Long term cover crops?

[Ruderunner]

Fall is here and I've got an idea. Probably a bad one.

But my neighbor and I are starting leaf clean up and it occurred to me that a thick layer of chopped leaves might work well for protecting and feeding the soil over the next season.

I'll probably have to add lime to adjust the ph but this hopefully will break down into good organic matter over the next 12 to 16 months.


What am I overlooking?

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Fall is here and I've got an idea. Probably a bad one.

But my neighbor and I are starting leaf clean up and it occurred to me that a thick layer of chopped leaves might work well for protecting and feeding the soil over the next season.

I'll probably have to add lime to adjust the ph but this hopefully will break down into good organic matter over the next 12 to 16 months.


What am I overlooking?

I like t when I pick them up with the lawnmower so there is a bit of grass mixed in. Just leaves add organic matter and are excellent for moisture retention, but there is not actually a lot of nutrient in them. The ph usually adjusts itself fairly rapidly.

 

[Ruderunner]

I'm thinking more along the lines of a biodegradable tarp to choke the weeds. This can then be tilled in, along with next summers grass clippings and leaves from the following fall.

I'm not planning to plant or seed until possibly March 2025.

The moisture retention is a big plus for us being on well water.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I have used old woollen carpets and cotton towels in the past. Careful with carpet though, I have had ones that smelt like wool when I singed them, but had an artificial thread running through them them that didn't show until the wool had decomposed.

 

[Ruderunner]

Actual wool carpet is nearly non existent in my area. Hasn't been a thing for decades.

I have used old carpet for other purposes. Had a boggy area in the yard that kept swallowing the gravel we would add. I found a couple rolls of carpet from a home remodel and laid that down before gravel and it stopped the sinking.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The impoverished Brits. often wait decades before changing their carpet

 

[Ruderunner]

Meh, carpeting, vs rugs, wasn't that common when wool was the predominant material. Say pre WWII. Fully carpeted rooms were rare and often reserved for bedrooms or dens. Lightly traveled areas.

Hardwood with area rugs was much more common.

Things changed after WWII and the advent of synthetic fibers which were readily available and factories were desperate to continue making.

And then there's linoleum/ marmoleum. Again, took of in popularity postwar.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

We put down wool carpet when we moved in here four years ago, and in our previous house.

 

[Ruderunner]

Must be a location thing then. I suppose England has more sheep per capita than the US?

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) will definitely smother any weeds, provide cover and require virtually zero maintenance. However you will need to keep them in check the following year and make sure you dig them all up before replanting with other things. They are apparently an excellent potato substitute for diabetics. They also make an excellent brandy, which is what most are used for in Germany. They dry them before fermenting and distilling them. Know any moonshiners? Or get your own complete compact stainless steel still from Vevor on line - in various convenient sizes!

It was popular at one time for hipp.... er.... hobby farmers to clear their land by growing Jerusalem artichokes to eradicate weeds, then turn pigs on them to dig them all up and eat them, tilling and fertilizing the soil as they went. Pheasants love them too for forage and cover. So, let's see, you plant your chokes, sit back and relax and get pheasant and porkot eat and your land is ready for your crops! Sounds like a winner to me!

 

[Meadowlark]

Agree on turnips...daikon radish has similar properties.

Early in this thread I mentioned Daikon radish. Check these out... grown since this thread was started...and they are still growing. Roots extending 2 ft and tops that smother weeds make it an ideal cover crop in heavy soils. Bonus as very good tasting raw.

Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) will definitely smother any weeds, provide cover and require virtually zero maintenance. However you will need to keep them in check the following year and make sure you dig them all up before replanting with other things.

Sorry but I completely disagree. They are invasive and you most certainly cannot get all the root pieces dug out at harvest. They will spread and be very difficult to eliminate. Think long and hard before trying these in an open garden. I grow them in a container and even there they do not suppress weeds well and it is almost impossible to get all the root pieces out.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Early in this thread I mentioned Daikon radish. Check these out... grown since this thread was started...and they are still growing. Roots extending 2 ft and tops that smother weeds make it an ideal cover crop in heavy soils. Bonus as very good tasting raw.


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Sorry but I completely disagree. They are invasive and you most certainly cannot get all the root pieces dug out at harvest. They will spread and be very difficult to eliminate. Think long and hard before trying these in an open garden. I grow them in a container and even there they do not suppress weeds well and it is almost impossible to get all the root pieces out.

View attachment 100429

I believe that, in essence, is what I said about sunchokes. I was just providing information, not necessarily recommending it. As with everything, you should do your own research before implementing anything - not just gardening.

 

[Meadowlark]

This thread was started Sept.1. Since then, I have established three different area cover crops in my garden...each of which will be there the duration until spring.

The first is an alfalfa/elbon rye plot app 12 x 80 ft in which my spring garden will be planted. I have already mowed this alfalfa mix 4 times since early Sept. providing great soil building organic matter. As the winter rolls along, the alfalfa will continue to grow thicker and choke out everything else. I'll disc it in next spring, but as a long-term cover, this is hard to beat. The soil there will be "No N, P, K required" by next spring guaranteed from my experience.

The second one, app 6 ft x 80 ft, I just recently planted in the space where I harvested sweet potatoes. This plot has vetch, white clover, winter rye, and Austrian peas...all nitrogen adding soil builders. It will continue to grow probably through next May when I will till it under and plant corn. It's still a little sparse just now but will soon thicken up to choke out all weeds.

The third area uses the Daikron radish (mentioned above) and purple top turnips to form a dense cover that absolutely no weeds penetrate...plus the radishes and turnips are delicious on the table.

Each of these will grow here and thrive several months without any maintenance in my garden...except to mow and occasionally harvest.

Talking the talk and walking the walk with abundant low maintenance cover crops.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Must be a location thing then. I suppose England has more sheep per capita than the US?

Perhaps it's New Zealand, they are part of the British Commonwealth and have five sheep per person. I should admit that I realised after I had posted that our present carpet is wool, but it has a sort of instant underlay attached to the back.

 

[redback]

Mustard beats the weeds and can be eaten. Monocultures are no good, so mix it with all the other ones mentioned above.