If you have a few hours then spend it browsing the e-organics channel at youtube. There are a lot of segments from longer videos put out by U Vermont and Mass university extensions with regard to tillage, cover crops, so on and so forth. The overall scope may not fit into your world but you can surely take what these guys are doing on large scale and utilize it on a small scale...
I've decided to try a hand a growing garlic this fall. I wasn't sure how garlic grew until I exhausted searching on here and then tried google, only to find out garlic grows from its cloves! (so what came first, the clove, or the bulb? lol). but anyhow, is there a method to growing garlic? do I just sow the cloves outright or do I try to sprout roots somehow and then plant them? do they require lots of depth to grow, or is it something I can grow in a container?
also, I searched and discovered I'm in zone 9. whether or not that information is pertinent to growing garlic is a mystery to me, but I figured I'd throw it out there.
also, I searched and discovered I'm in zone 9. whether or not that information is pertinent to growing garlic is a mystery to me, but I figured I'd throw it out there.
-
applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30540
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
I was just reading up on different cover crops. some grow more in fall, others don't grow much in fall but grow more in spring ( which may interfere with planting and growing early spring crop. some winter kill. some, as G5 mentioned (here or elsewhere) is alleloopathic if left on the surface as mulch and will suppress weed seed AS WELL AS crop seed germination.
Without going back to ref, I only remember winter rye as can be sown later into fall. Between oat and rye, one grows more in fall and the other in spring. Oat will winter kill in Z6. Crimson clover is borderline in Z6 and can survive mild winters in Z5. Rye, oat, and vetch are allelopathic as mulch and are better for transplant beds. (I'll have to rethink my plans in the morning)
I'll write up specifics later.
Without going back to ref, I only remember winter rye as can be sown later into fall. Between oat and rye, one grows more in fall and the other in spring. Oat will winter kill in Z6. Crimson clover is borderline in Z6 and can survive mild winters in Z5. Rye, oat, and vetch are allelopathic as mulch and are better for transplant beds. (I'll have to rethink my plans in the morning)
I'll write up specifics later.
I've got it!
Plant a winter-kill crop in an area in the garden that becomes usable early (like a squash-path that usually gets the SVB or an area of greens and radishes that usually bolt).
Plant a spring-growth crop in an area that you won't have available until later in the season.
Plant an alleloopathic crop where you know you'll be putting in transplants next year so you don't have to worry about seed-germination issues.
Whew! I can see how you needed to make that elaborate diagram, App; I'm duplicating it in my head right now!
Plant a winter-kill crop in an area in the garden that becomes usable early (like a squash-path that usually gets the SVB or an area of greens and radishes that usually bolt).
Plant a spring-growth crop in an area that you won't have available until later in the season.
Plant an alleloopathic crop where you know you'll be putting in transplants next year so you don't have to worry about seed-germination issues.
Whew! I can see how you needed to make that elaborate diagram, App; I'm duplicating it in my head right now!
.well, I found my local orchard on facebook that sends out info to us gardeners every spring in the mail. so I posted on there asking about cover crops. they recommend oats. so I guess I'm going with oats since they are 5ish min from my house and I know that it'll do ok. now I'm just waiting for them to tell me how late to wait to plant it. I'm sad though since they don't have any apples this year because of late frost 
that is so sad.
that is so sad.-
gixxerific
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 5889
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:42 pm
- Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B
Yeah don't give up. I'm still iffy if I will do this or not. Same reasons mostly you have. Confused as to what to plant or if there will be money to get said plants. But if not this year I will know more next year and maybe that will be the golden year.
But don't get discouraged maybe back off a little and learn more don't make it a race. There is way to much in the gardening world to learn all at once.
Take your time it will be beautiful.
But don't get discouraged maybe back off a little and learn more don't make it a race. There is way to much in the gardening world to learn all at once.
Take your time it will be beautiful.
I get a third chance to fail at brussel's sprouts this year. Failure 1 was getting to the nursery too late to scavenge the clearance sale over grown spring plants. Failure 2 was cabbage worms eating my whole flat of seedlings overnight (planted after getting back from the failed trip to the nursery). The local nursery is now again advertizing seedlings so I get to transplant in 90 degree weather with deer and bunnies and cabbage butterflies all over the place. Fingers are crossed and shotgun is loaded.
I always say I'm going to do cabage, but then I realize I don't have room for it with all of my other crops.
To add to what Gix said about learning, don't wait until you've learned everything. Experience is the best teacher.
Learn what you can, then just go for it! Sure it may be a flop, but you'll learn more from that flop than from researching how to avoid it. Really, no matter how much you know, you'll always learn new things through personal experience.
If everything there was to know about gardening was contained in books, there would be little use for a forum like this one where we share our own perceptions and experiences and learn from them.
Good luck!
To add to what Gix said about learning, don't wait until you've learned everything. Experience is the best teacher.
Learn what you can, then just go for it! Sure it may be a flop, but you'll learn more from that flop than from researching how to avoid it. Really, no matter how much you know, you'll always learn new things through personal experience.
If everything there was to know about gardening was contained in books, there would be little use for a forum like this one where we share our own perceptions and experiences and learn from them.
Good luck!
-
applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30540
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
I like the fedco site. lots of info there, and I bought the NE Covercrop Handbook as recommended by someone (sorry about the lapse in memory 
)
Here's a REALLY good selection guide for Rye vs. Winter wheat vs. Triticale vs. Spelt: https://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/bjorkman/covercrops/pdfs/wheat.pdf
Here's the rye file:
https://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/bjorkman/covercrops/pdfs/rye.pdf
Both from this page: https://calshort-lamp.cit.cornell.edu/bjorkman/covercrops/index.php
Cornell U. Is in Tompkins County
https://www.gardening.cornell.edu/weather/images/fallfrostlg.jpg
My fall frost is probably about a week later.
)Here's a REALLY good selection guide for Rye vs. Winter wheat vs. Triticale vs. Spelt: https://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/bjorkman/covercrops/pdfs/wheat.pdf
Here's the rye file:
https://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/bjorkman/covercrops/pdfs/rye.pdf
Both from this page: https://calshort-lamp.cit.cornell.edu/bjorkman/covercrops/index.php
Cornell U. Is in Tompkins County https://www.gardening.cornell.edu/weather/images/fallfrostlg.jpg
My fall frost is probably about a week later.
Haven't read it yet, but look at this! -
gixxerific
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 5889
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:42 pm
- Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B
