You will be amazed at the improvement in your soil after a couple of years. I believe you can increase the nitrogen fixation by inoculating the seed with the proper microbes before sowing. One way to double crop and nitrogen fix for the small gardener is to plant a few pole beans around each corn plant when it reaches about half a foot. You get corn, beans an nitrogen and raccoons hate climbing around the beans. Just a note for those who till in the cover crop is that you need to wait a couple of weeks before crop planting because the decaying cover crop will actually tie up nitrogen for a period of time. Another great informative video
You can add inoculants for sure! I just wanted to get a visual read of what exists in the soil here first, before I start tinkering with the balance of it.
I love these videos because it feels like we are all learning together as we go along. I have the feeling that with horticulture the learning never ends.
Great content on a topic that all gardeners should appreciate. I'd like to thank all our little garden buddies out there fixing nitrogen and closing the cycle !!! 🌱
Incredibly intelligent, and incredibly beautiful..... what’s the catch 😂😂😂, thanks loved the vid/info. Good to see others celebrating we should look after our soils and then there look after our veg 😍😎🇬🇧 keep’m coming
Veronica Flores 😂😂🤣🤣 I know where your coming from, my brains the same way. Not someone to sit about watching endless UA-cam clips.... oh .. wait ? 😂 If you need to keep weight on, then breads my worst enemy, maybe it could be your best friend 😱😍
@@VeronicaFlores Stop struggling and don't change a thing , You are truly perfect and a gift to this crazy world !! I VOTE VERONICA FOR PRESIDENT !!!. 😀😀😀
How did you get so clever in gardening young lady. I am 60 years old and just stumbled on you videos and love them. New subscriber here. I am a urban gardner so am scaling everything down. Look into swales for your slope. I have watched a few videos on that and I think is is a awsome idea. The do it in Permaculture, have never heard about swales before. We have a steap slope so I am definitely going to do that. It slows the running down of water down after rain. Keeps the water on your property and give water to the roots of your plants where it is needed and stop your top soil from going to the neighbour's
Make sure your soil has a sufficient amount of Molybdenum (or Iron or Vanadium) for Molybdenum nitrogenase and especially Cobalt for a hemoglobin-like enzyme that is absolutely essential for nitrogen fixation! These rules apply to all N2 fixing bacteria. Thanks for the video.
I believe another bonus to any cover crop is that it regulates the soil temperature. If my memory serves me correctly cover crops keep soil temperatures @ around 70-ish degrees. Thanks for the content it is greatly appreciated and I look forward to many more postings
Excellent, Veronica. I plan a multi-species cover crop regime, with, as you do, mowing periodically. That way, as you say lets the cuttings decompose and builds up soil organic matter. Brava!
Hi, Great to see a cover crop. Just a helpful tip that all the nitrogen that the peas make will be used up fully then the peas start blooming and setting pods. The pea plant will take all the nitrogen and change it all into proteins that will be in the peas only and pod only. There will be nothing left in the soil.. Thanks . If you have any question please ask.
Yes! That's why we mowed them. 🙂 (Though I do have some that I left to set seed on the perimeter, but mostly because I think seed saving is important, and also the perimeter is a wild and native space where growing cover crops is a fairly zero sum game, so I feel confident letting enough do their thing there so I can save seed for the coming fall. 🙂)
That must be why the "rule of thumb" i've heard is that the more protein in a plant the better they are at nitrogen fixing! Now I can put 2 and 2 together:)
Thanks! I like to keep it that way. 🙂 (Literally though: I'm all about constructive criticism, but anything mean for the sake of being mean, aggressive, personal, vile, or otherwise off topic - religion, politics, pseudo science, etc - gets you a block. 😂 I'm a farmer and I really don't have time for nonsense. I barely have time to answer questions as-is!)
''You have a clever mind.''.....I have also been applying this type of programme to my soil here in Australia for more than 20 years now. Sustainable soil management with these cover crops will nurture and improve your farm land again... ..
