I’m almost done with the book it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read no joke absolutely love it

One thing about I've noticed about rye is that it really helps breaking down woody residue. I've seen rye set roots right through weathered hardwood. It grows all by itself at my family home, so it's an easy winter cover for me. Anyway, I have been ripping out patches of it before, and had a whole ass tree branch come up with a clump, on multiple occasions. I've also seen it grow right over the top of my summer wood chips and mostly eat them before spring.

Love the encouragement to collaborate. Buckwheat is my favorite summer cover but I always make sure to tell people to BEWARE SEED SET. Very easily turns weedy if you let it go too long and easy to get lulled into complacency with those beautiful insect attracting flowers :)

I've never done cover crops but sounds like what I need because hauling in woodchips ,leaves and forest floor matter is getting harder for me as I age. 👍 Thanks for the tips.

Love the idea of having cover crops between rows to store carbon in the soil and build nutrients

I went to settings and went to 3/4 speed. I'm from the south and my ears couldn't keep up.(neither could my brain) --- I would be one that would like more videos on cover crops; like what blends of cover crops you use. I'm half way thru the book, good job.

My goal is to improve the soil for my animals, I have goats and chickens. This sight is exactly what i was looking for. I will be purchasing your book. Plus one for our local monastery.

SARE on-line covercrop guide is a great resource.

WOW!!! THANK YOU, FOR THIS OVERVIEW OF "COVER CROPS,!! THERES SO MANY "BENEFITS" TO USING THEM, ON ANY SIZE GARDEN, OR FARM! THIS SHOULD BE FUN!!...☘

Great talk, thanks for showing the planted corn mix cover crops behind. I can't believe how fast that all has grown since your garlic harvest. Love the clover as a cover crop as it is a great pollinator/bee attractor too.

Enjoy your authenticity, simplicity & overall vibe in the videos

Awesome video. I’ve been subscribed on my personal channel for a while, but now I’ve also subscribed on our content channel. I’ve been doing a crazy amount of research on cover crops, and this is the only video that gives more specifics about choosing the right cover crops for our context. I also really like your delivery and humor. We are looking to do a video in the early spring (about a belated, temporary cover crop for our new food forest) where we review different cover crops and we are definitely going to give you a shout out because we have learned so much. Thank you!!

I live in Thailand. I have an operating assumption that I am working through right now and that is that my home has heavy metal contamination. So I am using Indian and White Mustard to help clean my soil along with a 2 stage Bioremediation process for the green waste (involving BSFL and African Nightcrawlers).

In the uk agricultural mustard is used to reduce the population of wire worm which is a serious pest of horticultural crops. Caliente mustard is marketed as being the best for this.

Thank you for specifying the needs of which cover crops I happily planted hairy vetch which welcomed the bees however I didn’t realize I needed a space of time before I could plant that area

love that this guy started with nothing more than questions and desires...even longterm growers can read his book on an annual basis and continue to learn

I buy big bags of oats and sunflower seeds and feed them to the rabbits especially over the winter That bedding is pine shavings and hay That goes into the gardens in the fall and spring Sometimes the mix is hot so i wait on planting I also sprinkle more sunflower and oats to make sure i have an even thick coverage The wild birds eat lots lol I have chickens now so i add scratch grains to this mix I use what i have I grow seeds to like let your radish go to seed and plant Them back,turnips :) I put Extra squash in late too because the biomass from one seed is huge! And i grew my own seeds for these fillers ;) and if the squash gets in the way you grew the seed anyway and i know mine are crossed so no big deal trimming or removing it if it gets in the way Thanks for inspiring me in the first place about cover crops I share your interest in inter cropping and how plants get along or don't lol Much love xoxox thanks

Your delivery was smooth and to the point; that rehearsal video made a big difference. Thank you. I'm of the frame of mind when planting out doors in soil; o First NTG commandment - always build soil, o Second NTG commandment - always plant into cover crops, o Third NTG commandment - always feed the Beneficial microorganisms. Yeah, Incentives are good, I learned that in rehab!

