As many gardeners know, fall is a key time for preparing your
garden for next year’s garden.
As many gardeners know, fall is a key time for preparing your garden for next year’s garden.
As October brings the end of the growing season, our soil often looks tired and used up around now. The organic matter we spread in the Spring has been depleted and, in many instances, the hard-packed clay origins of our property are starting to resurface.
Time to relax and enjoy the long winter ahead – not quite yet though.
While it may seem hard to believe, a little bit of activity now can pay big dividends next summer – particularly for those of us who garden organically. By planting a cover crop or doing some active sheet composting, we’ll be miles ahead next spring when our soil is rejuvenated and nearly ready to go.
We’ll save money by not needing to purchase a lot of soil amendments and we’ll avoid having to pick through tough clay soil in order to plant.
Here’s what you do:
Cover crops – This is a general term for plants specifically planted to nutrify the soil, prevent spring weed growth, and keep the soil loose and friendly.
There are many different types of valuable cover crops available in good nurseries and through seed catalogs. These include fava beans, clovers, vetch and associated mixtures.
Each type has particular strengths and the descriptions found on the seed packets or catalog will tell you which one works for you. It is common for cover crops to be selected for their ability to bring useable nitrogen, a vital plant nutrient, into the soil.
Because special beneficial bacteria growing on the cover crops’ roots do most of this work, it is common for the seeds to either be preinoculated or to be offered with an optional bacteria inoculant. (Don’t be scared – you don’t have to be a doctor to inoculate seeds with beneficial bacteria. Besides, it’s a terrific way to impress your friends!)
While it is common to plant cover crops in the fall, many types can be planted in the summer as well to help nutrify beds that are resting for the season. Once the cover crop has grown and/or when you are ready to plant the desired flower or vegetable, the cover crop is commonly chopped up and worked into the soil. This adds organic material directly into the soil and further aids soil fertility.
Sheet composting – This is a form of composting that is particularly well suited for the fall. Rather than have a compost pile in some corner of your yard, sheet composting involves placing free organic material directly onto your soil, covering it with leaves, and letting it compost right in place. This method eliminates the need to move your compost after it is done and also suppresses spring weeds.
Here are the five steps to sheet composting as listed in the EcoConnections on-line magazine:
• Mow existing plants or lawn as short as possible, leaving the clippings.
• Spread a weed-smothering layer of dampened newspapers or cardboard over the area. You will need to overlap by at least six inches so the weeds will not poke through.
• Next, spread a three-inch layer of manure or compost. You will need about half a cubic yard to cover 50 square feet.
• Add a mixed six-inch layer of coarse material like garden trimmings, wood shavings, kitchen scraps and chipped leaves. You will need a cubic yard of material to cover every 50 square-feet.
• Lastly, spread more newspaper or cardboard (6 to 8 inches thick) overlapping edges to smother weeds or seeds in the preceding layer. Cover with 2 to 3 inches of wood chips or pine needles to hold the newspaper in place. Sprinkle water over the last layer to help hold it in place.
So set aside a bit of time this month to prepare next year’s garden. You’ll save money, time, and effort in the long run.
Eco-Fact of the Week: If you are interested in soil fertility, attend our last composting workshop of the year on Oct.18. Call 918-4640 to register. One lucky attendee at the workshop will win a compost bin.
Eco-Web Page of the Week: There are lots of great web sites available covering cover crops. A particularly fine one can be found at: http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gardening/fctsheet/egfactsh/covercro.html
Anthony Eulo, an assistant to the city manager for the City of Morgan Hill, is planting lots of clover in his garden this fall. He welcomes your questions, comments and thoughts, and can be reached at en*****@************ca.gov or at 779-7247.
