Dateline: 5 September 21016 AD
My approach to gardening has changed quite a bit in the 40+ years that I've pursued the craft. At one time, I rototilled the whole garden every year.
In those days I would broadcast winter rye over the garden as a green manure cover crop every fall, and till it into the soil in the spring. The roots and top growth of the rye added a lot of organic matter to my soil. It was good for the tilth.
But when I started using raised beds in my garden, I stopped planting the green manure (and my tiller is rarely used any more). I relied on just compost to get organic matter into my soil.
Now, I've come to the realization that my garden soil was far better off when I utilized a green manure. I can't make enough compost to take the place of a green manure. And it's just not the same.
So, I'm returning to a gardening practice that I never should have left. And I'm returning with the desire to utilize some green manures that I've never used before. For example, in the picture above you can see the bed where I grew onions this past year. It is now planted to oats. Here's a more recent picture of the same bed...
It's fun to watch the oats grow. As I understand it, they will die down over the winter, but they will serve to cover the soil, and the roots will add plenty of organic matter. In the spring, I'll rake the dead top growth and plant the bed.
I'll have more to say about green manures in the days ahead.
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| Young oats. |
Herrick, I read your blog quite often and appreciate your efforts as a steward of our land and have to agree with you on this one. I watch local farmers no till year after year and wonder how can this work without a negative effect at some point in time. I was brought up by an old school farmer: plow,fit, plant and cultivate. Guess we were the early organic farmers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this comment. As I understand it, no till farming is only possible with GMO crops and herbicides. Do I understand that correctly? Without those things, I seems that farming must be done with, as you say, plowing, fitting, planting and cultivating.
DeleteBut I'm inclined to think that gardening is different in that plowing, or rototilling is not a necessity. The soil can be fitted by using a fork to aerate (not turn or mix) the soil, and the top inch or so of the ground can be shallow cultivated to fit it. This is what I've been doing more and more of lately, and I don't see a downside to it..... yet.
I have no hands on experience, but have done a lot of reading so take what I say with a grain of salt.
DeleteMy understanding is that no-till is better for some of the following reasons:
First, when tilling the soil, it brings all the good stuff under the surface up to the top exposing it to the sun and killing it.
Second, it contributes to erosion by more easily washing away in the rain, or blowing away when dry in certain areas.
Third, it brings older weed seeds to the surface bringing in the things you don't want.
So the idea is to not till the soil, holding all the good stuff inside and needing less fertilizers, etc.
But again, that's only from reading, no hands on experience.
Love your blog Herrick, and it's good to be back doing some reading.
I enjoy your blog as often as you post. So, did you till this raised bed before sowing the oats or will you continue to use it as a raised bed without tilling? I garden with raised beds as well and have to buy compost every year. I have been wondering how to incorporate cover crops but my beds are mostly smaller sections. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI did not till the bed before planting. I shallow-hoed the surface of the soil, then made furrows and planted. I don't intend to till or dig the bed in the spring. I will probably go down through with a fork to aerate the soil, then work up the surface with a hoe and plant.
DeleteIn the case of the winter-killed oat tops. I will rake them off and put them in the compost pile.
There are two components to a green manure... Roots and top growth. The roots alone can be a very significant source of organic matter.
With my beds, I intend to grow different green manures primarily for the root mass that will be left underground after the top is harvested, or winter killed. Depending on the plant, the top growth can be harvested to be used as a straw mulch in the garden, or it can be incorporated into the compost pile. It won't go to waste.
I've grown quite a bit of buckwheat in my garden this summer as a green manure. It's too coarse to incorporate into the soil without a tiller, which won't work in a garden bed. But I can cut the buckwheat low, leave the roots in the soil and use the tops elsewhere. Then I can plant another green manure between the buckwheat rows, or plant a crop.
The amount of root mass that some green manures generate is amazing. And that's the source of organic matter (along with some short top stubble) that I'm looking to tap into.
