Why I Haven’t Used Cover Crops in the Past
One of the most important things to me as an organic gardener is to build healthy soil, so that I can have healthy, nutrient-dense produce. I’ve found that a great way to do that is by building no-dig, lasagna style garden beds.
Cover crops have interested me because of their ability to revitalize soil, but I’ve never actually planted a cover crop because of the recommendation to till them under in the spring. I’m pretty adamant about not wanting to till my garden – here’s why.
I’ve not been able to find a lot of info about using a cover crop in a no-dig garden. As I’ve thought it out, though, I’ve realized that if I planted an annual, rather than a perennial crop, and if I cut it down in the spring before it went to seed, and left it right there on top of the garden, it would act as a mulch.
And that’s why I’m now experimenting with using a cover crop in my no-dig garden.
Benefits of Cover Crops
Cover crops:
- add organic matter as a “green manure”
- prevent erosion
- suppress the growth of weeds
- improve soil tilth
- improve the water holding capacity of soil
- add nutrients to the soil as they decompose
Why I’m Planting Annual Ryegrass
As I mentioned, it was important that I choose an annual cover crop for my experiment. A perennial cover crop would be killed when it’s dug in, but to just cut it as I’m planning to do would allow it to continue to grow. But I still wasn’t sure which cover crop to use.
Soooo, I did the smart thing. I talked to someone who would know. In this case, that was Noah at The Urban Farmer. Noah recommended annual ryegrass because it:
- germinates and establishes quickly
- will shade out weeds
- is inexpensive
- scavenges nutrients (ryegrass prevents nitrogen from leaching from the soil by holding it, and then releases it back into the soil when it dies)
- germinates well in cool soil
- has an extensive root system which helps to prevent soil compaction
How to Plant Ryegrass
So, I ordered a pound of annual ryegrass from The Urban Farmer and got busy planting. We had just started a new area of garden using the method I teach in my eBook The Art of Gardening: Building Your Soil. But instead of topping with a few inches of wood chips as I normally would, I planted my ryegrass.
I made sure to get the seed planted at least a month before the first killing frost for my area. In the spring, I’ll be sure to cut the ryegrass down before it goes to seed so that I don’t create a weed problem.
One pound of ryegrass is enough to cover 1000 sq. ft. The area I wanted to cover is only 18′ x 18′, but I went ahead and used the entire pound. I just sprinkled it on top of my prepared bed (the top layer here is composted leaves) and lightly raked it in. I watered every few days and in about 8 days, I began to see the ryegrass sprouting.
Source
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Tracy @ OurSimpleHomestead says
My dad has good luck with cover crops…he plants one every year and always has great gardens!
Susan Vinskofski says
Tracy, does he dig the cover crop in?
Sonia says
I have used the combination of rye grass, Austrian pea, Hairy Vetch and Crimson clover on my no till beds. I only cover crop beds that will hold the summer season vegetables, because it is important to wait until the rye starts to flower (in VA around May 10th) before cutting or it will just grow back like grass. My husband uses the weed eater to cut the cover crop, making two or three passes so that what is cut down is about 18″ long. We either leave it in place as a mulch or gather it up for building a compost pile. You will need to let the bed sit for one to two weeks while the roots die, because that uses a lot of nitrogen. I try to use my broad fork during those two weeks to try and get air and water into the soil. Those decomposed roots sure do make great crumbly soil. Good luck next spring
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you for the fantastic tips, Sonia!!!
Ray says
I’m using a lot of Daikon radish as a cover crop this year. The foliage is about 18 inches tall after 6 weeks, and covering the entire bed. The radishes are starting to get some size–up to 2 inches in diameter at this point. It’ll frost kill after a couple frosts. The foliage will mulch the surface, the radishes will rot and add much organic matter and channels and, hopefully, a great bed ready for spring planting.
Susan Vinskofski says
Great idea, Ray!
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Toni Zulaski says
I planted ryegrass in most of my 10×30 community garden plot last fall. I was thrilled at the way it blocked out weeds and prevented erosion over the winter. I had expected it to “winter kill” but now it’s growing back. As I prepare my beds for planting, I’m noticing an improvement in the soil texture. (I have clay soil). The problem is getting rid of the ryegrass! I’m no till but find it necessary to turn it under. Is there another solution besides lots of back breaking digging to get rid of it? Can I just mulch over it? What’s your experience?
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, mulching over it should do the trick; a thin layer of newspaper first will help, too.
Gary D Williams says
Reading this in Oct 2016-
Planted cover crops in my small 8×10 community garden plots (tried a mix- clover, field peas, oil radish and mustard)
Hopefully next spring will be my first attempt at no til planting
2 questions-
I see you posted your start with rye grass in 2014-What was your result?
When did you mow/kill, and did you plant through remaining roots/mulch?
Most of the discussions involve late may plantings of summer vegetables
I would like to do early spring kale, beets , carrots-
Any suggestions for how to approach planting these, issues with killing cover crop in Mid March
How long from cutting to planting then?
Susan Vinskofski says
Gary, I don’t feel particularly qualified to answer your questions, since I only planted a cover crop this once and it was 2 years ago. If I remember correctly, the grass did not survive the winter, and so I did not have to do any cutting. The dead grass was already laying on the soil in the spring as a mulch. I did not notice that this bed was any more productive than my normal lasagna style gardening, and since most of the mulch we use is free or inexpensive, we have not continued using a cover crop. I wish you well!
Mike says
In my experience with cover crops, they are EXTREMELY beneficial if you don’t have immediate access to lots of compost like me (I’m still working on building my own). I’ve been planting ONLY cover crops (winter peas, oats, radishes) for the last two years. I don’t dig them under, I crimp them over and let them die right before viable seeds form. That’s acts as green waste compost which seems to be what most people use as their first “lasagna ” layer. Then compost on top of that. Timing is very important with cover crops, but is a much cheaper option to compost (unless you get it for free or make your own). Hopefully I stayed on topic somewhat ha
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you, Mike, for the very useful information!
Ruthie says
Hi Susan, thanks for the helpful info! I’m in the process of building my first lasagna garden now.
Mike, a quick question for you. You’ve used the daikon radish, right? I want to plant them in my garden because of the benefits that you listed, but I heard that they smell when they decompose & that the smell is similar to sulfur or a gas leak (like one person said that folks who lived near her plot (it was a community garden plot), called the gas company!! I don’t don’t want to cause a commotion with my radishes, LOL. Did you experience any bad smells from your daikons & was it as pungent as what other farmers/gardeners described?
Ruthie says
As I reread the previous comments, I see that it’s you, Ray, who used mentioned using daikons. If anyone has any experience with these radishes, and advice would be appreciated!
Susan Vinskofski says
Ruthie, I have planted Daikon radishes but not in mass as you would with a cover crop. I suspect that it’s true that they would smell like sulfur when decomposing since all cruciferous plants contain sulfur.