Buckwheat. Till in after flowering.

Sad to see the gardening season coming to an end. It was a strange season. Weird shaped tomatoes, peppers that never really did very good, small garlic and weird weather. We were fortunate to get some from ours and the animals left it alone, but was hoping to can. Next year maybe.

Thank you for this informative video. My first year with raised beds, 2020, I used a cover crop mix of legumes and grasses. The grasses really took hold and were difficult to eradicate and turn in when spring came because they'd quickly become dense. The second year, 2021, I planted clover. It was a little spotty, but it worked, it was just a fair bit of work to turn in when spring came late. This year I'm leaving some borage standing for my neighbors bees, planting some garlic, and mulching the rest. I don't want the heavy work of turning in a cover crop to make my spring planting more difficult.

I love these in NY: Alfalfa, Jackhammer Daikon, Field peas and oats mix I don’t like winter rye as it’s hard to get rid of in the spring.

Cover crops are awesome! My neighbors use cover crops every year.

I love clover. I planted a ton of it in my home orchard and dont touch it. Attracts bees to the fruit trees, out competes taller weeds so I only have to mow my paths twice a year, and adds a constant supply of nitrogen to the soil around my trees, it stays green all summer when grass is brown from the heat, doesnt create dead patches when my dog does her business on it unlike grass, and its self seeding and perennial with very minor overseeding every couple of years. Its sad it has such a reputation as a weed because if we all had clover lawns (and yes I prefer the look of grass, but pros and cons) bees would be doing a lot better and soils across the country would be healthier.

Cover crops I found most useful this year (Western side of Detroit area): Buckwheat and Lentils. I was surprised at how in the worst soil the root mass under lentil plants was like I pulled up soil in the fence rows or forest, dark and crumbly cake-like (so a lot life under the soil surface) and the deer didn't mow it all down like beans and chickpeas. Buckwheat kept weeds and grass out while bringing in all the pollinators and predators (like the big white/yellow/green garden spiders, huge wolf spiders, lots of lady bugs, and praying mantis). I ordered black lentils for next spring which are supposed to have better nitrogen fixing than the regular green supermarket type. I put down winter rye before the rains last week and hopefully we get a little more heat for them to sprout.

Radishes as a cover crop? Who knew?!! Well that's cool. I can use the Black Spanish Radish seeds, that I saved this spring, after they bolted. And I may even get to eat some before the ground freezes. Win Win!

Thank you Luke!🙂 I grew red clover last year. Yes, I had so many bees in the garden and it was really pretty! I dried some for my tea stash because it's also medicinal. I composted the rest. I also grew alfalfa. The chickens loved it!😁 Blessings!💜

Greetings from Arizona. thanks again for the tips on cover crops! we just pulled our yam vines that covered our ground for the summer. it kept our desert heat away from our soil and helped to keep our organic organisms alive!

my two faves are crimson clover and buckwheat. I like growing the buckwheat especially for the flowers, you get beneficial bees and wasps out the wazoo, some species that i typically never really see otherwise, and the honey bees seem to really like it too. Just gotta catch it before the seeds start maturing or you'll have little sprouts everywhere, but even then those are relatively easy to pluck up so no biggie for me personally.

Make sure you mow or turn clover BEFORE it goes to seed!

Thanks for all tips!!! I'm going to try crimson clover. Pretty sure I had wild Hairy Vetch around our property, I thought it was so pretty until it started strangling all the other wildflower, now I despise it! The dry seed pods instantly drop off when you pull it out, ugh!

Great as always Luke! Another factor for me is cover crops that overwinter or are winter killed. This year (Zone 6a), because spring is such a busy time, I'm only planting covers that winter kill. Hoping that by eliminating the need to terminate the overwintered crops, I'll cut out a time consuming step that will allow me to sow the early season crops on time. We'll see how it goes! thanks

Thanks for all the great information on cover crops!

I like Lentils because the seeds are available at the grocery store for $1.50 lb... And yes, they grow. Also, they winter kill here in Upstate NY.

For 3 years I used the "winter blend" of cover crops mostly because it gave the subsoil benefits plus it froze off and dead by spring planting time. The dead above ground residue easily pulled off and went to compost pile. Used winter blend in both ground garden and raised beds all 3 years. This year I spent 80 cents for a quarter pound of daikon radishes and sowed whenever I had an open spot / harvested areas towards fall.. It looks goofy to have various heights of cover crop in the beds, but who cares. My beds are heavily loaded with homemade compost that can get hard & crusty mid to late season. Adding some vermiculite, green table scraps, and more worms to soften.

