A note about cover crops

The days and weeks of the last month have virtually jumped up off my calendar and disappeared. I don't know where they went and I seem not to have much to show for the lost time except 5 kittens have new and loving homes (as of yesterday), my fall garden's seeds are starting to rear their delicate green heads and I am no longer invested in a group a crazies. Well, maybe I have accomplished a lot after all but it's all seemed like a dream and I was simply a drone getting everything done. Tonight the last two adopters are picking up their new kittens and I'll juts have one more to place. Tomorrow we will finish building our honey extractor and maybe after that, I can go back to my normal life and possibly find my camera cord! Now wouldn't that be nice?

As of right now I have planted cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, scallions, lettuces, potatoes, beets, turnips cabbages, brussles and bok choy as well as lots of flowers. I just realized that fall and winter crops don't take up nearly as much room as the summer vegetables. After I rip my tomato, peppers and melons out, I'm going to have a ton of space available. One thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn't let your soil go dormant for more than a month if you can. If you aren't growing anything in the soil then the microbes and nutrients leave you with nothing but dirt. So, my empty beds leave me with a predicament. I'm going to plant hairy vetch (image above) where my tomato plants and pepper plants were, clover between my cabbages, and oats and rye in the other beds. Those of you in the cooler states, you can plant hairy vetch and rye. They are generally hardy enough for your cold winters and they also fix nitrogen in the soil. If you are interested in cover crops and green manuers, here is a link to a overview of these crops from the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. Keep your soil in good shape and you will be so pleased with yourself next spring. I promise.

One other bit of advice that I read in Organic Gardening magazine this month is: Don't react to pests in your garden for at least two weeks. Usually within two weeks, the beneficial insects will be able to manage your issue.

I'm thinking it would be hard for me to wait around but I'm willing to give it a try.

Still searching for my camera cord,

Daphne