Well here I am typing this for the second time, reminding myself why I love the outdoors and not computers. Our fourteenth week of CSA comes in the midst of August´s sweltering heat. These dog days are a friendly reminder that Fall is around the corner, which means preparing the farm for our autumn harvest. As our final successions of summer crops begin to fruit, our newly planted fall crops have just begun germinating in the greenhouse. Out in the fields we prepare for the fall with the practice of cover cropping.

Cover cropping is by far my favorite practice on the farm. We use an assortment of crops for this, each providing an essential element for what will become a fertile bed. Our onion and garlic field became a blanket of white as the buckwheat went to flower. Our pea and spring green fields are now home to tall green stalks of sorghum-Sudan grass and brown top millet, each with its cereal filled tassels swaying in the always appreciated breeze. We do not harvest these grains, but we certainly could. The millet will be mowed down by our chickens, who will convert it into much needed manure. The other crops will be mowed down and tilled in the bed, becoming green manure.

Ideally, when cover cropping, the goal is to obtain as much biomass with the fewest seeds used. This is where spacing is important. Allowing a few inches of space for each stalk to grow provides it the freedom to grow tall and thick, producing the greatest potential biomass. Since seeds are broadcasted (spread about by hand), spacing is not an exact science, but a quick step and a good spreading motion will give you proper spacing. If the seeds are over sown, each stalk will feel it prudent, in its evolutionary disposition, to send up its seeds early, while it is still short. This causes a carpet of short stalks, which though beautiful and a useful prevention of weeds, is not the maximum yield for your crop.

A fertile bed will have a harmonious balance of carbon and nitrogen in it. While our summer crops provide a healthy fixation of carbon, it is our spring and fall cover crops that will fixate nitrogen into the soil. Crops such as winter pea, clover, and vetch are all legumes. Legumes contain little nodules on their roots. The plant takes nitrogen from the atmosphere and deposits it into the soil through these nodules.

Cover cropping is an essential practice for the sustainable farm. Cover cropping is always preferred to leaving a bed bare. Cover crops increase fertility in the field, while at the same time preventing topsoil erosion and nutrient loss from evaporation. Their roots also bring up nutrients from the subsoil, to which plants would not otherwise have access. Furthermore, cover crops add an aesthetic appeal to your farm, without any up keep. They are a beautiful reminder of the work that you and the earth just accomplished. For three months, each bed is toiled over and cover cropping is its break. It is the earth´s time to rest and increase in fertility. Cover crops are a true sign of sustainable agriculture.

Until next time,

−R.J., Paige, Matthew, Lauren, Mary, Nico, and Bosco