Hi Veronica! If you want improved soil tilth, try Hairy Vetch. Its root system is like a Dolly Parton wig with lots of roots for the nodules to form on. I have seen it take some of my sandiest soil and change it almost to the consistency of potting soil. -Jack
Cover crops can provide a number of functions including nitrogen fixation, green matter addition, insect habitat, erosion control, nutrient mining, hardpan penetration, soil structure improvement, etc. Whether it be alfalfa, buckwheat, rye, or vetch, each cover crop will provide several functions from the above list. Some plants, like fava beans/peas, while being fantastic for nitrogen fixation and green matter, also can provide a market crop in the cold season.
Yes! Were it up to me, I'd plant nothing but covers and just eat those. 😂 Finally got my dad on board I think... he's been loving the nonstop pea shoots I harvest. 🙂
@@VeronicaFlores Lol. I lived and farmed on an intentional community near Santa Rosa for 7 years. You would have fit in perfectly. Lots of living off the land. Definitely makes you appreciate the power of the soil and where we all come from.
Seems like there needs to be more of you to go around for all of your fan requests :) lately. We really appreciate your time and efforts to educate us in a way that gets the knowledge to sink in. It gives us hope and encouragement that we too can succeed in whatever we grow. I spent the better part of today installing a well water filter treatment system to finally be able to have a large crop of peppers this year. With your help and advice I think we figure out where I was going wrong. Forever you fan and thanks again for these videos.
Some really great points that a lot of large scale crop farmers don't seem to know about or don't want to follow. I've had a time trying to convince my dad not to till soil around here but he's determined to like it's his job. He has a couple of tractors so he wants to use them. Thankfully the disc is busted right now so he's just been mowing everything in sight with the brush shredder. xD Ah, set-in-their-ways parents. Anyway, always great information. I really appreciate your effort to get this content out there for people who are interested and willing to listen. Well done.
I've been fighting the same fight. Every single conversation is an opportunity for a science lesson with my dad. It was a huge learning curve for me, still is really, so I can't even imagine what it is for him! (But he does like the green field out his window, even though my contours have him teasing me about a spaceship landing soon.)
I am new to all this but I was watching a video interview with Dr. Weil and i found it interesting that he talked about the fact that farmers mostily base all their decisions and worry about the top 6 to 10 inches of soil. One of his comments really intrigued me, that everyone is essentually growing their crops in pots if thats is all they worry about. I myself am thinking just because things have been done a certain way for generations does not mean they are correctly done. But it does feel from the videos that people are realizing this and applying real science and logical projects to determine outcomes to help change old habbits to better habbits. This is one of many reasons why i love your videos because they are about trial and error and trying to think outside the box. :)
Thank you! Yes I'm very big on trying to take as holistic of an approach to farming as possible. Nature already has all this stuff figured out- we just need to learn it now. 🙂
If you can get your hands on it, a thick layer of wood chip could work wonders on that clay soil. We have a much smaller scale home garden, but it's amazing how much our clay has transformed in even 8 months since I threw my first layer on top. I simply tossed it on top of my cover crop and let it get munched by the soil life. Happy worms, soft tilth, just glorious! And it holds the top soil in place through all our spring and fall deluges.
Love these videos! They always get me thinking about how I can improve my way of growing, and most importantly why!! Have green manure crops growing on beds not in use, but hadn't thought about filling the spaces in between a crop whilst I grow. Thanks, hope you manage to keep the regular updates going!
Forgot to say, my soil is very clay rich and cracks up quite badly. I have started to brush, wash, fine compost in to the cracks whilst they are there. My theory is that the compost gets down in to the soil through the cracks and helps improve the structure, also helps moisture retention.
Thanks! Yeah like 90% of my field will be cover crops, just because we don't have the tilth in looking for yet, and I want to see how this all works- I'm also wide spacing the rows because I've run them east to west on a bit of an exaggerated contour (so shadows), and because I need to be able to get the mower in there. 😂 The compost in the cracks theory is interesting! Have you noticed any visual changes yet?
@@VeronicaFlores Bit difficult to tell yet. It did get mixed in when i harvested the Elephant Garlic. Since then it has had a layer of manure over Winter and now has Broad Beans growing in it. I'm assuming that the compost in the cracks will help the water get down in to the soil even when the bed is no longer baked hard?
