Question:
Hi, I have a question about cover crops…I am an organic garderner and I am looking for a cover crop to put in my naked beds that will winterkill. I do not till my beds, Everything I have tried does not die back. Thank you for your help
Currently there seems to be a lot of discussion about rototilling vs. not rototilling. My husband is big on rototilling, I on the other hand am thinking, enough already! BUT, how do cover crops fit into that equation? Isn’t part of the point to use them as green manure: and if so, don’t they have to be broken up pretty good? Also, I can’t imagine trying to hack them out in the spring! They develop some pretty hefty root systems.
And, just to add to the intrigue, we have two gardens. One garden we have done a lot of work to build up the soil; what we are lacking (in my estimation is good soil microbes. I rarely see earth worms). The other garden (or garden in progess) is the remains of an area that someone filled with sand so we are trying to build up the soil using Cover Crops.
We planted a cover crop winter mix in the fall, in our backyard terraced garden. It has done great, I have been prepping to cut it down, give it time to decompose. I have been really into the no till philosophies, read up about the possibility of just leaving it cut down, no till, as a mulch. But I just read something else that says the nitrogen benefits are lost if it is not tilled in. I am confused, any advice? I am all about the low maintenance gardening, companion planting, without too much intervention (not that we are opposed to the work).
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