In My Own Little Corner

This broccoli plant has been in my garden for months. A friend had a bunch of extra broccoli seedlings in the Spring and even though I didn’t have a ton of room in my garden I couldn’t turn down a free plant (anyone else? 🙋🏼‍♀️). Well I put it in my bike basket and started making my way home. It was a bumpy ride and in my peripheral I could see dirt flying out of the cup but I had no choice but to keep pedaling. By the time I got home there was no dirt left, just a shaken up seedling. 🙈 I squeezed it into a corner of my garden next to the tomatoes and hoped for the best. It took root but was quickly shaded by my aggressive cherry tomato plant. The tomatoes ended up providing enough shade to keep it alive and slowly growing through the summer heat. Now that my tomatoes are gone and the weather is cooling, it’s really taken off. Time will tell if this underdog is ready to shine and produce some broccoli. 🤞🏻

My cover crop is really starting to fill in on my summer raised bed. I use a blend from that includes Austrian field pea, wheat, triticale, forage collards, hairy vetch, daikon radish, crimson clover, berseem clover, and yellow mustard. Do you have to use a cover crop? No, but for the health of your soil it’s best to not leave it exposed and bare during the winter. Even using mulch or straw can help. Cover crops do require some management and you have to be mindful of what varieties will work best for your spaces/future crops.

What are the benefits of a cover crop?
▪️It reduces erosion and soil runoff, especially during winter precipitation or snowmelt.
▪️It increases organic matter in the soil which can improve biodiversity, build better soil structure, and increase the moisture holding capacity of the soil reducing future irrigation needs.
▪️Depending on the variety and management it can introduce nitrogen into the soil, reducing the need for subsequent fertilizer applications.
▪️It can reduce or alleviate soil compaction if you use varieties with tap roots that pe*****te the deeper layers of soil.
▪️By providing a diversity of nutrients to the beneficial microbes in the soil it can help suppress soil borne diseases.
▪️It can suppress w**d growth by acting as a natural mulch.
▪️It can provide a winter habitat for beneficial insects.