FALL COVER CROPS WISH I KNEW This 10 Years Ago

FALL COVER CROPS WISH I KNEW This 10 Years Ago. I would like to share this UPDATED info about Fall Cover Cropping and How Roots grow soil.

[walterbrown]

I remember the local farmers in southern New Hampshire generally planted "winter rye" in the late fall every year, and often did crop rotation as well. We were taught these things in school in those days. (For the benefit of those of us who lacked some of the upscale amenities like indoor plumbing, we were also taught that the outhouse should always be down the hill from the well )

[johntheherbalistg]

I can't recommend rye highly enough for this. It lets other plants grow around it, but it's capable of growing through wood chips, if you mulch with them, and degrades them insanely fast over the winter. Also, if you keep animals, rye really seems to like gentle grazing and seed foragers. It feeds my chickens very well, and squirrels also eat the seeds

[grammaellen]

This was my 1st full year of backyard gardening. I am in the eastern panhandle of WV. I want to stay organic as much as possible but have hard clay & a million rocks to dig in so I am using raised beds & wicking tubs but would like to try fixing my soil. I grow mostly to support my local food bank. also have moles, rats, gophers & rabbits that I want to trap & put in a pen!!! I am composting & want worms too. I started too late last year to grow much. It was was disappointing but this past Spring, I was ready with seedlings that I grew myself. I am learning @ 75 years old! I had beautiful crops of tomatoes, peppers & many other things too. Some disappointments but lots of successes. I am learning lots & just planted my 1st cover crop (black eyed peas & Crimson Clover that I inoculated) in a small area that I had tried to grow green & wax beans in without much success. This area had been a flower bed that was well-mulched for years & so was a little easier to deal with. Love your information & help. Thanks so much!

[BradBolton-wqub]

My father (old Nebraska farmer) always pointed out that rye as a cover crop is so beneficial because it has such a dense fibrous root mass. So much so that for every ton of green matter on the surface, there is 3 tons of fine brown matter below. This can break up hard pan, pull up nutrients from down deep. Most importantly the amount of earth worms skyrockets mixing the soil.

We would spot seed rye into the weakest soils in huge corn fields. Over many years these weak patches start to match the better soils around them.

Most other cover crops will only have 1–1.5 tons below the surface for each green ton above.

[danielfisch]

We use Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), cow peas, alfalfa and comfrey (thanks to your prior suggestion) as our cover crops and we chop and drop for biomass, and green manure here in Arizona. Great information and thank you for sharing.

[annac]

First time I learned about cover crops! We've been wrongly tilling all these years.
You explained this so clearly. Thank you!

[bosquebear]

I believe you could still plant a mix with only 2 months to grow before freezing as I have read that is the purpose of radish. It grows and gets killed in the fall and then rots and leaves a hole for water and air to enter your soil... It might be smaller than you want but it would still be beneficial... Same thing with planting sunflowers even though they might not have time to bloom, they could still help. I would plant them in a mix that contains winter rye which can take over when the frost sensitives die.

[peter]

One of the best explanations about the benefits of cover cropping I've heard.
Thanks.

[Swaneels]

Great video. Showing roots help us to better understand!

[Mary]

I read that during the depression in the 30’s, the farmers had removed all the ground roots from under their crops because they were told to grow more and more. Nothing would grow anymore and that was the cause of all the dust everywhere. One time this dust went in a huge cloud from the middle of the country (Dust Bowl?) all the way to New York.

[RussSchoonmaker]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience Mark. This is the most informative and insightful soil building video i have ever seen. “Living root over winter”, damn, I too wish I had known about this 10 years ago (in Zone 5a)!

[medi]

The best ever educational and practical video about cover crops and root roles in building soil and microorganisms.

[ChessKombat]

It is a little late but us here in southern Wisconsin, Zone 5a, just planted our first crop of annual rye today. We hope that it will still be able to germinate and loosen/build the soil. This is our first year of starting a garden so we cannot wait for next to see what it has in store. Our neighbors think we are nuts with collecting as many leaves as we have. Thank you so much for so much valuable information you have provided through these episodes.

[nancywebb]

I am in zone 7 and I use a mixed cover cropthat I order from Amazon. It is from Trueleaf market and has 10 types of cover crops. I ordered 5 lbs for $19 with free shipping. I used it in me raised beds last year and found so many worms in the spring when I cut it down an left it as mulch.

[paolomaggi]

Enlightening lesson! I finally figured out what I really need to improve my clay soil, thank you! Your explanation is very clear!

[nancywebb]

I grow greens in my raised beds and have planted winter rye or med red clover between the rows. I keep the cover crops cut down to keep them from shading the greens until they get large enough to not be shaded. I try to keep roots in the ground at all times.❤

[SistersBreakingBad]

One of the best visuals you have given was the sponge. That made so much sense. You are a great teacher

[NautiMates]

Greetings from northern/coastal Massachusetts zone 6A. I've been watching your videos since the beginning, and have not commented before this <sorry>.. I'll just say that your demonstrations are second to none, and as a microbiologist/virologist - I absolutely love when you bust out your microscope! Winter rye is my go-to cover crop here. I wish you the very best and look forward to your future content. Cheers and blessings to you and your family! Eric

[thomas_saved_by_yeshua]

Mark, one of the best teachers I have heard.

[colterthompson]

Thanks for reminding me! I'm going to be going to the store at lunch today and picking up some winter cover crop seeds! First time ever... And I'll be sure NOT to remove the roots of the summer's harvest. :)