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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Barbara Money <bmoney9@verizon.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] cover crops
  • Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:55:11 -0400

Hi all,

While the latest threads on sustainability and whether or not we are all going to die of raised temperatures is fascinating and thought provoking (seriously, I'm learning a lot), could we have some discussion now and again on actual gardening techniques? I'm particularly thinking about putting in a winter cover crop, as opposed to just covering my garden plots with leaves, straw, manure, etc. Now Ken's CD has a list of some cover crops for various applications --to increase nitrogen or to uptake phosphorus, for example-- but I'm wondering what would be the best application for southern New England. I'm a little short on phosphorus; I can get all the manure (N) I want from a couple of local farms, and I have tons of wood ash (K). I look on the list and I see Buckwheat will uptake phosphorus, but it's grown as a spring/summer crop. I don't have so much area for gardening that I can tie up a good chunk for buckwheat (though I could, and would, harvest the seeds). Also Red Clover will accumulate P, but again, as it won't die down in the winter, I'd have to figure out a way to remove it without tilling so I can plant where it grew. Tiny seeds like the Brassicas won't grow in slits cut in the clover, and I've had poor success with seedlings. Mowing closely would work I suppose if it kills the root, but I want to get away from using fossil-fuel power. I've considered planting the buckwheat after harvest so it gets up a bit before frost, but will it have time to grow enough to be worthwhile? I think the list was created with the idea the crops would be tilled under.

I wonder if the low Phosphorus, or high Nitrogen, was the cause of my onions being really small, and my turnips being non-existent. Plenty of greens, just no turnip roots. Brassicas in general, (collards, brussels sprouts, broccoli) just not doing well. On the other hand, I'm having a bumper crop of Butternut squash!

What has worked well for you in New England? Am I better off just using the composted material top dressed as I have been? What about phosphorus? The manures I have access to are horse and llama, which have some phosphate but not a lot. Maybe sheep in a year or so. I am unlikely to be adding urine as was discussed not long ago. I can get phosphate rock, but it's mined so will be a finite, and unsustainable, supply.

Thanks,
Barbara M, Foster, RI

--
"Animals Are A Gift"





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