Peas and beans also have beautiful flowers. Lupinus luteus (European yellow Lupines Luteus=Yellow) are becoming quite popular here in German seed mixes and also have gorgeous flowers, and many different colors aside from the standard yellow have been breed out. For those not in the know the family of plants called Fabaceae (Legumes, basically most plants that produce pods think peas etc.) have special nodules in the roots that Nitrogen fixing bacteria Rhizobium spp. (Rhizo=root) find quite appealing to build colonies within. And with this symbiotic relationship N2 in the air is fixed and made bioavailable in the soil for your plants to enjoy. There are also trees within the Fabaceae family, 3 I can think of off the top of my head are the Gleditsche (Honey Locusts i believe theyre called in English) and the Black locust (robinia, careful poisonous!) and the Tamarind tree which we had on Key West as well! I hope I'm not being rude but Stefan Sobkowiak has a great video on permaculture utulizing gleditsches kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZX2Yrql9naupc6w.html . Also people need to get into Juneberries, amelanchier trees/shrubs are gorgeous 3 of the 4 seasons. As a Landscaping gardener here in Germany I really do love your videos and find them a wealth of info. Keep up the great work.

As a fairly novice gardener, I put in a cover of hairy vetch and will turn it in about a month and a half. The stuff grew so well, it spread and had to be cut out of my fall/winter crop. Thanks for the video. Next year I know to cover with a mix.

@ucscagroecology

Жыл бұрын

Yes, hairy vetch is a good nitrogen fixator, but the stems can get really tough and can be hard to incorporate into the soil. Good luck with you garden!

Amazing!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge😊

@ucscagroecology

Жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

This is a great video. Thank you so much for this instructional video. You have perfect timing as Im currently trying to turn my thumb a bit greener and improve my clay backyard soil!

@ucscagroecology

Жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful! If you plant a cover crop each winter and incorporate it back into the soil, in 3-4 years you will hardly recognize your clay soil any more.

Orin is my hero

@ucscagroecology

3 ай бұрын

Ours too!

Dude you are so Rad. Thank you for sharing.Sorta like no dig yeah?

@ucscagroecology

Жыл бұрын

Pretty much!

I would like to use cover crops on my olive trees but the scale is just impossible to do by hand, is there an alternative tractor attachment that could till the soil so I can plant but not destroy it like a rotary tiller does?

@ucscagroecology

Жыл бұрын

You may want to consider planting a perennial grass like fescue in the orchard alley ways. Yes, rototillers do pulverize soil aggregates, but by using a perennial grass you'll only need to run the rototiller one time. And you only need to till a few inches deep for planting the grass seed. Hopefully, this helps.

Great video! I am in los angeles near the coast. i was thinking about white dutch clover to address my compacted loamy soil, lack of organic matter and lack of nitrogen (my soil test came back very low nitrogen which probably stunted my fig tree orchard last season). any recommendations for cover crop around my fig trees. i am now worried i may let the clover go to seed if I forget about it. Maybe rye grass or diacon radish is better for soil health and i can just throw nitrogen 21-0-0 to address nitrogen deficiency? Thanks Orin

@ucscagroecology

Жыл бұрын

Great that you got your soil tested. It's a big help to have that analysis to plan your soil improvement regimen. Both grasses and legumes are good at adding nitrogen to the soil, but it's not as fast as adding a bagged fertilizer. 21-0-0 is pretty concentrated and you need to be careful applying such a potent fertilizer. Probably better to get a fertilizer in the 5-5-5 range. There are several organic bagged fertilizers that will work well and disburse the nutrients over a period of weeks. You can apply the bagged fertilizer at the same time you plant a cover crop for a quick shot of nitrogen and the cover crop will followup in a few months. Here's another video with Orin talking about cover crops: kzread.info/dash/bejne/X32jqdJ8gpybmbQ.html Good luck with your trees. Farm and garden staff.

@nickka2009

Жыл бұрын

@@ucscagroecology thank you for the response and the link to the video. it was another great video. The lab test came back lowest level of nitrogen. it was basically non existent which is why they recommended 21-0-0 beginning in spring. last question, i will go ahead and plant white dutch clover and chop/drop based on Orin's advice when flowering just begins and plant is soft and green. Since the clover cover crop will be planted at my fig orchard, should i refrain from planting the cover crop near the fig tree trunks? Should I stay away from the established tree trunks or does it not matter since the fig trees are going into dormancy? thank you

@ucscagroecology

Жыл бұрын

You can plant within about 6 inches of the tree trunks. Just don't allow the cover crop or anything biologically active (mulch, compost, etc.) to touch up against the tree, especially around the graft union, to help prevent rot and mold from growing on the tree. When you incorporate the chopped down cover crop, be careful not to dig close to the trunk where the roots are close to the surface. Good luck with your trees!

@nickka2009

Жыл бұрын

@@ucscagroecology beautiful , thank you !