It's finally raining...

... a little too much. Half an inch today. One to two inches tonight. A quarter to a half-inch tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong, we need the rain. But a 2-day long down pour while everyone is planting their fields isn't a great thing, really. I had to go out and buy some straw (not hay, which contains seeds and will import weeds) to lay on my garden in order to keep the soil from washing away (see my previous post as to why THATS a concern).

Which brought me back to the cover crop idea. Last fall, I planted my first cover crop on half of my garden. The idea of a cover crop is this: it fixes nitrogen, keeps the soil in place, keep the soil slightly warmer (better insulation), and keeps the soil aerated. All of which improves the soil structure. Additionally, during normal growth patterns of a cover crop, organic matter is created via the root system growing on a daily basis. Roots, apparently, are much like our skin in that it regenerates on a regular basis - some of it dies and falls off as new skin is created, and it just keeps cycling through. This is what happens to the roots of cover crops, as well, which is one way that cover crops "fix" nitrogen into the soil.

If the soil is better insulated and better aerated through the use of cover crops, there is the added benefit of increased worm activity in the soil, which also goes great lengths to improving the structure of the soil. The worms (and other bugs) are able to be active later into the fall and earlier in the spring than if the soil had been wiped clean with the fall clean up.

So last fall, I planted (perhaps a little too heavily) a cover crop of winter rye. I spent about $4 on the seed, I think, and put minimal effort into planting it correctly (I threw the seed down, scratched up the soil with a garden rake briefly, and watered occasionally during dry spells). The winter rye had enough time to germinate and get some green growth prior to onset of winter. This spring, as the snow was melting off, I noticed two things: 1) the green parts were still green, UNDER the snow and 2) those areas where I planted the cover crop melted first.

I planted the beans and the peas last week in one of the winter rye areas. For now, I just hoed up a row IN the winter rye, and turned under those areas, leaving the areas in between the rows covered with the winter rye, which was growing so well I didn't have the heart to get rid of it all (it's about a foot high now). My theory is that the winter rye, will prevent unwanted weeds from growing, thus saving me much work while further adding to the soil. I may have to go through and trim it soon, or I may have to hoe it under. I'm supposed to hoe it under, but I hate directions. Winter rye, apparently, will grow to about 5 feet tall, which will definitely cause some issues with water/nutrient use and will compete with the vegetables.

BUT there are other summer-type cover crops, including alfalfa and clovers, which will perform the same function. My basic plan is this: to plant varieties of these two plants in strategic areas. Alfalfa along the road, likely (where I am years away from being able to get anything to grow at all) and in areas where I hope to garden next year, low growing clover IN the garden between the rows and taller clover in the butterfly garden.

Once nice thing about the clover is that it will attract bees, which will be good for the plants and, well, the bees (which are having a terrible time lately).

One drawback is that I'm not sure how hard it will be to get rid of the clover once I introduce it to the garden. Maybe it'll die out over the winter. One can hope. I think if I cut it before it sets seed, I can stop it from reseeding for next year, and it'll die out. But thats a big IF.