Cover Crop?

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It has been so pretty stuff is still going but I pulled everything and planted my Cover Crop.

Is there some way I can plant my Cover Crop and still have regular garden?

big rockpile
 
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Haha. Great question.. I guess it all depends on what is considered a “regular garden “. Many people will say the cover crop is part of a regular garden

A trend that is emerging in these environmentally aware times is biodiversity ..
planting in big blocks of the same crop can be a problem for the soil nutrients, pest control etc etc. and so cover crops/green manure are used. Nothing worse than bare soil .
But now. There are things like “forest farming / planting “ crops amongst the trees mixing it up. ( ok this is being explored in rain forest areas to preserve the environment. And also woodlands/farms around the world in small experiments)
But how does that relate to Regular garden. Well here in the uk we have a thing called the cottage garden. Originally a small patch of ground for the peasants to grow and provide everything they needed, probably with a pig and a couple of chickens in the corner ( actually the pigs would have a room in the house,the rotting manure and animals would help keep the cottage warm)

Anyway. The point is. Everything grown was mixed up. Fruit trees, woody shrubs and herbs flowers and vegetables when ever there was a space the next thing was planted.leeks dotted around a cabbage in that corner and another over there. etc. the point is there was never any need for a cover crop because it was always covered by crops. Any bare soil were just crops waiting to be harvested carrots, parsnips etc and they had the all the cut plant growth over them as a protective barrier which was then dug in no need for a cover crop

I could bang on ages yet. I did something like this in a large walled garden a few years back great fun

check out the permaculture association
 
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You could’ve taken out what had gone over and planted your cover crop in those open spaces. It takes time for the seeds to sprout anyway and by then more plants will need to be removed, etc.

That said, it’s more work in the end IMHO than clearing it out all in one go , planting the cover crop and being done with it.
 
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My son don't like tilling my mulch of Cardboard and Straw.

I'm thinking pull my mulch up and Compost it. Work the ground and plant Cover Crop between rows. Then mulch it in the Spring, throw Compost and some Wood Ash on it and till it up.

Thing is I don't have the Luxury of having a separate patch of ground to make perfect. I have 20X40 foot space which is a work in progress which is getting better every year.

Soil Test now shows it perfect but I feel I can give more.

big rockpile
 
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My son don't like tilling my mulch of Cardboard and Straw.

I'm thinking pull my mulch up and Compost it. Work the ground and plant Cover Crop between rows. Then mulch it in the Spring, throw Compost and some Wood Ash on it and till it up.

Thing is I don't have the Luxury of having a separate patch of ground to make perfect. I have 20X40 foot space which is a work in progress which is getting better every year.

Soil Test now shows it perfect but I feel I can give more.

big rockpile
Check out “No Dig Gardening “. Lots of info on the web but I recommend the RHS. an ancient and well trusted source of horticultural knowledge
 

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