit barn cleaning, chicken barn cleanings, and donkey paddock cleanings along with some pickup from behind the brush hog mower from pasture maintenance mowing, and material from town compost site. (really cheap) Several piles of this mix left to cook and rotate use has worked well.

All of this I learned from watching sweetie as she is the brains and nurturer, I just run machinery and do the physical work.

 

[skeets]

Here in the coal country when I had a bigun, in late fall I would do winter wheat,, why ,,,cause an old guy told me they did it forever.... till sow let it grow till early spring, cut and till some more. We have heavy gumbo here too and over the years it did help ,,, a lot !

 

[Bulldog777]

Here in the coal country when I had a bigun, in late fall I would do winter wheat,, why ,,,cause an old guy told me they did it forever.... till sow let it grow till early spring, cut and till some more. We have heavy gumbo here too and over the years it did help ,,, a lot !

I've been thinking about planting winter wheat. Not a lot of wheat seeds in this party of the world...... Looks pretty in pics though.

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[skeets]

TIM HORTON!!!!!! Bring on the doughnuts and coffee,,lol