Cover Cropping

In the Fall PV Gardener Staff will provide winter cover crops to plant at your sites. Ideally with students.

Here is a lesson/ideas of how to plant Cover Crops with kids

Cover crops are grown to:

•  cover bare soil

• grow organic matter that can be composted or turned in to your beds

• to out compete weeds

Legumes like bell/fava beans, vetch, and clover can "fix" atmospheric nitrogen in themselves and that nitrogen will be released in the soil or compost. In our area we often grow cover crops from the fall - spring. 

Once established cover crops can grow fast and can be 1) skimmed and composted in the spring or 2) dug into your beds to add organic matter (although waiting for the cover crop to break down can take weeks which is precious time in your spring school garden)

Fava/Bell beans ideally should be composted or dug into a bed when fifty percent of their stalk is flowering. 

In rainy years soil may be too wet to dig in bed when cover crops are at 50% flower. Times like these you can: 

• remove cover crops for composting then cover bed to keep rain from moistening bed, wait for appropriate moisture before digging soil

• Having winter cover crops go beyond 50% flower and digging them in the soil once soil moisture is appropriate is better than digging them in wet soil.

Bell bean and Fava beans leaves taste like peas and can be nibbled on. Note that there is a rare allergy related to eating favabeans called favaism

Here is a good article on cover cropping 

https://agroecology.ucsc.edu/documents/for-the-gardener/choosing-cover-crops.pdf

Here are some additional vetted resources on cover cropping

https://www.groworganic.com/blogs/articles/cover-crops

https://www.groworganic.com/blogs/videos/cover-crops-for-the-garden
Big Green Handout on Cover Cropping

It is best practice to not leave your soil bare.

If you don't feel you will be able to get your garden beds filled with annual vegetables I would suggest either mulching with straw or other non-weedy organic matter or planting cover crops. 

Fall Planted cover crops - You can find cover crop "humus builder" mix at San Lorenzo Garden Center, in the dry room area. Ring the bell and they will measure and bag the seed for you. This mix may also be available at General Seed and Feed. The Humus builder mix is a mix of Bell Bean, Vetch and Oat Grass. 

When planting cover crops around fruit trees it is recommended not to grow vetch since it can end up tangling itself in your trees. 

Summer cover crop options include buckwheat and some clovers. Buckwheat grows real fast, doesn't grow too big, and can be incorporated into your soil in about 30-50 days after planting. 

Steps and instructions for cover cropping with kids at Pacific School Orchard

Fall Seeding

Follow these steps, in teams of 3-5 students per tree.

1. Repair irrigation and pull back from around tree.

2. Weed around tree three-four feet radius from trunk. Scrape back wood chips (if present)

3. Sprinkle 5 single handfuls of cover crop seed in cleared area. Cover seed with compost or scratch in to bare soil.

4. Water in well.

5. Cover seed with wood chips, straw, and/or pulled weeds (don't use crawling grass weeds).

6. Replace irrigation around tree on top of mulch

Spring Incorporation

Steps and instructions for incorporating cover crops in the spring with kids at Pacific Elementary School Orchard

Follow these steps, in teams of 5-7 students per tree. It is best to incorporate cover crop when the cover crop has about half of the its flowers in bloom.

1. Use hand shears or scissors to cut the cover crop up in to 2-3 inch pieces

2. Once cover crops are no longer standing or when you see the irrigation line, carefully pull the irrigation line away from the tree.

3. Use hand cultivators or other tool to slightly dig cover crop into the soil, don't deep too deep as tree roots can be shallow

4. Cover cover crop material with straw or wood chip mulch

5. Replace the irrigation line