We are planting berry cultivars , fruit trees and nut trees on a ranch we are to inherit, with an active honey bee operation, lavender and small cattle operation. For the berry cultivars (Haskaps/honeyberries, blueberries, saskatoons/service berries, raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries...) our mulch is multiple layers of cardboard covered with woodchips. (The huckleberries have been planted in one of our wooded sections). We have been looking at covering crops, first to smother existing weeds between the rows, followed a self-perpetuating covering crop to provide a beneficial crop for livestock/human consumption and honeybees. We have largely talked about clovers, sweet clovers, alfalfa, and edible flowers. There is a considerable White Sweet Clover presence, with considerable quack grass and recently American & Scottish thistle. This section hadn't been seeded for decades, and none of properties have ever had fertilizer or pesticides used. We in Armstrong's West Spallumcheen near Vernon at the terminus of the North End of the Okanagan Valley in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. Likely zone 6a or 6b. The honeybees have benefited from diverse blossoms and flowers, including large amount of white sweet clover, and produce a very popular honey. Appreciate any suggestions.

Well spoken. I just ordered your book, directly from no-Till Growers!!

Incredible channel. So glad I found you! Buying your book.

I've seen reports indicating that at 32 different varieties they were still seeing increased benefits relative to lower diversity mixes. It leads me to think that we don't need to put a lot of time and effort into thinking about how many, because it's all good and there isn't any magic number ;) Consideration for things like winterkill or not, ease of termination, etc. are still worth thought, but this is one of those "don't overthink it" areas, imo. ;)

thanks for the link to some great cover crop info!

Green Cover Seed on KZfaq also has a good series on different cover crops for those interested

Great presentation. Absolutely beautiful farm.

Great video! Thanks Jesse!

You think those who are already subscribed are awesome? This is my first video of yours... I came for some basic cover crop knowledge (because that is what the other video have been giving me so far)... Then at 4:20 (ish) you started talking the kind of sense that makes me a true "Instant fan". You have at least one new subscriber off the back of this video but more importantly from the points made between 4:20 and say 6:00 ish. I learned...or rather I finally connected some dots... in just 90 seconds of your one video I have just seen for the first time something which is not only relevant to my current problem but something I have been struggling to put into easily explainable terms for a while. YOU are awesome.

Something I don't know anything about but hopefully to learn more.

am doing a masters on cover cropping and unfortunately i just saw this (just finished my master).. great summary sir, BIG UP

Ya answered my questions. Thank you!

This was helpful. I am a new farmer in Southern AZ, and I am wanting to experiment with Sonora wheat as a specialty wheat as a cash crop, in addition to market gardening, and I'm in the process of trying to figure out my preliminary rotation. I was thinking of including sorghum sudan grass, as I am trying to increase soil organic matter, but I didn't know that it suppresses the germination of other grasses. So you kept me from making a potentially expensive mistake.

In Western Colorado at 5800 feet, 5B. Greencoverseed is the go to for Gabe Brown so I did. Mixes for all seasons. The warm season soil builder mix is waist high at five weeks. Sifted the 14 species mix to plant with an Earthway. I inch for the big stuff with the beet plate, then back in the same row at 1/2 " for the brassicas with the radish plate. Even germination. Buckwheat is flowering so it's a concern for reseeding. Will crimp it soon, tarp with clear plastic, replant with winter mix plus chickling vetch which winter kills. Keep us happy with more videos. Ordered the book within the hour of your announcing it would be published. It's thoughtful, relatable, humble and worth twice its price. I garden too much ground for fun.

Awesome Video!!

Briliant resources which i need thanks friend for sharing 🤘 you have good choice about rotating 🎋

Great information

Excellent video

I plant winter rye in my garden in the fall then mow it down and tarp it before planting in the spring.

Great video

Mixed "iron and clay peas" are a sure winner here (Fl. Panhandle) Beaucoup biomass and nitrogen-fixing to boot. But terminate before seed matures or write off that bed (for this year, at least). Flail mow and blow some grass clippings on. Smells wonderful when you mow 'em!

I am from northern part of India and have interest in organic farming.. Found this interesting video, on cover crop. To my case, the soil health is very poor with all chemical farming plus tillage. Now , to improve soil health with biomass, I m looking to replace my regular wheat followed by bean crop being done with all till method-to that of sugar cane farming, as once planted , for next 2 year, sugar cane plantation- do not need tilling. And after harvesting it on 2nd year, then onward go for no till farming. This way sugar cane , will generate minimum cash crop as well soil biomass and improve soil health . Observation/comment most welcome.

About to tarp out a huge section of my yard (bermuda grass, ugh) to double my garden space... planning on cover cropping through the fall and winter and hopefully improve the red clay enough to plant in the spring. Not at all how I started my original garden space, it'll be interesting to see how different it goes. Great video- I have a whole list of seeds to get for this now. Thanks man!

At this point I would almost kill for one of those hats... just bought the book. Can’t wait to get it!

Time for me to order your book !

