Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

by Amber TIppett, PV Store Manager & Willow Hein, FreshmanFarmer & PV employee

“Cover Crop” is a general term referring to a crop grown to cover and protect the soil. The term “Green Manure” would more specifically apply to a Cover Crop grown with the intent to till back into the soil. Below we’ve outlined a few Cover Crop Solutions for clay or compacted soils, vegetable bed rotations & erosion control. Looking for more solutions? Check out our Cover Crop Solution Finder.

Cover Crops (or, “Green Manure” crops) for Clay or Compacted Soil

Planting cover crops is an excellent way to help break up compacted and clay soils. Plant something with a large taproot, or deep reaching root system that can penetrate the hard soil or compacted soil pan. Examples of these include Bell Beans (SCL700), Winter Rye (SCN395), Rape (SCN900), Daikon (SCN112) and Mustard (SCN755 or SCN750). You’ll want to plant these cool weather crops in the fall after the first rains when the soil is softer and can be tilled and prepared for planting. The cover crops will grow all winter, and then can be turned in during the spring to add organic matter to the soil. The cover cropped area can then be planted with vegetable or ornamental crops, or planted with a summer cover crop to continue breaking up the soil if it is still too compacted. Examples of good summer cover crops for this purpose are Crotolaria Juncea (SCL815) and Sesbania (SCL855). You will need to irrigate these crops through the summer if you live in an area where it doesn’t rain.

Cover Crops (or, “Green Manure” crops) to plant in a Vegetable Rotation

Planting a winter cover crop is a great way to replenish your soil after a season of vegetable or production cropping. You want something that will fix nitrogen back into the soil, hold the soil in place during winter storms, and grow vigorously for maximum organic matter and weed suppression. Peaceful Valley carries a great cool weather cover crop mix (Soil Builder SCM120, SCM121) which contains bell beans, winter peas, purple vetch, common vetch, and cayuse oats, a blend that addresses all the above-mentioned needs. The bell beans, peas, and vetches are legumes that fix nitrogen from the air through a symbiotic relationship with a group of naturally occurring soil bacteria known as rhizobacteria. The bacteria form nodules on the roots of the plants and convert gaseous nitrogen into plant-usable nitrogen. Be sure to inoculate (ISE350, ISE505, ISE500) your seed with the rhizobacteria before you plant it to make sure this process happens in your cover crop. The oats provide scaffolding for the vetch to climb up and have fibrous root systems that suppress weeds and help with erosion control. Other great cover crops for the winter include clovers and alfalfa.

Cover Crops for Erosion Control

Erosion of hillsides can be a major problem in some areas, and should be a concern to anyone who wishes to protect valuable topsoil. Erosion control mixes typically consist of annual grasses and clovers that have extensive root systems and strong reseeding abilities. The Premium Erosion Mix (SEC300) has wildflowers in the mix to enhance the beauty of the area. Individual varieties of seed for erosion control include Crimson Clover (SCL310), Ryegrass (SCG560), BlandoBbrome (SCG150), and Zorro Fescue (SCG299). Timing is an important issue in establishing an erosion crop. It should be planted in the Fall while the soil is still warm, and be given supplemental irrigation until the natural rains can take over. If supplemental irrigation cannot be provided, the area should be covered with Jute Netting (EC400) after it is seeded. If irrigation will be provided year round, then perennial grasses or clovers can be planted instead of annuals.

A PVFS customer email – with staff response.

Question:

I have made a raised bed garden past month. The soil needs preparing for Spring. What do you recommend? I would like to get something planted down to get some nitrogen fixation and to make the soil more loamy. I live near Pasadena and the soil in the raised beds is more sandy with little clay component. I am currently growing several fruit trees in the center of each raised bed. Plenty of .

thoughts? I do have plenty of Azomite, sun and non-chlorinated mountain water for irrigation

Answer:

Our most popular cover crop is called the Soil Builder mix. It’s a mix of vetches, peas, bell beans, and oats. It provides a lot of growth for organic matter and fixes a lot of nitrogen, especially when you use an inoculant. The part number is SCM120, the inoculant is ISE350.

Since you have trees in the beds, be careful when incorporating the cover crop into the soil in the spring. You might consider not tilling in the crop inside of the drip line of the trees, but pull it out and compost it instead. Outside of the drip line, you can dig in the crop manually or with a rototiller. Wait 4-6 weeks after incorporation to plant anything in the beds.

Hope that helps! Thank you for growing organically!

An email question from a PVFS customer – and answer from our staff.

Question:I have a question about one of your products. In a catalog our relatives
recently received it is called Premium Soil Builder Mix, but on your
website it is called Organic Soil Builder Mix. In the catalog, it has two
versions, “Organic” and “Raw”. My question is what is the difference?
What does “Organic” vs “Raw” mean.

We would like to order some of the Soil Builder Mix and plant it right
away but want to be sure of which product to order.

Answer:

This requires a two-part answer, as the terms “Raw” and “Organic” have little to do with each other.
“Raw” just means that a seed has not been rhizocoated, which is a method of inoculating certain types of seeds by coating them with beneficial bacteria, which helps to stimulate nitrogen production.
“Organic,” on the other hand, is merely certified organic seed. However, you will not see, at least through us, an organic cover crop seed that is rhizocoated — however, the inoculant we do sell is certified organic.

There it is.  The first tilled row of the GGP.  At the crack of 8 am (huck it up, farmers…that’s early for us city-folk!) I was out there, tilling up my back yard.  The actual tilling itself took about 3 hours.  We had to go over each row multiple times, stopping to dig up rocks and sundry other oddities.  Among the strange things found that had to be removed: 3 cigarette lighters, a 2′ x 4′, a Happy Meal toy, broken glass, an old irrigation pipe that went nowhere, and concrete support posts for what apparently used to be a deck.  The final stage was going over everything one final time, my son in my lap (he LOVES tractors!) to make sure the yard was as level as possible. (more…)

After many years of apartment dwelling, I was finally able to move my family into a house with a cozy front yard, and a (relatively) nice sized back yard for the kids to play in, and for my wife to have a nice garden.

But the problem looks like this (please forgive the mess, still in the moving-in process):

When I was a kid, I used to HATE yard work.  My parents didn’t garden at all, so our maintenance involved raking leaves, watering plants and mowing the lawn — for a kid who likes to see the fruits of his efforts, this wasn’t exactly fulfilling.  Looking out over this relative desolation, I didn’t feel dejected; quite the opposite, in fact.  I saw opportunity, in many forms.

First of all, I have been working at Peaceful Valley for going on 6 years.  When I first started here, I knew zilch about growing.  Nothing.  I’d never so much as planted a flower seed in a pot for Mother’s Day. In my time here, I have gained a vast amount of theoretical knowledge: I knew the hows and the whys, but never had the opportunity to apply what I’d learned.  Seeing this yard sent visions of sugarplums (and other fruits and veggies) dancing in my head.

What I am going to be doing over the next 5 or so months is getting this area cleaned up, put together and ready for growing.  Come Spring, I’m planting a lawn, and my wife is setting up a small vegetable garden, probably with raised beds.  As I do each step, I will be taking pictures and thoroughly documenting each phase.  The goal is not only to do my own yard, but to give a bit of direction for anyone else who wishes to do the same.

Here’s the plan:

(more…)