Summer Cover Crops You Can Eat

Cover crops are essential over the summer months in sustainable agriculture systems.Learn about 3 multi-use summer cover crops for your vegetable garden with Elise Pickett of The Urban Harvest. Using sweet potatoes, cowpea beans, & New Zealand spinach as a sustainable cover crop will protect your soil from a range of issues all while providing you with maintenance-free food over the growing season. Permaculture principles suggest we should always try to have more than one use for a plant and these three certainly fit that description! Using organic, sustainable, & budget-friendly techniques you will learn all about 3 different summer cover crops so you can grow your own productive Florida backyard vegetable garden. This easy how-to home gardening lesson will get even the beginner gardener to feel ready to grow vegetables in Florida.

0:00 Summer Cover Crops for Vegetable Gardens
0:35 Benefits of Cover Crops
1:28 Sweet Potatoes as a Cover Crop
3:00 Cowpeas as a Cover Crop
4:19 New Zealand Spinach as a Cover Crop

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[henerylalli]

I do a lot of searching for Fl. gardening information and I am happy to say, I have found a home. Sorry I took so long. You are the best in disseminating very accurate information with a terrific manner of presentation, please stay active and thank you very much!

[figmodaddy]

Just discovered your videos. Your presentations are really well done. Here in Citrus County zone 9A, I have had to relearn gardening PH, watering, fertilizing and everything else. Two years now and still struggling. 'Up North' we just planted anything everywhere and it grew.

[jleezy]

Very informative and well presented. Thank you providing Florida focused gardening information and tips ❤

[zachariahstillwater]

Thank you so much! I'm in love with the purple sweet potatoes. I have them getting established under the food forest and on the edges of the garden near the fences. I think soon I will build them something to grow up on and maximize my yield

[maritsagarcia]

I’m so happy to find you in fl I’m going to in fl And learning what is good for fl groin in my home gardening

[nancyfahey]

This is my 3rd year growing longevity spinach. Last winter we had 24° and the spinach was wiped out. Good thing I take in and root a couple of stems every year. But the soil I recycled to grow potatoes this year has longevity spinach growing in it. I believe the seeds have taken. I'm amazed at this plant. Grows thru the hottest weather in August..

[LaRa-youknowit]

Another great Florida info video, thx

[joaniedonoghue]

Thank you. 👍 Took your advice and planted cowpeas in my 4x8 bed. They're doing great!

[mygrannysgarden]

Thank you for this video. I don’t plant during the summer because of the heat and bugs. This video has given me insight on using core crops.

[JoshEspinosaRealtor]

You're awesome! Glad I found your channel. 😀👍

[nikiledger]

great video, thx...I'm in zone 9 Louisiana, so I'll be able to use your suggestions.

[JulieMaddux-erww]

Love your informative and visual presentations! I need to get some summer cover crops put in; where do you find seeds for these plants (particularly sorghum, millet) without it being a 10 pound bag?
Thank you!

[peggybuti]

I am planning on cow peas and sweet potatoes!

[bpfsu]

I’ve never heard somebody suggest we not grow in summer in Florida. Maybe mid-summer isn’t the best time to start a garden, but I’ve grown a full garden from April well into October. Okra does stupendous, peppers get a little wilty, but they produce, tomatoes do fine. Obviously lettuce, spinach, and any other cool season crops are a no-go. Half the “cover crops” you mentioned are just summer crops. I was thinking you were going to suggest buckwheat, clover, or vetch.

[EatSeeRV]

You look like such a gardener with that hat - haha love it! Thanks for sharing this. Super cool to learn about how sweet potato actually helps the soil. Never planted cowpeas before. We will have to try that!

[SmallGardenQuest]

The only time we dont grow in our climate is in winter time and our best cover crop is snow :O I would love to live in an abundant climate as yours! :)

[mollytrap]

I’m wanting a perennial low-lying cover crop for five acres of orange orchard to suppress the weeds between each orange tree…so something that does ok in part shade…It seems perennial peanut would be a good option, but it seems difficult/expensive to plant on that large of a scale. Do you have any other ideas?

[maple]

I’ve just read that New Zealand spinach is considered invasive in Florida and California. I grow some in 2 pots, they sprouted very well, multiple plants from one seed. I keep the pots far from the open garden, but I’m still wondering what are the rules about planting invasive plants. Thank you!

[DeeAreDee]

Thank you so much for the amazing resource you've put together here!!!


Do you think it's too late to plant sweet potato slips? I am just now learning that summer in Florida is tough, and I currently have a raised bed at my grandma's house that gets at least 8 hours of strong, baking sun per day. It really is out in the middle of the yard with no tree cover or shade :( I currently am trying to get bush beans, zucchini, cucumber, and tomato to grow there, but some of them are yellowing. Should I try to switch the whole bed to 'summer phase' and cover crop it until fall?


I live in Central Florida, Winter Haven.


Your channel and website has been so helpful, thank you again :)

[amysizemore]

I live central Florida east coast and just played sweet Potatoes in containers and have a spot in my yard that’s full sun. Do you think they’ll grow in beach sandy yard ? Should I loosen the soil and had anything to it ? Thank you