GARDEN CAPSULE
The challenge: You’d like to build healthier soil in your vegetable garden beds in the coming year but aren’t sure where to begin.
The solution: Resolve to sow seeds of a cover crop whenever you have any empty garden space. In spring or fall, plant cold-hardy crops like field peas, oats or ryegrass. In the summer, plant heat-tolerant cover crops like buckwheat or millet. Turn under cover crops in early spring before planting vegetables.
Pluses: When dug into the soil, a cover crop provides valuable humus and micronutrients while also increasing the soil’s capacity to hold water and air. Also known as “green manure,” it enriches the soil right in place with little effort.
It suppresses weeds. It protects otherwise bare garden beds from winter erosion. It helps prevent soil-borne diseases. And it’s less expensive than bagged soil amendments.
You get all the benefits of animal manure without the manure’s foul smell, weed seeds and work of hauling and spreading.
RIGGENBACH
Minuses: Where garden space is limited, it is often a challenge to find room for cover crops. Sources: Most garden centers offer seeds of a few cover crops. For a bigger choice and information on pros and cons of different cover crops, see
and
nyseeds.com john groworganic.com.