Buckwheat – My Cover Crop of Choice
Ok, I’ll admit, I don’t much about cover crops. In reality, I don’t even have much time right now to research what I’d like from a cover crop. With that in mind, I turned to Mark Greene and asked what he used in his 5 acre vineayrd. Turns out, he uses Buckwheat. He choose that because the roots tend to go deep and break up the soil, allowing for better drainage. Makes sense to me! And it’s available at the local farm supply stores…additionally it’s fast growing. so even though I should have planted my field last fall, this might do well…we’ll have to see!
I’ll probably throw in some wildflower seeds as well…
Here’s an article on Buckwheat as a cover crop:
Buckwheat: A Beneficial Cover Crop
If idle hands are the devil’s playthings, then idle soil must certainly be the devil’s playground. Today we talk about cover crops. Ways to cover your bare soil and keep it healthy and weed free when you’re not using it to garden in and it’s an organic gardening technique that every one should incorporate into their gardening regimen.
Probably the “A,” number one, most favorite cover crop used by organic gardeners is this one. It’s buckwheat. Any time you’re going to have bare soil for a month or more, sow two-to-three pounds of buckwheat per thousand square feet. The stuff germinates quickly, grows very rapidly. And then, when you’re ready to plant something like this corn, just hole a row right down the middle and plant.
But wait, there’s more! Not only does the buckwheat suppress weeds, control erosion, and return nutrients to the soil when you till it in, but it also supports predacious insects like hover flies or surfant flies that prey on like aphids and other garden pests.
You can also just bend some of the stems over and let it act as a mulch for your squash vine. All things considered, buckwheat or a good cover crop can replace the use of a number of chemicals, herbicides, insecticides in your garden. It’s an organic gardening technique that’s bound to be good for your garden.