I already commented, but this is THE best video on cover crops I’ve seen. Next spring, tall and small sunflowers go everywhere! It’s at the back of my yard, so it will look pretty❣️

Thanks for posting about cover crops, it's finally cooling down here in Central Florida 😎. Happy Fall gardening my first time. Thanks Luke 😊 🧡

Hairy Vetch is a Legume so it will fix nitrogen if inoculated. Same for all legumes. I used a mix with Hairy Vetch last year and it worked well as a chop and drop. Best to get it right when it starts to flower. I didnt have any volunteers popping up and the soil absorbed the green manure very quickly. One other call out about sun flowers is they actually are very good aerators since they have such a large tap root. From my research farmers prefer sunflower over radish for aeration purposes. Also you can harvest the sunflowers 🌻

Thanks Luke. I plant Collards, Kale, Mustard and Spinach, 25% of each over the garden. Then broadcast turnips over the entire garden. We pick through the garden, getting healthy greens until hard freeze. Although, Central Kentucky has had a hard garden year. We picked our tomatoes and peppers yesterday. 30° and snow last night. 25° tonight and tomorrow. No cover crops this year. God Bless and stay safe.

Amazing garden.hi new friend here from Houston Texas USA.. always watching your Vedios

Thank you , this was very helpful . Congratulations on the precious new baby boy !

I planted crimson clover on half my garden and buckwheat on the other. Both are great for soil structure.

Luke, it would be very helpful to many of us if you planted a bed with White Dutch clover. Then show us how you terminate or turn it under when it is time. Thanks for all your help!

We use mustard as cover crop

I am in southern Arizona. We still have cucumbers 🥒 and tomatoes 🍅 and watermelon 🍉 and peppers 🫑 and pumpkins 🎃 going. My backyard looks like a jungle still. Lol Out temps are still in the 70-80’s and lows of 50-60’s.

Have an in ground plot i just planted out. It needed to be refreshed so I used winter rye and hairy vetch and threw in daikon to help loosen it up.

I bought Daikon radish seed. You leave them in the ground to break up clay soil. They have a deep tap root.😊

Excellent summary of everything available. Personally, I use clover.

I'm in NW Arizona and am getting my garlic in tomorrow. Still great weather here in zone 8b. I'm still harvesting beans, peppers, tomatoes, and squash and just planted radishes, lettuce, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and more green beans. Our first frost isn't until Thanksgiving or Christmas. I'm planting cover crops of peas and buckwheat for the first time. 🌱 My pumpkins didn't do that great this year due to chlorosis or some other kind of possible soil issue.

Mustard is a great cover crop. When cut down and dug in it releases a gas that eradicates nematodes

I've watched my Dad plant cover crops in our tilling fields, but I never thought about it for my garden. Were surrounded by neighbors who have commercial insecticide sprayed everywhere, so we try to feed any bees & lady bugs that survives! So yeah, we'll be planting clover now on!! Thank you Luke!!

This is my first year planting a cover crop. My Iowa soil is very clayey. When it's dry it looks like rock. For this reason, I chose a tilling/oilseed radish to address the soil compaction and also to add organic matter as it decomposes. They are small seedlings now. I probably planted them too late. 😞 I mulched them very well with dried grass clippings and cover them with blankets at night. I hope I can keep them alive long enough to grow to maturity! I wish now that I had added crimson clover for nitrogen. Is it too late? ...zone 5b here...

Great evaluation, Luke, thank you! Question: When does clover go to seed in the spring in Zone 6b, and when is the latest time it can be sown?

I like a cover crop mix, one that includes daikon radishes to break up our hard soil. Clover is a little difficult to iradicate, but I have used it.

Super stuff! Someone here said you must not let green manures seed - but i heard certain nutrients wont release into the soil - if you don't let them seed - so i stopped cutting my mustard and have left some of it - i can see the flowers coming! I have also sown rye overwinter it looked great in the gloom, the buckwheat died. My leaves are used up by summer to overcome dryness so i am using more cover crops now especially because the straw probably has glyphosphate in it.

I'm panning on seeding as much of my land as possible with cover crops (a mix). We have an acre and a half of land, most of which is very heavy clay. We would much prefer doing this to bringing in a backhoe! 😅

Thanks for sharing on this topic. I make a good amount of compost. The largest amount from thermal piles with Johnson Su inspired aeration channels. A few "cold" bins produce great vermicast and as a bonus the plentiful red wigglers migrate to the cooled larger piles (the worms were introduced 15 years ago and require no care or action on my part). As you, beds are mulched more than cover cropped. I use cover crops on new beds (no dig/cardboard/4-5"compost method) and wherever it lends itself later in season (around mature plants or empty beds). I've made a habit (perhaps not the best?) of using mix of oats, buckwheat and peas. I keep the first 2 from going to seed. Pea seeds are reused for same purpose. All are winter killed (zone 5a). If lots of biomass, some may go to compost piles, otherwise just stays put as mulch. No pulling up of roots. No tilling. Seems beneficial. Most notably on same 2 beds that produce 300 big, delicious, disease free garlic bulbs for past 6 years. I leave them under insect netting (till after scape harvest) and do 1 or 2 bt applications only. So many factors to consider....so analyzing garden results and soil health done with big dose of humility. This year, abundance of rain was a negative for some crops but there were also pleasant surprises (like loads of cucumbers!!).