Thank you

You are an angel Jesse

My front and side yard is covered in clover 🥰 gonna use those for mulch didn't know it was possible

Dude you rock.

Awesome shirt, great organization.

As most of the benefits are created underground the trick is to plant something, anything, so that there is a living plant growing in the soil. Making it as diverse as you can is better than a single crop. Your choice of plant is an additional bonus. A judicious choice will provide extra benefits but the key is to have something growing.

Thanks!

Excellent video, as usual! What variety of corn did you use for the cover crop? Good choice to re-shoot the video. That first shirt made you seem sullen and morose. The hat is gaining organic matter nicely!

Ok..so I live in northern New Mexico and my 10 acres has been over grazed for about 30 yrs. We decided to plant red clover over the whole 8+ acres and just let the place rest. Our goal is to start planting "food" crops Id say 2025. We bring horses onto the property to smash the fields, poop and pee and I think moving forward crimping we will try. Good energy in these videos.

Do you have any suggestions on long-term cover crop ideas? and how long they can last

In south Florida cosmos work great for long term cover, even if they get a little woody a lawn mower can take care of em n great roadside appeal.

Thanks from INDIA

Another great informative video! Thank you. Also anxious to go download the Living Soil Handbook. In the video I don't remember hearing you talk of Annual rye grass. ?? Does that one give you the bang for your buck?

Can’t sleep thanks!

Hello! I've been working on a new project managing a 10-acre farm to grow foods for BIPOC people in my area, and your videos have been great at helping to learn more about how to improve our practices! Thank you so much! I just ordered the book too :D

What over crop would you use in a clay/sandy soil when attempting to build the organic matter and generally improve the soil? Zone 9a

*frozened Nice info 👍🏼

Just ordered the book. Very much looking forward to some hammock reading. Im trying to find 2 varieties of annual ornamental grasses that can be used as both cover crop and flower arrangement filler throughout the summer. The idea is to put the cover crop on top of the daffodil/tulip beds after they are done in the spring. Use it as a cover crop and arrangement filler throughout the summer and Let the grasses die off over the winter and in the Spring the tulip and daffodil beds will bloom through the mulch. Then start all over again. If anyone has any thoughts on this id appreciate suggestions.

Such a informative video. 👍🏻 After how many days of sowing cover crop is supposed to be chopped in the soil ?

One cover crop that is rarely mentioned is weeds. That's right, weeds. Most any plant growing on your soil can be a soil builder. The key with weeds, as a cover crop, is don't let them go to seed. The reason is obvious. Plough them under before they seed.

Hi ... love the content of your video... I am about to start a organic project... what is the brand of the mower you are using in this video?

QUESTION: Does your book address how to correct awful soil? I had my soil analyzed & it's "very high" (the lab designation) in phosphorus & saline. Plus, deficient in iron, zinc, etc. Will your book provide solutions to me? It DOES sound like a fabulous book.

What is the best winter cover crop that you would terminate in spring before planting summer plants(squash, tomatoes, okra). Kind of new to no till. Any pointers on no till prep for potatoes also thanks

I live in Arizona Desert. Very Rarely get a Hard Frost. Definitely need Long lasting above ground mulch and Organic matter in Soil. What's Good Cover crops. Yes I'm no Till.

Hi, yes, great video. If I may, I have a question, thought, about a slightly different situation. I actually don't have crops. I have an orchard. It used to be a vineyard, so the soil is VERY compacted. My goal is to get the acre or so into good shape with healthy, living soil. But I don't want to do annual cover crops. I'm wondering if I can go straight to perennials - clover, maybe vetch, rye, maybe some local wildflowers (I'd love to keep buckwheat in there too). Wondering how to handle weeds in this scenario, and what I do with the current CC's. I also don't have big equipment, just my weedwhacker. Wondering if I can seed into what is there now and then bring down the current crop as green mulch to cover it. Or something else? And always looking for a good suggestion on where to buy seed (I'm in upstate NY).Thank you so much.

Great video! I just found your channel. Please tell me the name of the tune the mandolin is playing at the beginning of your video?! I would love to get the music for that. Thanks for the great cover crop info. I am now a subscriber!

Oh one more thing ive been chopping the sunflower heads off to give to the animals and leaves but i planted beans, peas and tomatoes around the sunflower or the sunflower around the tomatoes anyway lol They become living stalks :) holding up the plants Now the sunflowers are done the other real veggies are needing suppots :) growing them has been interesting and works Just remove leaves to let some light on the seedlings and no need to weed plants are packed in tight

I never hear anyone mention sesame as a cover crop, but I’ve read it’s one of the top producers of biomass, so I’m about to give it a try and compare to some millet I just got in the ground this morning. Thanks for the informative video!

