Cover Cropping

Our flooded field has been fully plowed under and is about to be seeded with a "cover crop," meaning something that's planted without the intention of harvesting. Cover crops improve the soil in several ways; they reduce the amount of time the land is bare, they build organic matter (meaning plants decomposing underground, a super important part of soil health), and they harness leftover fertilizer from previous crops, converting that into even more organic matter rather than letting those nutrients wash away. I've decided to cover crop this year with oats and peas, which have an extra benefit that is super helpful: as a legume peas are able to fix nitrogen from the air into the soil. This may sound mundane (you may even be yawning and skimming at this point), but trust me it's a big deal! Nitrogen is the key nutrient that all plants need to grow, it's the main component of fertilizer whether organic or conventional. So by seeding a leguminous cover crop like peas (another good one is clover), we're able to reduce the need for fertilizer next year. This extra round of cover cropping is all made possible by the flood taking out the regular crops which would normally be at their peak right now. So, bad for this year but good for next year :)

As for this year, we've been able to get a bunch of fall stuff into the ground this past week which is very exciting! Ray Young at Next Barn Over Farm in Hadley has generously shared some of their land with us, and we've been scrambling to re-plant. For most things it's too late in the year to do over, especially the exciting things like tomatoes, potatoes, squash, cukes, etc. But there's still a small window of time to get in some fall broccoli, cabbage, spinach, kale, chard, collards, kohlrabi, carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, lettuce, and salad mix. These new plants are just starting to grow, and if all goes well will be ready to harvest in September and October.