Great overview, my favorite is sun hemp which is a nitrogen fixing legume that I discovered because of a nematode infestation in our sandy soil. Most vegetables would not grow well and when you dug them up there were knots all over the roots. I have tried many things including hairy vetch but sun hemp is the only thing that has worked for me.

Thinking about putting some purselane out this year. Definitely some radishes and carrots not just cover crop! food!

I cant wrap my head around cover cropping. Like when would a northern gardener plant one? In the spring, and waste precious growing time? I’m in zone 4. Would you risk getting a ton of volunteer plants if you just till everything into your soil?

Living in Wyoming, we get high winds and long stretches of very dry, cold temps throughout winter, so protecting the soil makes sense. We also live in a treeless plain, so high volumes of leaf mass isn't an option. I made my own mix this year. I'm growing oats and field peas. I feel I'm getting the best of both root mass and nitrogen fixation this way. Spring will tell...

Im in south west louisiana and my growing season is 8-10 months, some time 12 months because we get like 3 weeks of total freezing weather and i use make shift growing tunnels to keep things warm

I need bio mass for an area that was a driveway and the soil isn't great. The grass is growing better than I thought it would, but that area will be mostly flowers and maybe a few fruit trees. I bought 2 or 3 mixes and ALL the clovers! Will spread that around this week. I really hope all those clovers grow well for the bees in the spring. (I'll plant more at the end of winter)

Love this guy

This is my first year using a cover crop and I'm using a clover/pea mix.

We run sunflower stalks through our chipper.

I also put buckwheat in this year white clover and yellow clover .

Great Information ☘💗🌾🙏

Question if I were to plant Clover and then turn it over in the spring will it continue to come up as a weed?

I think you missed the bio-mass that winter rye produces when terminated when it's a foot or so tall in the spring as it produces an amazing root mass as well as top growth. But admittedly this requires shallow tillage and/or coverage for best results.

Living is so cal valleys, we tend to get two short seasons. The rest of the time it is too hot or too cold. What is the best way to cover crop for a deep planter or raised bed?

I have listened to this 3 times. All I hear when you say "Hairy Vetch" is something TOTALLY different :P It's funny. Some of us simply cannot eradicate our middle school humor mode :D That would be me. Ha

I’m growing shelling peas. Can I just turn those into my soil also? Think they fix nitrogen also?

carrots and clover seem like a good mix

WHAT IS AND WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO PLANT A GOOD COVER CROP IN north west Michigan or is it too late to get the seed in now??? We have had a frost and some snow but I need a cover crop!!!!

I've not cover cropped before but am this year. I'm using an oats-n-peas mix as well as hairy vetch. So, we'll see how it goes. 😬

It is why some farmers use crop rotation and field rotation. We can do that in our gardens as well. By having one of 7 areas in our garden lay fallow and rotate which one it is by planting clover or other item there not to be harvested.

Hairy Vetch is pretty invasive here in Louisiana, our climate doesn't get cold enough to kill it. So it spreads like fire, shading out every plant in it's path, round up annihilates it at very low concentrations thankfully.

my first try at clover mix cover crop. should be interesting

I like red clover. Red clover is a medicinal plant which helps your lymphatic system.

How does it work without tilling? I am in a new situation and trying to figure out the best ways to build soil, with leaf mulching and cover crops being the two best, but separate, options. Also considering free/repurposed woodchips. We just got our first frost today: Massachusetts, zone 6. Not sure if I missed my window for cover cropping. Would be glad for recommendations from folks. Thanks for all you do, Luke. (Someone asked this no-till cover cropping below, but KZfaq wasn't letting me respond.)

I use hairy vetch and trying some clover this year also. But Like you I mulch most of my beds with grass clippings and leaves in the fall as I have an abundance on my property. One question ... should the vetch and clover be terminated early in the spring before flowering to maximize nitrogen or would it be better to keep them growing as a living mulch?

Luke, how about buckwheat? Great warm season cover crop, draws pollinators

I want to plant a cover crop for the next owner of our house *moving* no idea if I should. Our garden was okay this year but... It could have been better.

We live in an evergreen forrest and compostable material is inadequate for our garden. I would like to try some of your suggestions but wonder how you feel about an annual rye for raised beds?

