You are definitely my living soil guru Mark. Thanks for sharing Your knowledge.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Wow, THANK YOU.

Big Salute to you! Brother, you have an excellent way of speaking! Your enthusiasm is very compelling. Thank you for your publications! I will listen while I work and try to pick up some tips for my farming.

Nothing to add, just commenting to help boost the channel. I really appreciate you encouraging and informing people in such a positive, down-to-earth way.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

And THANK YOU for your help to answer comments to other people. VERY HELPFUL. Just order 25 lbs. of winter wheat. How late do your plant yours, and in what zone.

@dogslobbergardens6606

Жыл бұрын

@@iamorganicgardening you're very welcome, glad I can help out a little. We're in northern East TN zone 6B; I plant winter wheat in late Sept/early October. The optimal germination temps are listed as being between 54-77 degrees F. If it has time to grow a tiller or two before frosts it's supposed to do the very best surviving the winter.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

@@dogslobbergardens6606 THANK YOU kindly.

I don't have much experience with cover cropping, but I have been aware and mindful of it for many years now. My area has extremely long droughts and very high clay soil. I have made many observations of the properties of soil during different periods of weather. One thing I recommend for the average person to understand cover cropping better is to dig down and inspect the soil at different depths, different locations, particularly comparing soil that has grass growing on it to nearby barren areas. Don't underestimate the complexity of your unique soil situation. There is so much to learn from those first hand observations. It is truly fascinating.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

You are so correct with your observations. THANK YOU.

Hello from New Zealand. Subscribed! Wow this is awesome stuff thank you so much. I'm starting a vege garden and going to get into sunflowers even though we're already halfway through our summer...a practise run really. I've spent the last 2weeks researching sunflowers on KZread and you win hands down. Im excited and looking forward to watching ALL of your well informed posts. Huge thumbs up!

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Awesome! Thank you! Please feel free to ask any question. Here to help and share.

Growing sorgram Sudan grass in the summer zone 8 b. It’s 8 feet and some hitting 10 feet. Thanks for all of your help Mark!

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

That is so Great to hear. THANK YOU.

I just watched a sobering documentary about water shortages. Rainwater gathers oxygen as it falls. City and well water lack that advantage. Your info on deep roots and circulation/retention of rainwater is essential. -KJ

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

I fully share your insight. THANK YOU.

Thanks for your efforts, sir.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

So nice of you to say. THANK YOU.

Learning a lot from you, as usual 😁. Looking forward to more videos, thanks for taking the time to teach us!

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

I live in East Tn and grow vegetables for my food bank.I am growing greens this winter. I have planted winter rye between the rows in some areas and clover in others. I am trying to keep roots in the ground for the microorganisms and worms.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Sounds great! This will be great for you. Thanks

When is the best time to start growing cover crops? Please give examples of type of cover crops one should consider. Thank you

Great video! So jealous of your tomatoes! We have a few areas in our backyard that is our garden space. Since it is a smallish area should we do cover cropping? If so do you have recommendations for best thing to use. I’m hoping to increase our garden plot size this fall and to be ready for spring planting by trying out your cover crop ideas. Thanks so much for info. (I live in zone 6B and our first frost is usually toward end of October.)

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Use Winter Rye cover crop seeds. I been using it for 10 years now. It will grow 3 to 6 feet tall in the spring. Please watch my other videos on this winter rye seeds.

@dogslobbergardens6606

Жыл бұрын

Yes, you can use over crops in small plots, raised beds, and even in containers. The roots will still help keep the soil from getting compacted and dried out. 🙂

@formation1now517

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Mark! Appreciate you!​@@iamorganicgardening

Thank you 🙏🏻👍🏻🙏🏻

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching. Enjoy.

Do you do cover crops around your perennial plants? For example, blueberry bushes?? I'm preparing my soil with dried leaves. I have an established blueberry bush, but I plan to plant 6 more blueberry bushes in the area.

Yep! I'm very worried for next year, because between 38celsius temps and 2 months of zero rain (London UK), watering was pretty ineffective, and growth terrible. I'm going cover-crop and mulch and wildflower-crazy this year. I've got more beds to sow......once our endless rain stops...

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

That is such a great plan. We are all sharing what you have seen this year. THANK YOU.

Great Video my Friend. Curious what was that Variety of Tomatoes Take Care Thanks Mark ‼️

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

It is called NEW GIRL. From Johnnyseeds.com

Greetings, i was hoping for an advice on a ground cover that requires low maintanance (no mowing) , i am currently considering (oxalis corniculata) and many people say that its really invasive , but i don't see that as a bad thing as long as it does not harm the soil and it will grow yearroung (Im in a zone 8) "Some other internet research suggests Dichondra... I highly value your opinion, please share :)

@dogslobbergardens6606

Жыл бұрын

@@flatsville1 Yes! SARE and local universities are fantastic resources.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

I have never used them, but hear from other gardeners that they are fine. They use wood boards and layer them on top to kill off the areas that it spreads to or new transplanting areas. It is important that what ever you use in has a deep root to build soil deep 1 to 2 feet for sure. Thanks

Hi Mark. What about weeds? Should they be pulled out or cut at the base and leave the roots in. This is all new to me.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Cut weed roots at just below soil level and leave the roots to die and feed the soil. Thanks

Zone 7A.. when should I start whiter rye seeds? A couple weeks ago I planted more squash starts after my potatoe harvest. Thanks!!

