Chris SayerField peas starting to bloom. 2 underappreciated #covercrop features: food for pollinators and helping to draw water *out* of the soil after the drenching we have received since mid November.
#covercrop getting started in the #avocado orchard. Doing best in those areas that were too heavily mulched last season to be seeded. This will get 6 feet high or more and add a lot of biomass to the orchard floor.
Germination! These seeds are loving this weather. Note: these were spilled while reloading the seeder. Germinating above ground isn't ideal, but the properly bedded seeds are below ground and thus don't make a good picture. #covercrop
Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm)A month ago I mixed compost into the soil in my 30 gallon fabric growing bags and planted a winter cover crop of winter rye and hairy vetch. I’m always amazed that these seeds can germinate and grow in the cold.
Hairy vetch is a legume and fixes nitrogen in the soil. I’ll compost and/or dig these plants back into the soil next May.
I think the first photo is the winter rye and the second that has redish highlights and more of a spiral wrap is the hairy vetch.
Seeds. This year's #covercrop mixture has bell beans, vetch, mustard, radish, triticale and rye. We had great results with this blend last year, using it in a different part of the orchard this time.
We don't disc our soil except to plant #covercrop. I did a few wind sheltered rows today to make sure the gear was ready. Planning to disc Mon-Tues, seed Wed, enjoy the rain Thu next week. If nature cooperates.
With some nice rain possible next week , it might be time to disk between the young #avocado trees so we can seed the #covercrop just before the rain arrives. We'll get the equipment ready and watch the weather.
Cloudy skies in both instances, but quite a difference between March (L) and September (R). Now it's time to order #covercrop seed to convert the coming rainy season precipitation into next year's soil organic matter.
Where did the winter #covercrop go? It's still there, but after mowing it is acting as a mulch, protecting the soil from wind and sun, preserving water for the #avocados.
In some spots the #covercrop has reached 6 feet or more. Great biomass production for a short season with below average rainfall. Keiko and Roscoe included for scale... definitely not to pander to puppy enthusiasts.