Clover is a good cover crop but It's very evasive it's hard to get rid of when it comes time to plant your garden at least that's my experience with clover.

I apparently have significant root knot nematodes in one raised bed. My okra or cucumbers didn’t grow and the roots were gnarled. I have read mustard greens was a good cover crop to keep them under control. Any suggestions? 😮 Oh. I just noticed someone else previously mentioned the same subject. Thanks. We have mild weather in southern New Mexico so hopefully it’s not too late.

I need a cover crop that draws pests out of the soil so I plant garlic in as many beds as possible. The scent seems to be left in the soil after harvesting and summer plants seem to have less to no pest damage.

I heard buckwheat cam be used. Any thoughts of using this grain?

Advice for cover crops to improve sandy soil in Iowa? I only have about an acre that's much good for gardening as the rest floods, I'm on a river. I love the good drainage to a point but even with drip lines it's hard to keep it watered and amendments flow away, so I'd love to figure out how to improve the soil structure

For your leaf mulch do you need to break the leaves down with mower first? Any leaves to avoid? I have sugar maples.

ive tried leaf mulch, but we get high winds here and certainly don't have enough to do a thick enough layer... so I will be trying crimson clover. last time what I used...buckwheat mayve. it took years to eradicate. clover looks much eaier.. only thing I dont like is that I can't really go no till...

Don't know if any other commenters have mentioned this, but hairy vetch is also a legume.

I live in southern Colorado.. zone 5B Very harsh winters. I’ve been gardening for a few years now and I do not cover my gardens over winter. Would it be ok to cover soil/garden with hay or straw until spring?

I'm going to be planting red clover, hairy vetch, annual ryegrass, peas, and white mustard this fall. To be turned over in the spring.

Hi a question. How do you tell the difference between root knot nematodes and those nitrogen fixer balls that were on the roots you showed?... I just searched Google for the answer and saw some pictures but still don't think I could tell the difference.

I've purchased your cover crop mix twice. First time, the birds stole the seeds. Second time, nothing germinated. Still gonna try again on our new landscape.

I like Buckwheat for the same reasons Luke likes Clover, except it's not a nitrogen fixer.

I've seen advertised a cover crop mix for gardeners in zone 5 like myself that comprises 9 different seeds for nitrogen fixing, ground aeration, etc. These are designed for no-till gardening/farming and are plants that grow in zone 8 so that they will grow for 30-60 days and then die and decompose. Do you see something like this working well?

I keep seeing comfry as a nitrogen fixer in gardens . What's your thoughts on that.

Good info. Don’t sunflowers prevent other seeds from germinating?

Is hairy vetch the same as crown vetch? I’d avoid it. It’s hard to control.

I have never had aphids until this year 😮 is there a certain cover crop that can help to enrich the soil before the next planting season?

QUESTION: If you use clover or any cover crop, does that mean after the growing season the following year, do you have to practice rotation and not use the same clover as cover crop??? Thank you for info!!

Excellent material. A bit less to distract if you can avoid saying “actually” so often.

What if you don/t want to till?

I need to find videos based on south Florida/tropical gardening.

Will the weed Nutsedge and Bermuda grass make a good cover crop?

What about lupines? Those are amazing for soil and attracting pollinators. Since they're a spring flower, are those best for fallow years, as they grow best in low nitrogen soil, as they are nitrogen fixers?

I just put compost and a pile of leaves on my garden bed, is it too late to plant a cover crop?

What's the best cover crop for reactive clay?

I go for clover in mine

Are cover crops nessacary? Or mulch better

If you grow a mix how do you determine when to turn it in?

I live near Luke, and have a 4’ slope toward ge back of my yard that my dog loves to run in, even though I put up a small fence! I need something that will just stay there for soil erosion. I have sone huge oregano plants and was going to put edible and medicinal plants there, but I broke my arm and need something I can just throw down dnd it will germinate. I have violets in one corner and was thinking about getting some cheap bushes on sale to fill in. It’s a mess right now, and I may want to sell next spring. Help❣️❣️❣️❣️

I'm testing out alfalfa this fall (another nitrogen fixer, I believe).

I grow blackberries i sell at the farmers market. Im thinking of instead of every year tilling between the rows to keep weeds cleared out to plate a mix of timothy hay, red clover & alfafa? it sounds good to me because i also raise rabbits so i could cut they hay for feed. Thoughts anyone?

This may be a funny question, but why a cover crop? When summer is done, then the next ones go in. . . Why use seed & water for that? Working 10-12... hrs a day for FedEx Ground, I do not have extra time; I often night water by flashlight... I was hoping the next crop - not yet selected - would like cool weather, & less care... water... what shall it be?