I have a 10 seed fall cover crop mix. Can I put my wood mulch back on top of the seeds? Winter peas, rye, collards, berseem and crimson clover, fenugreek, vetch, teiticale, daikon and mustard.

i usually keep a top layer of fresh turned mucl bedding of 2 to 3 feet deep on a step ,yes , one side and end cap is raised whereas the rset is leveled -ish with purposeful overflow channels as it POURS here When it Rains and it Will Saturate a Complete ned water logging entire crop the depth i keep the bed that drains down into a much smaller and lower drain bed { Does Very well for those 90 to 150 days of 100 degree and up days that seem to never end } , yes contains water as well very eaily collects all morning dew as well instead of lossing it into a well drain moisture rich demanding soil , the mulch bed keeps the water welled thoughout the longest days yet . I get your method , but here ,the grass easily recoups by end of season , i hope i made that clar , thas just my lluck the only thing that weighs it down here , are the deer as they are maany during the winterv motnths as i let it go till next plaantingg seaason noth touching it , i have had to remove a a few invasives ,one certain 12 to 16 yellow petal prolific that loves the heat and come s from alarge bulb that resembles an awkward potato shape bulb that grows throughout winter and abosorbs water feverishly in spring that it doubles in sizeeach year , and mean doubles , ive found one that weighed 3lb so far have=ing to did upless of them each year now as thats the only way to get rid of them and tdont let them spawn a seed , the black peppercorn looking seed that falls out the bud of the flower and generates another the Very Next season Each and All Generates a new Plant = All of them ,one seeds and your back to Thousands

Would you suggest buckwheat or vetch To cover a garden in the winter to help with weed control as much as soil rejuvenation?

I'm looking for a cover crop to plant in my garden space for next year. I will be using my garden area next year to pasture raise chickens in a chicken tractor for meat. The chicken tractor will be moved everyday. Something the chickens will love but won't grow to tall. I have heard that they love broadleaves more than blade grasses. Suggestions???

Hi Farmer Jesse, Experienced Gardner here, but wanting to try more no till techniques and also branching out into growing veggies on a backyard scale. It's a bit overwhelming so I was hoping I could get a recommendation? Working on killing grass (on a plot that was last home gardener about 25 years ago) on a samdy clay acidic soil, in zone 7a on the east coast. Using cardboard topped with grass clippings and compost to build the in ground beds for the spring. Interested in a cover crop that would be best to grow through fall and maybe winter. Goals could be to loosen compaction, provide a spring mulch, and/or hold soil in place for the winter. Let me know if you need any more info, if you're willing to make a recommendation or two. Thank you!

Question for you all. I've got about 4-6 weeks where I'd like to get a cover crop growing for biomass in the soil. Nutrients and nitrogen are already excellent in our new garden beds, we've been working on the soil for a few years now with the goal of running a market garden from home. Anyway, what crop would you recommend? It's Mid-march here in zone 7b now.

We grow sunflower seeds and oats this year we are getting into other grains too But if we don't eat it the rabbits and chickens eat it They planted it anyway

My soil is low in nitrogen and I read that rye needs a lot of nitrogen to grow. Any thoughts or suggestions? Trying to chose cover crops for pumpkins. Also, would it be a waste of time to lay down 2 inches of compost in the pumpkins rows and then plant cover crop seeds?

What is a good way to decompact soil if not diakon?

It’s mid-July right now in SW Washington (zone 8b). I just bought a house with a little backyard. So I don’t have a farm or even what you might call an acreage property. It’s your standard cookie-cutter house with a little area in the back to have a small raised garden and some flower beds. My one BIG issue is the soil just flat out sucks here. There is no topsoil, it’s all yellow/orange colored heavy, solid clay. I dug a two foot deep hole and it just kept going. It rained and filled up a few inches and never drained. I could probably make pottery out of it. When it dries, it turns into rock hard cement. What do I do to make this soil better to grow in? I’ve already mixed in two bags of soil conditioner into a flower bed. While that has helped, it’s also created a lot of clay dirt clods. The soil is still very heavy…literally. I had buckwheat in there, it was flowering and I noticed a couple seeds starting to show so I cut it down and mixed it in. That’s where I am right now. I would like to be able to eventually grow some flowers and shrubs there but this clay issue is stumping this newbie gardener. What should I do next? I was thinking about daikon radish as a clay buster but being that it’s July and we are currently dealing with mid-80s to 100F afternoons, I think I better wait until it cools a little. I was thinking about maybe another round of a cover crop? Help.

