We talked all about cover crops in the last episode: why we should use them and which crops perform what job. Let's chat today about when each of those crops should go into the ground for best results.
Don't forget you can get a garden cover crop mix from True Leaf Market here:
Check out True Leaf Market’s Cover Crop Mix
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Welcome back, my gardening friends, to another Focal Point
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Friday episode. Let's spend just a few minutes
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together reviewing A snippet of information from a previous
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episode, highlighting a new topic, or quickly focusing on a
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current event in the Food and Agriculture world.
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Let's get down and dirty. On Tuesday we talked about
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getting started with planting cover crops in the garden.
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All the different benefits we can get, and which ones are good
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for which goal. Many of these crops have
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overlapping benefits, which is great because we can plant just
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one or two and get multiple paybacks, but they can't all be
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planted at just any old time of the year.
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Some of them can, but not all. So let's briefly run down which
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cover crops can be planted at which time.
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These recommendations are based on both the preferred soil
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temperature for germination for these crops as well as their
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preferred air temperature for growth.
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So if you are at the extreme ends of the USDA hardiness
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zones, you might need to make some adjustments.
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So zones one through three, maybe even 4 and zones 11
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through 13. Definitely you need to pay
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attention to the temperatures more so than everybody else.
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For the rest of us, these can just kind of be generalized by
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saying spring, summer or fall. But you know me, I like to be
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accurate, so I like to go by soil temperature anyway for best
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results. So I'm going to give you that
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specific information. I'm in zone 6A, quite literally
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smack dab in the middle of the chart, so sort of consider me
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middle ground and then adjust accordingly.
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So let's start with early spring.
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We're looking at soil temperatures at around 38
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degrees Fahrenheit or three Celsius, and warmer for
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germination. This is very early in my area.
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Like the first week in March, These are crops like barley,
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winter rye as a cover crop only, not for grain and oats.
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As we move further into the spring and the soil temperatures
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bump up above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, or 4 Celsius, we can
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start planting things like rye, grass field peas, mustard, and
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Clover. So if you're trying for an oat
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peas mix, this is when you want to plant that blend.
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When it's warm enough for the peas, the oats can tolerate it a
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little bit colder, but the peas cannot.
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And then, as the soil gets above 45 Fahrenheit or 7 Celsius, now
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we can start planting summer alfalfa and those dicon
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radishes. Buckwheat can start being
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planted in the late spring once the soil temperatures get above
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50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 Celsius.
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You want to be sure though that all threat of frost has passed
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before planting buckwheat because it is not at all frost
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tolerant. So even if your soil
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temperatures have warmed up, if you have a late frost, you'll
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lose that crop. I generally reserve buckwheat
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for the summer because it doesn't mind the heat.
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In fact, it does pretty well here in our sometimes
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intolerable heat. You can also start planting
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chickpeas or grabonzos as a cover crop at this time too, and
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they are frost tolerant. And then once we're fully into
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late spring or early summer and the soil temperatures are above
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60 Fahrenheit or 16 Celsius, we can plant hairy veg.
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This and New Zealand white Clover are the two slowest
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growing of the cover crops. Great for using as a living
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mulch under crops, which works well if you plant it in the
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spring and then just transplant your taller crops into it and
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leaving the veg or the Clover in place as we move through the
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season. Some of these tolerate warmer
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air temperatures than others. Cover crops that are suitable
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through the late summer are buckwheat, summer alfalfa,
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barley, and those dikon radishes again, and then once we move
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into the fall. If you're looking to what you
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can plant now, you can plant peas and oats again as a cover
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crop, and this is also the time when you would want to plant
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that winter rye. If you want it to serve a dual
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purpose as both a cover crop and a grain crop, It's Hardy down to
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zone 3, so this is one of the best bets for most of us when it
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comes to keeping something in place all winter long, and then
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you can harvest the grain off of it in the spring.
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Hairy vetch is Hardy down to zone 4, so it also makes a good
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winter cover crop in most areas, and it will flower in the spring
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to attract those pollinators. I also plant dichon radishes in
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the early fall to overwinter when I want them to decompose
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into the soil in the spring to help with soil aeration and
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composition. So clovers, winter rye, and
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hairy vetch can basically be planted anytime the soil
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temperatures are warm enough for germination, so spring, summer,
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or fall. Thanks for joining me on this
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focal point Friday. I'll be back again on Tuesday
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for another regular episode of the Just Grow Something podcast.
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So until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
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that dream garden and we'll talk again soon.