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

You can plant the winter rye around your squash plants now if you wish. I am making a video today on this to be publish in the next few days. Winter Rye can be planted until the ground freezes. But sooner the better, Thanks for asking

Hi Mark, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I never miss watching any of your videos. I have a question, can we use parsley as a cover crop since it has a tap root or it won’t be as effective?

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Yes, if the plant does not die off over you cold garden season.

@YourMom-kg1tb

Жыл бұрын

I am in zone 6a, and I use parsley as a cover crop in my asparagus bed. It has over wintered here. I do cover the bed with approximately 2 inches of chopped leaves, so that might help it survive. Hope this helps.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

@@YourMom-kg1tb THANK YOU for sharing this very helpful information.

@dogslobbergardens6606

Жыл бұрын

@@YourMom-kg1tb good tip! I use chives in some beds and containers, because here in 6B it lives through the winter. And who doesn't like chives? It's a nice companion for various annuals, too. There are so many options to choose from; use whatever survives the cold season in your area.

@atrinalmani6969

Жыл бұрын

@@iamorganicgardening thank you very much

Is clover a good cover crop? I can pick it once in a while for my chickens they love it and it just grows right back.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Yes, It keeps a living root in the ground to help grow soil. Thanks for asking

@dogslobbergardens6606

Жыл бұрын

Clover is one the most popular cover crops, for good reason. Many farmers use a mix of clover and grasses like rye or winter wheat. Clover is indeed good fodder for both chickens and rabbits and various larger animals too. It can help keep nitrogen in your soil and it's often one of the first things to bloom in spring, which is nice for pollinators.

Do you think weed fabric is a bad idea? I am learning how to garden, and year round at that. Watching a lot of your videos and cover cropping. I am thinking if I keep adding mulch from the terminates cover crops, that will help cut down on the weeds?

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

No, Not at all . I did a video on it. This is it. kzread.info/dash/bejne/lIWtmqN9p9mYfdY.html . Mulch from the cover crops helps a lot. Can you Collect fall Leaves ? It is a great mulch.

Hello Mark- You talk about the "living root" and what it provides. Regarding Winter Rye what about a dead root? Are we suppose to leave the root in the ground after it dies off in the spring? Also, in one of your vids re; planting the w rye, you say to use the 1/2 " (i think) cardboard. Can i use thinner cardboard and if not, what is the reasoning behind the thick(er) cardboard. .Any info would be helpful as i just got my seeds and anxious to plant to break up my red sticky icky clay. I'm planting radish too - thanks to your vids this all is much less confusing, as most presenters assume newbies know this stuff. Thank you for your hard work JD

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

When the winter rye dies off in the late spring it is a open passage to air and water. Plus the old roots are eaten by all those helpful multi billons nice microbes that feed your new green plants. Less thicker cardboard is fine also. The thicker one might just last longer due to weather. But works fine either way. You can use a broad fork or a pitch fork to break up the soil the very first time only. It will not harm the soil. Your soil has a lot of bacteria in it now. You need to grow fungi to be equal with the bacteria amount. A 1 to 1 ratio. That is the reason to grow a cover crop to get them back to equal.

@judiday5316

Жыл бұрын

@@iamorganicgardeningoh.. ok thank you..i get it now. Thanks for letting me know about the broad forking. Looks like I'll be planting winter rye for the next month...🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌙 Broad forking red clay wont be fun..uhg!

Mark; I'm in the sames zone as you.6b. I'm setting up a fall/winter bed. can you tell me if you've ever released your Red WIgglers into any of your beds and if so, did they survive the winter? I understand the science of growing soil and" the worms willl come" methodology, however i'm in the beginning stages and for now trying to give my beds all the help thy can get until my cover crops kick in. I have absolutely no worms AT ALL in my beds and kinda desperate. I tried wood chips 2 yrs ago and that was a mistake. i dug them out and filled strips with compost but still am faced with Red Sticky Clay 10 inches down...incidentally my town in CT was the center in the Northeast for Brick making for 120 yrs so i think my clay is particularly sticky... ugh! I love my worms and really don't want any of them to die so am really wanting to know if they can survive. As usual there are conflicting reports. SInce you approach soil health methodically with all of your experiments...I gather tht you may have experimented with the worms as well. I trust your opinion. Thank you- JD