Really interesting video. I wondered what was going on when I saw ground prep just mowing down the "weeds." My father was doing no till (actually low till ... no plowing) in Ohio grain country 50 years ago on a large farm. I'm not sure he proved his theories at that time (I should have actually listened more) he only farmed a few more years. It will be interesting to watch how you balance not disturbing the soil and getting the right balance between supporting crops and main crops. Your father must be really happy to be working on this with you. Good luck ... interesting stuff.
Veronica, I've been in the garden all day myself. I've been transplanting a good majority of my babies. Peas, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, bush beans, garlic, beet, turnip, radish, swiss chard, and spinach. Tomorrow is gonna be another busy one, granted it is not raining all day... Didn't plant any monoculture boxes this year, either btw.
Last fall, I planted winter wheat in 2 seperate beds. I started working on the largest bed 2 weeks ago in order to start potatoes. I did not take the time to look for root nodes on that wheat, but I can tell you that I love the end results- no erosion, more soil texture, and easier to work with hand tools. I'll check the second bed this summer after the wheat begins to dry, as this bed will be used for a fall planting of garlic. It's part of a crop rotation program/ experiment I've concocted. Lol
@@VeronicaFlores I believe you are right. My favorites so far are the winter wheat and red & white clover. When I used to do environmental work, we planted a lot of crown vetch for a similar purpose, but it doesn't seem practical for small beds. It is however great for larger fields and borders. Anyway, keep up the great work. You are doing a wonderful job!!
Another great vid! A friend of mine grows a small patch of alfalfa, which spreads everywhere!, then mows it, shreds it and dries it out. Then he covers his gardens with the dried shredded remains. It's great for retaining water and as it decays it puts nutrients back into the soil. He also rotates the areas that he grows alfalfa so he's always planting in an area where a nitrogen fixer was the year before. Course he's always cutting the stuff back, cause, as you say it gets out of control really fast. I don't have the room so just buy a bale of hay or straw and spread that over my garden and the fruit trees.
Yeah same. I just keep having this thought where the neighbor's cows smell it and break through their electric fence and eat my field. 😂 (Though I kind of want to test intensively grazing them on my crop stubble for like two days, but also don't want to give them any crazy ideas.) I'll likely mix it in in the future; this season, my goal is to show my dad that this sort of space management can be productive AND low maintenance... because if I can't, he'll likely argue that we should revert back to tillage. 😑 Plus I think alfalfa may be a little too much of a water hog unless you plant it at the perfect time- too risky this round. (The head shake I do about alfalfa here is me having this entire conversation in my head in under two seconds. 😂)
Hello, I live in Dallas so your stuff works good with my zone. Great job! I learned that if you cut the cover crop before it produces that you get a maximum amount of nodules. That the plant feeds from the nodules to create a byproduct of food and so on. What's your take on this and is it true? Thanks again!
I'm inclined to agree, just because plants double down on repairing themselves. I've cut twice now, and am trying to let it go to seed but it's getting high in the pathways... may roll it a bit and see if that helps. My goal is more biomass to build topsoil than anything else right now, though nitrogen fixation is an added bonus. 🙂
Gabe Brown has had a profound influence on my thought process in this space. I love the way he explains things. Huge part of the reason I'm going down this path for sure. ❤️
@@VeronicaFlores I think you may want to look at the Ruth Stout method also. I believe her hay on the garden would be what Gabe calls the amour that is left on the field. And then of course Will Harris of White Oak Pastures very inspiring.
@@VeronicaFlores any idea how inoculants work. How could one extract or maybe do a mother culture from an existing product. I'm looking to make an environment that rhizobial can replicate. I know the will be water sugar of some kind
New subscriber here! I love your relaxed yet enthusiastic vibe. I just started a farming last year, and I'm seriously considering natural ways to boost my soil nitrogen for my ginger crop.
Excellent post....Green Manure plants are so important and particularly in a Organic, artificial fertilizer-free future...fertility that is truly sustainable. We will never produce enough compost, manure (using plants for fertility is far superior to animal manure anyway) and man-made chemicals are undesirable, harmful and unsustainable. I mainly use Nitrogen fixers...Clovers, Trefoil, Lucerne(Alfalfa), Winter Tares etc plus others that mop up and hold on to nutrients such as Phacelia, Hungarian Rye, Mustard etc. Thanks for this post Veronica to raise awareness.
