Cover Crops in Spring (What To Do)

My first rain in 30 days. I can smell the soil improvement.

Nice work on this video

Putting a tarp or woven groundcover over top of the mulch (straw in your example) will help to retain more moisture and shade out anything that tries to grow before you're ready to plant. It can also be used in place of turning over the soil for a no-till approach but it takes longer to terminate the cover crop. I did my own video on this on 9/10/2021

Your puppy wanted to help you pull (eat!) your cover crop! Lol! Thank u for a good video - grew cover crops but did not know what to do next - perfect timing

I have to say You are the best gardener I have found on Youtube. :)

It is official in my area. Outdoor watering/irrigation is suggested to be no more than 2 days a week, and to decrease indoor water use by 10 to15%. I doubt they can enforce and know who waters when. Currently I have nine full 55 gallon rain barrels and maybe a hundred gallon juice containers also full of rain water. This year mulch will really help even though Earwigs like to hide in it. That means a lot more traps. I mentioned this because, once the spring moisture dries up, it is plant prioritizing and water rationing time, for miilions of people. I will be watering trees with grey water this year that would be wasted down the drain.

I put compost (that I make) on my beds in the fall. Also, if a bed's soil needs more improvement, I use my push mower to cut the first grass of the spring and mix it with leaves (that I collect in the fall) on top of the soil. I turn it in every few days, composting it in place in the bed. By the time my warm weather crops get planted, they do well and have plenty of nutrients. Thanks for another great video, Gardener Scott!

I just learned that you're in my zone! Colorado 5b here also and super stoked that I can learn more closely from you!!

Great video.I enjoy this topic because I find cover crops have improved my clay soil in a short time. I got winter rye last year from your recommendation and when I researched it, I realized I wanted the same benefit.

Nice and instructive video, for the chopping of the grass I would rather use a good paddle hoe rather than a shovel to make it easier before turning in with the forrk.

Thank you

Thanks for your video! I always enjoy watching! Blessings Gardener Scott!

Wow, that looks like a lot of work.

Very informative video. You have a similar growing season to Alberta. Cheers, Scott! ✌️

Thanks Gardener Scott. Cover crops are great but I often have difficulty getting many in since I grow a rather large Fall garden. I do plan ahead and try and get hairy vetch planted where my brassicas will be the following year to provide extra nitrogen though. I just cut the tops off in the Spring and try not to disturb the soil. That seems to be good enough to kill hairy vetch. I learned the hard way that this type of cover crop should not be planted in locations that will not be hosting nitrogen loving plants the following year.

we have a small electric tiller we use. Neither me or my husband can do the manual turning over of the soil. it's light enough we can use it in the garden beds.

Thanks. I was waiting for your follow up. This is my 2nd year trying cover crop on one area of my gardens. 1st year cereal rye. This past year took your suggestion and bought a mix. Did not come up as consistent but maybe some had winter kill like mentioned. I’ll need to review crop progress and prep soon. Do you start seed in your beds (w cover crop) or transplant starters? Thanks again🌱🌞

I still have concerns using straw from inorganically fertilized straw bales as a mulch. In a huge pile of straw from last years straw bales not one earthworm was found. My concern is introducing all these soluble salts from the straw bales into my beds as a mulch. If I ever do straw bales again I will use organic fertilizers. Another key to having cover crops is to keep living roots in your bed over the winter. These roots help maintain a thriving microbiological soil community.

Great video! I have wanted to try cover crops but I am dealing with a cat or cats wanting to use my beds as the bathroom. After I amend them in the fall, I have to put straw and Bird netting ( thanks for the idea) to keep the cats out. I dont know how I would do that with cover crops.

Turning the dirt with the garden fork is what I do, with a mind no only to avoid chopping worms, but also to incorporating their favourite foods (last fall's leaves and grass clippings) down deeper into the soil. Was it my imagination that they were disrupting the seeding and germination process up at the surface when I left their food up there? I would like to hear more about the difference between "turning" and "tilling" the soil and the effects it has on the soil.