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Sorry I never did that. Worms are great but what food will you be giving them to eat Now today in your Soil? Soil building first , second worms when the soil is ready. Clay is a good thing in your garden but you have to much bacteria now that makes it sticky. You need equal parts of fungi growing in your soil to a ratio of 1 to 1 . 1 bacteria to 1 fungi. How do you do this . Plant a winter rye cover crop. The roots will go through the clay 2 feet over winter and early spring when it is wet and soft to open it up. Plus fungi grows lot more in the winter due to nothing eats it. In the summer time some things eat some of it. It will happen, give nature a chance

@judiday5316

Жыл бұрын

@@iamorganicgardening ok thank you..i guess i have no choice but to be partient. "if you build it they will come" - pretty apropos statement huh? Wow- cool that fungi grow more in winter...Thank you for sharing your wisdom...

Mark, I have been thinking of what type(s) of cover crop(s) I should use in October when the growing season wraps up. I tried winter rye but it was hard to kill in Spring. Daikon didn’t germinate well in October last year but they were popping up everywhere in Spring. I need two things: 1. A winter kill cover crop that I can interplant right now with my overwintering brassicas. 2. A cover crop that’ll germinate well in late October when I pull out the warm season crops. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

what USDA zone are you in and when is your first frost date ?

@insidethegardenwall22

Жыл бұрын

@@iamorganicgardening US zone 8a (PNW) and October 6. Thanks.

@dogslobbergardens6606

Жыл бұрын

@@insidethegardenwall22 I use winter wheat instead of rye. It may or may not winterkill, but as long as you mow it down before it makes seed, it won't persist or come back.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

You have great suggestion from DogSlobber Gardens about winter wheat. Is their space you can interplant between your crop now in open soil with red crimson clover today? If Not can you plant up small 4 inch pots or something else of red crimson clover seed today and then transplant them later in the garden when you are finish with your crops. Depending the size of your garden area. Red crimson clover is easy the kill off. This will be you living root over winter in the ground plus it regrows in the spring again. At is much easier to kill off. Thanks

@insidethegardenwall22

Жыл бұрын

@@iamorganicgardening winter wheat and red crimson clover sounds like a plan. I want to mix them up and direct sow for interplanting with my overwintering purple sprouting broccoli and some cabbages, as well as later in early October after I pulled out the Fall crops. Sounds good?

Also, how would you suggest a new residential gardener with st augustine grass in their backyard to take this information you are providing and start growing? Should I terminate the st augustine grass somehow and add something else more manageable like clovers? I read online St. Augustine is a very aggressive and competitive grass allowing it to compete with weeds. If allowed to, St. Augustine grass could overtake and kill most shrubs in your yard. My concern is how it will work with food crops? 😰

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

You should remove all that St Augustine grass from you garden area. Not helpful at all.

DO you ever harvest seeds from the cover crop to save on the cover drop for the next year?

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Yes. I always leave some to go to seed.

Just starting to learn about cover crop. I want a crop to help my soil plus I'd like to cute it down and plant in it. What kind of cover crop do you recommend? Thank you.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Winter Rye cover crop seed is the best way to start with. Plant now and it will grow 3 to 6 feet in the spring. I have lots of videos on this

@kathleenritter4532

Жыл бұрын

@@iamorganicgardening - thank you SO much!!!

aren't weeds some kind of cover crop ? from what I understand, they do all the things you mentioned in the video. Water holding, rooting, getting sun and the carbon to the soil etc..

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Some in that groups that are call weeds do not do it as much. A weed only does it .01% out of 100% of others plants

Do you use any added fertilizer during growing season? Or is cover cropping efficient to go threw the growing season? I am trying to grow more organic but it's expensive to keep buying organic foods to feed my plants something need to change!

@Horse237

Жыл бұрын

Start a worm bin. Feed coffee grounds to the worms. They will turn it into amino acids that are far better than any fertilizer. Wash eggshells, sterilize them in an oven and pulverize them for the worms. They will turn the chitin into the enzyme chitinase which kills the exoskeletons of aphids. They are also an excellent source of calcium which makes your vegetables have a greater shelf life after they have been picked. Winter is coming and your worms need to be protected against cold and mice.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

No, I d not add fertilizer at all. I grow my whole garden and farm without out organic fertilizer . It is all about keeping a living root in the ground all the time, I use cover crops also.

Your back! Lol

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Lots to share with you all. THANK YOU.

my garden has many weeds and grasses, are they cover crops?

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

Most likely not > on a scale 1 to 10 it is only a 2. What true weeds do is not feed the soil fungi to make it better or very little. It is like eating lettuce when you are hungry. It stops you from being hungry , but there is no nutrients in it.

I soo wish I could break into my soil with my hands, mine is heavy clay and like concrete.

@iamorganicgardening

Жыл бұрын

So was mine. Cover crops over winter will fix it. Thanks for asking.