I'm not disagreeing with you... I am new to this... but the last few years I have been composting in somewhat mega-quantities for a residential setting. I have built several iterations of compost bins until I have finally settled on a ~5 ft tall, 3 1/2 to 4 ft deep, to ~2 1/2 ft wide bin... My first being two compartments, which I will alter to match, the other being 3 adjacent compartments (or bins). I mow a meadow of about a square 150 ft x 150 ft area of grass, also collect the leaves, comprised of three neighbors' backyards. I can fill these bins three or four times in a season... they are full now for maybe a week or more... yesterday their temp was 150 degrees. They have the predominant smell of hamster dung right now, because that is the recent additive manure I am using. But I have used cow, rabbit and chicken in the past and I am sure the current biome stew still contains those microbiotic elements. Anyway, I understand that if I were to add just a cup full to a 5 gallon bucket and aerate it for 24 to 48 hours, I would end up with a five gallon bucket of fertilizer. Ok, so this is a labor intensive project I am engaged in and I am not really sure what the application effectiveness is... but it seems to me that there is room here for development to larger operations... for the development of technology and cultural practice to create not only greater livability in our communities, but a real impact on the production and quality of our food supply. And with the potential of anaerobic artificial "digestors" to handle meat, dairy and other kinds of animal waste not suitable for aerobic composting... well, it just seems there is the real possibility for comprehensive solutions to not only handling human waste/garbage accumulation and the deterioration of soils and quality grocered goods with dynamic nutritional signatures, but also, changing society's awareness of consumption and waste and putting us more in touch with our own sustenance and sustainability. I just think that a culture has suffused our entire society from the top down... that of the belief in the "magic bullet". Maybe it comes from industries which enjoy too much grace and right of way, wealth power and lobbying ability... bolstering a privileged class of over-compensated, do-nothing businessmen... who make their careers on the next big cheat... that next strategy to sell out the interests of the entire society to save a few cents on the dollar of massive corporate economies in order to make their own individual career. Kind of in the vein of "hoop dreams" for the professional elite. The entire society is rife with the hall marks of a depth of vision ruled by the quarterly financial report. And those with the biggest bank accounts, certainly seem to make the most "sense"--perhaps spelled (cents). Anyway, something stinks!
I for sure plan on seeding them this fall... have only seen paintbrushes around here so far. Maybe won't seed in the field so much though, as I'm not sure my heart could handle mowing them.
@@VeronicaFlores True they are too pretty to chop down. The bluebonnets here have gone to seed recently so I'll save some for stratifying in the fall as well. I have an 8x8 bed that has bluebonnets each year, it'd be nice to expand their area as a beautiful fixer for the whole garden.
@@VeronicaFlores I probably don't have to but I'm going to try it. From what I've been told about bluebonnets, the seeds will be viable for years but without stratification you will have
Bluebonets can be tricky. One reason may be that the soil bacteria that they use is very different than that of other plants and I haven't been able to find a commercially available inoculation for them. The best thing would be to take some soil samples from where they are growing wild. They are lupinus texensis but the ordinary lupines inoculant is a totally different bacteria than what bluebonnets use. Lupine is also toxic to equines.
I love your open and relaxed videos, full of knowledge and great growing advice. Will you have farm animals, at your now location, like you did in your earlier videos.
Good to see you going for a no till approach, have you ever watched Charles Dowding? He has some great success with a no dig approach and speaking of the English, Cliff and Dianne from Castlehill Gardens are a great watch too.
Yes I LOVE Charles Dowding (and squeal whenever he interacts when I tag him on Facebook in my fangirl moments. 😬) Someone on here recommended him to me a year or two ago and I think what he's doing in his space is a fantastic approach for his climate and landscape. ❤️ Will have to check the other ones out! I don't have the bandwidth (wifi) to watch videos often, so I mostly read studies instead. 😂
Veronica Flores Good to hear! Have you got a blog at all Veronica? I'd be interested to follow along with any studies that you may find interesting. Also, have you considered a video in which you share your vision and goals for this endeavour? Thanks for the reply, it's my turn to fan girl now.
