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TheWaterbug
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Winter cover crop for Southern California?

Just planning ahead, here, but after my 3rd annual pumpkin party, I'm going to have about 3000 sf of space that I want to improve for next year's pumpkin crop. I already have the space I need for my other vegetables &c, so this is just going to be empty space until I plant pumpkins again next June.

I'm going to till in the pumpkin vines right after the party, but I'm also thinking about a cover crop of some sort. What would be good in Los Angeles for winter cover? We get little rain here, but it never gets cold. I can put a sprinkler out for planting and a few days after, but I don't to water a cover crop for 6 months. Weeds seem to grow fine, if I let them :D

My goals are to out-compete the weeds, improve my heavy, compacted clay soil, and add some nutrients.

I keep reading that clover is good for fixing nitrogen. Is that good for my area? What varieties? Any suggestions for places to buy seed?

Thanks!

edit: added question mark!

DoubleDogFarm
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Peaceful Valley is my choice for cover crop seed.
https://www.groworganic.com/seeds/cover-crop.html

I think they have seed mixes for different zones.

Eric

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rainbowgardener
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I've never really done cover crops and I'm in a totally different climate, so this is just from reading. Things for you to look up and think about include winter wheat or california red oats (a california native).

Here's a cover crop seed mix that was designed for warmer winters and has some nitrogen fixing:

https://www.burpee.com/organic-gardening/cover-crops/cover-crop-warm-climate-prod001535.html

Tonio
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wow, I really hate the burpee site, makes my browser hang...

Tonio
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DDF, Eric- really Peaceful valley farm for cover crops? :shock:

I've been using buckwheat in between crop cycles, now adding in dried chicken manure for fall/winter crops(brassica, lettuce, carrots, radish (daikon) and other greens.

DoubleDogFarm
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Tonio wrote:DDF, Eric- really Peaceful valley farm for cover crops? :shock:

I've been using buckwheat in between crop cycles, now adding in dried chicken manure for fall/winter crops(brassica, lettuce, carrots, radish (daikon) and other greens.
Ok, I'm listening. Why the shock?

I seldom buy cover crops. I mostly buy clover to broadcast around the orchard and the main aisle of my vegetable garden.

Eric

cynthia_h
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Fava beans might be good. I've planted them at several times of the year and they've succeeded every time so far. The beans are edible either fresh or dried in the pod, the flowers nourish pollinators, and there's a lot of biomass and nitrogen fixing for the rest of the "cover crop" job. :)

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

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soil
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When do you plan on planting your pumpkins next year. If it's after say mid June I'd get a crop of winter wheat in. Harvest it in June, return all of the straw as mulch and plant the pumpkins. The rotting wheat roots will add tons of organic matter to the soil, opening it's structure and aiding in water retention. The mulched straw will keep the soil warm but not hot increasing pumpkin root growth. The limited winter rains you get will suffice to keep it growing, younmay or may not need to water it for starting depending on our fall rains.

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TheWaterbug
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I'll probably plant in late June. I'm inclined to plant something that fixes nitrogen, because I've had such an amazing response to my nitrogen fertilizer this year, and it'd be nice to have the just built into the soil.

I should add that I have a tiller, but not a mower, so that needs to factor into how I harvest or otherwise knock down the cover crop.



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