Planting a Cover Crop

Hosts Jackie Cicchino and John Greenlee show how to put a vegetable garden "to bed" with a cover crop. A cover crop will decompose naturally and add organic matter and nutrients to the soil.

Instructions:

• Prepare the planting area by tilling and raking the soil, then use a hoe to create the furrows for the cover crop seeds. In short-season northern gardens, cereal grains such as winter rye and winter wheat are recommended; in the south, oats, vetch, winter peas and fava beans are good choices.
• Once the seeds are sown, cover the area with bird netting, supported by large rocks on the corners. Pull the netting tightly around the rocks to secure it in place. This will prevent birds from eating the plants as they start to grow.
• After the seedlings have reached several inches in height, remove the cover and mow or chop the cover crop. Then allow several weeks for the crop to begin to break down into the soil. Once the process is complete (when most of the stems and leaves are no longer recognizable), the new and improved soil will be ready for planting.

Suggested Crops:

• Winter rye
• Winter wheat
• Oats
• Vetch
• Winter peas
• Annual clovers
• Fava beans
• Bell beans

Also in this Episode

Way to Grow : Episode WTG-229
•	All About Mums
•	Fabulous Fall Beds
•	Lily Ponds
•	Planting a Cover Crop