today's garden work

At my community plot:
- Clean up and compost the last of the squash vines.
- Rack beds all smooth (except one with beans, fennel and tomatillos still growing)
- Spread and rack in cover crop seeds (I used Johnny's green manure mix: rye, clover, vetch and field pea)

little winter rye sprouts

I planted my winter rye seed really late (Nov 10) so I'm really happy to see it sprout.

garlic and cover crop order

A couple days ago I ordered:

Great Garlic Combo - 8 oz of Duganski & 8 oz of Susanville from Territorial Seed Co. 8 oz = about 30 cloves.

I think this may not be enough garlic to produce enough to eat and plant next year. I didn't grow enough this year.

So I'm ordering from Johnny's:
Garlic, New York White (softneck, 3 heads)(link)
Garlic, German Extra-Hardy (stiffneck, 3 heads)
Fall Green Manure Mix, 1 lb(link)

The garlic is back ordered till Oct 1, but that's fine.

The green manure is a cover crop that worked well for me last year. The only trick is getting it in early. It'll go in after the tomato, squash and corn beds are cleared. The tomatoes might as well come out now as they aren't doing much. The beds that are cleared late will be planted with winter rye seed, which I get at my local True Value hardware store.

thick cover of clover and rye

I'm pleased with the patch of green manure I planted early this fall. The clover and rye did very well though the field peas and vetch didn't do much. My later sowings (too late) did not sprout as well.

topic: soil

winter cover crop

For a cover crop this year I am trying Johnny's winter green manure mix. It sounds like most of the nitrogen fixing components are cold sensitive and will winter kill (field peas and clover), while others (winter rye) are cold hardy. If the fall is mild, I'll get a good growth of the first group. If it gets cold soon, I'll just have the rye. I think vetch is a more cold hardy and also builds nitrogen. I'll keep and eye on these and see how they do.

I planted this same mix in my squash bed a few weeks ago and its sprouted nicely. But I ran out of seed and had to order more. I guess I spread seed thicker than recommended. I planted this entire 1 pound package on my new space (about 320 sq ft), while it was supposed to cover 1000 sq feet. I just spread it manually and hate the thought of not having enough.

I'll have to pick up some winter rye seed at my local True Value. Its pretty cheap seed. I'll use this for other spaces that I don't clear out until frost.

Here's a really good site with information on cover crops for the home garden (Oregon St Univ Extension).

topic: soil

winter cover crop

Ouch - my first mention of the word "winter"....

My cover crop is sprouting. Little bits of green between the wood chips and the garden tools. I pulled my beans and squashes, limed and planted cover seeds last week. I have a mix called "Fall Green Manure Mix" from Johnny's Selected Seeds. As Johnny's writes: "A mix of winter rye, field peas, ryegrass, crimson clover and hairy vetch. The peas, clover and ryegrass will winter kill to provide organic matter and soil cover. The hairy vetch and winter rye will regrow in the spring to provide nutrients for crops to utilize."

Most of my garden areas still have crops growing. I won't clear them until frost. In these areas I'll plant only the hardy winter rye.

topic: soil

rye seed heads

I am enjoying watching some plump seed heads mature in my garden. I think these are probably rye, which I plant as a winter annual cover crop. I'd love to be able to prepare edible seed from these. I know nothing about grains, but they are interesting to watch.

clover as a ground cover

I have a new crop of Crimson Clover. The leaves are very pretty after the rain. They collect the droplets like shiny jewels.

The clover is in the garden bed adjacent to my house. This bed has lead levels too high for vegetables. I had cleared the shrubbery from this area before testing the soil. I am planning to fill the bed slowly with flowering perennials and small bushes. In the mean time, I've planted clover. Soon it will bloom with flowers the bees should enjoy.

Scattered in the clover are a few seedlings of pumpkins, sunflowers, dahlias and some wildflowers I grew from seed this spring. There are also three large barrels that I planted with chiles and bell peppers. I'll plant bean seeds soon in a few window boxes along the edge.

chile and bell peppers (Capsicum)

topic: soil