Hi Herrick, Are there different kinds of green manure plants that should be used after a specific/certain crop have grown in that space? I have been for the last coupe of years, been cutting off the bean plants at the ground level and having the roots to decompose in the ground. Don't really know if it is doing any good but seemed like a good idea at the time. Guess I'll get some oats from Johnny's right now and put in all the beds in the greenhouse/HT. After looking at your Kale plants, I went right down and put in a few of my own. They came right up and are doing well. So today, I started a whole row of kale and two half rows of Collards andSwiss Chard all in the HT. Hope this storm doesn't yank the cover off the darn thing!. Take care, Everett
ReplyDeleteHi Everett,
DeleteThere is a lot of information about cover corps/green manure on the internet and I've been reading quite a bit over the past few weeks. There are plenty of options. I have purchased several of the cover crop seeds from Johnny's to try out. Mustard is supposed to be especially good as a cover crop. There are YouTube videos too. I also left my bean roots in the soil this year. Any root that won't regrow does a lot of good when left in the ground. I thought of you when I heard about the storm coming up the coast. Stay safe.
I used rye two years ago, though I do continue to use a tiller. It was turned into the soil a bit late in the spring due to weather conditions, but still before heading. I had the fewest weeds in years! Last fall I used wheat. It didn't work as well, though other factors may have played a roll. I intend to sow rye again this fall - soon. Now, Herrick did you use a seeder in those beds or some other method??? Those are some neat rows!
ReplyDeleteHi Ted,
DeleteThere are two kinds of rye. Winter rye and annual rye. The winter rye can be planted late here in the northeast and get established and survive the winter and take off in the spring. I'll be writing about this cover crop soon because the statistic I have on root growth is almost hard to believe. But Eliot Coleman won't use winter rye. I'll explain why in the upcoming post. I used a string line to make furrows to plant those oat rows. :-)
I'm changing my beds next season. I'm going to use the lasagna method. Our soil is cement-clay! We've only lived here one year, and this was our first garden here. We did fine with our garden, lots of produce. But the soil needs more amendments than we care to purchase. Oh, I have lots of excellent compost, but not enough for a 1/3-rd acre garden. I love the lasagna method. Why put in hours and hours of labor trying to amend this mess when we can build beautiful, healthy beds on top of our current cement-soil. This year I'm simply covering the beds with cardboard and covering them (and the walkways) with a thick layer of wheat straw. I'm looking forward to next season, although our garden is still producing like gang busters. I'll be planting cover crops next year and we are going to purchase the 14" Meadow Creature broadfork for next season as well. Your garden is beautiful (as usual) and I look forward to more posts from you to see how you like your new beds.
ReplyDeleteHappy Day To You ~ Bobbie
Hi Bobbie,
DeleteIf you have a clay soil, and you have a plow pan from past decades of plowing the soil, you might want to look into tillage radishes as a cover crop. They will pierce the plow pan and loosen the soil. They're pretty amazing. It's a good idea to try different gardening ideas until you find what suites your particular soil/climate and personal inclinations. Here's wishing you the best with lasagna gardening!
I am still unsure about the practicality of green manure crops especially on my smaller suburban block. I certainly understand the theory but I seem to get enough rich food for my soil from my 7 hens, compost and teas made from weeds. Am I missing something vital by not doing green manure cropping?
ReplyDeleteMr. Home Maker,
DeleteIf you are satisfied that what you are already doing is working well for you in your garden, then you're all set. Do (or stick with) what is working for you.
In my case, I've come to the realization that I think my soil health is not what it should and could be. And fertility is more than just amendments. There is a lot of new research these days into the subject of the soil web and it is downright interesting. One of the things that encourages a diversity of healthy life in the soil is a diversity of crops and continually growing ROOTS in the soil. Cover crops (green manures) have been used by farmers for centuries because they contribute to soil health and science is just starting to understand why. A fallow bed, with no growing plants on it, is not converting sunlight into carbon (fertility) and sequestering it in the soil. And the fertility that is already in the soil is leaching. The activity of life in the soil is declining in such ground. With a continuous cover of plants and roots in the soil, the soil is more alive and vibrant. The roots and the microorganisms around the roots are extracting and generating fertility in many ways. A soil that is more alive and bio-fertile is going to grow better food.
That concept is what is motivating me to pursue green manures in my garden. Thanks for the question.
Enjoying this discussion and looking forward to more information. I used buckwheat as a cover crop this year. It grows fast and is beautiful as it grows. I sowed it by broadcasting the seed by hand heavily as the seed was a couple of years old. It came up very well. I planted it in the bed where garlic had grown. The plants were large and flowering when I chopped them up with a shovel as I dug them in then let the bed sit a few weeks before planting broccoli and cauliflower. The buckwheat had broken down well and the soil was very nice.
ReplyDelete