Small Garden: Big Harvest

You don’t have to have acres of land to grow animal feed crops! Lots of us already have garden space sitting empty for part of the year. Putting in an animal feed crop is one way to keep the soil clear of weeds and to discourage insects from lying dormant there. These animal and human feed crops can become part of your soil improvement program: • Mangels punch holes in the subsoil. • Squash, potatoes, kale and sunflowers help shade the soil, reduce weeds, keep soil cool — especially if you mulch them.

• Undersow sunflowers and kale with a legume,

such as beans or clover, to add nitrogen to the soil.

• Kale, as a cool season crop, can be grown in

the winter, filling a gap in the garden year.