I got a couple hundred sq feet of mugwort that I'm trying to kill and use a cover crop to outcompete it . Currently have about half the area covered with pond liner. In Jersey zone 7. Sorghum Sudan grass sounds like a good bet

Absolutely great video Jessy! Just looking at what cover crops I can use on a blank site. Ex cattle grazing paddock of about 2 acres but a lot of ragwort and thistles....

I've seen stuff about cover crops but something I don't quite get is won't stuff re-grow after cutting it down? Also, when you cut the corn down and plant carrots, do you plant into the green on top? dig down into the soil? etc? How is it not competing?

May I know whether you are using usual lawn mower to mow the cover crops? Corn stalks are quite thick to be mow into fine pieces

What’s the best way to plant without any equipment into a field that already has poor hay growing in heavy clay and saturated soils?

What is a good cover crop that will still allow me to top dress?

I'm wondering if it makes sense to plant a cover crop right now. I'm in zone 3b and my annual first frost is today, although we are having a very warm fall. My cucumber plants are starting to die so should I cut them off and plant the buckwheat seed I have? Second question is also related to cover cropping. My lettuce and arugula plants went to seed about a month ago. I left the plants in the ground instead of planting the buckwheat. I reasoned they are still green and photosynthising and would still be feeding the soil. My goal for cover cropping is to feed the soil for as long as possible before the ground freezes or we get snow. Thoughts?

Hello, I’m curious the cover crop mix you use after garlic. We currently grow 1 acre and I’m looking to move away from conventional farming practices. Thank you!

I'm planning on sowing cover crops in the High desert of California to build the soils out here. My plan was to run the cows on it to kill it. Do you think this is a good Idea or would it be better to mow it and leave the vegetation on the ground to help build the soil faster? This is the mix I was planning on trying on a acre here then maybe plant with a drought tolerant pasture seed in spring. Eco-Till Radish - 0.30 Common Vetch - 0.20 Flax - 0.15 Crimson Clover - 0.15 Oats - 0.10 Sunn Hemp - 0.05 Forage Peas - 0.05

Where do u get the bulk seed for your 13 ish cover crop/ corn okra suns ect?

Curious on others opinion on silvopasture mixes.. Areas that were forest for many many years, and now have an opened canopy and can support grasses.. I initially tried perennial and annual rye grasses with some clover, but it didn’t establish well. It’s dried out at this point and wanted to put in a summer mix.. Something adequate for grazing..

Thank you for your great informations, Can I plant covercrop on paster without tilling, wanting to make a pumpkin patch for next 🤔 years, God bless you

That earthworm at 4:14!

I wanted to experiment with no till using cover crops for an area of about 100 by 100ft so that I can convince my husband to go "no till" and not using his 75hp tractor that I believe compact the soil every time he got on that thing. I believe there is a purpose for that kind of heavy tractor but not when it's destroying the land with heavy wheels. Anyway, my question to you is since you are in AR, you must understand that we have compact dry clay soil with lots or rocks, so I definitely need a cover crops that will help build soil matter. How do I even begin to start with a fresh area of 100ft by 100 that has lots of grass/weeds, etc...growing there right now. This area is a test for going larger scale so what ever method I use here will need to be able to duplicate to a larger scale...about 10 to 30 acres. Thank you.

I'm new and have clay grounds, would turnips and diakons with clover work for aeration and weed suppression ???

What can I use in heavy clay soil that turns to cement in the summer. Asking for Croatia, mediterranean climate.

Hi, I'm looking for a grazing mix that is self sustainable. Can you suggest a mix please.

I'm wondering if anyone could recommend a cover crop for the high desert valley region of SW Idaho (Treasure Valley, zone 7a). Right now most of this land is covered with invasive weeds like tumble mustard and cheat grass. The top layer of soil seems like it has some organic mass to it, but it seems very silty. When you dig down about 8 inches, you hit green clay. I'd like to plant something to compete with the weeds, but I'd like it to enrich and improve the soil as well. I'm just a homeowner. 1/2 acre or so is what I'm working with. I don't have any equipment other than my hands and garden tools. I do have some areas that I can irrigate, but not on a regular basis so whatever I plant needs to be drought tolerant. We get very little rain in the summer. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Hello! How do You sead carrots in mulch?