Hi V, I'm glad you're going 'no till'. I love the theory of it as it seems to be working with nature rather than against it. However, weed control is always a problem here. I'll be interested to see how you deal with that.
Your videos are always informative and to the point. Thank you! I've only used rye cover crops in my beds for three years in my no till garden. I have found it, after cutting it down, difficult to plant in. It's as if I am planting my grocery crop directly into a lawn. Am I broadcasting the seed too close together? Now I broadcast the seed by hand because I'm thinking I only want cover crops in my 3' wide beds. Am I going wrong in my thinking here? Should I broadcast seed in my whole garden including the walks?
With rye, it's a good idea to crimp it (I'll build an example soon but basically you can use a 2x6 with rope on either side and your body weight, like you're standing on a tree swing but you're also holding the parts that the tree would) - you'd then want to cover it with mulch or a tarp (ideally both) for a few weeks prior to planting. If it's an issue of root density, I'd probably go a little lighter on the broadcast - try mixing the seed with compost before sowing so that it's not as tempting to sow densely.
@@VeronicaFlores That's great advice. I'm using weed fabric next year so I'll just cover the crimped rye with it in place of a tarp. Thanks for responding and blessings to you and your garden.
G'day Veronica thanks for the video on cover crops. I'm hoping to put a cover crop in at the farm soon just waiting for some rain. Thanks again video came at right time.
Have you considered adding any gypsum to break up the clay? It worked great with my garden where we have probably 3 feet of clay under our soil, but not sure how beneficial it'd be on your larger area.
I like the thinking with mowing instead of tilling. I have used organic concepts for years and have all kinds of insects. A good no till way to transform that hard pan clay is to grow daikons . I have seen them get to 2 feet long and as big as a silver dollar. Then you get huge radishes to experiment with in all manner of cooking (and raw of course). Some of your agricultural seed catalogs will give you a better price for the amount of seed you need for acreage instead of a seed packet for kitchen garden use.
Hi Veronica. I'm in the north east and i have been considering using winter pea as you have (I have the seed for protein in home made chook feed anyway) but I'm using it on land that is/has been wooded. The ash trees are dead due ash borer, so I'm re purposing the land. What ground prep did you do to sow the peas? Did you till for that first crop or surface seed and mulch? Thanks. Love your presentation style. Brian
Dad tilled and I surface seeded before rain, but when they weren't doing much (I went back to CA to pack up and move here) he decided to till again and they came up that time bc they had better contact. I think a lot depends on how compacted your soil is in the first place. That should inform the method you choose to start.
I guess corn is not consider ad a cover crop I guess my question was does corn improve nitrogen or rob it from the soil. Thanks again I am fairly new to gardening 🙂
This year for the first time I have used a soil inoculant when planting my peas and beans. It is early, but they seem far more vigorous than I've ever seen them before, so I expect my (orange and yellow clay) soil was lacking in the right bacteria. The inoculant came as a fine black powder. The method I used is to mix perhaps a quarter teaspoon of it into a quarter cup of water (it does not dissolve). I then stir in a couple dozen bean or pea seeds at a time and leave them in at least a few minutes before planting, and take them out with a plastic spoon. No doubt very different methods are used when planting by the acre...
For sure. Lucky for me, my soil does have the right bacteria. I found rhizobacteria inoculants to be counter-productive here (tried a sample section to actually negative results!) but I do think they help in many cases.
Hi Veronica!, when do you think is the best moment to cut the legume cover crop? I have read that if you clear the cover with grain you can lose all the Nitrogen and is better to do it with 20% of flowering. Are you agree? Thank you great channel !
I try to cut before seed production begins, but typically let some flowering (aka a lot of flowering lol) go down before I do just to help establish pollinators. I'll also let some areas live through their cycle and seed the next cover directly into them if they're going to be "fallow" the following season. Idk if this is the "right" way to do it based on "most nitrogen fixation", but I try to view it from what's holistically supportive across all the needs of the ecosystem, and then respond accordingly.
good video and great channel! the N from the plants also is more stable then commercial N. we have been so mislead in the Ag world for so long. we have been told for so long that if we work residue into the soil it will add OM. when we till residue into the soil we wake up scavenger soil life that breaks that residue down very quickly. we also now release a lot of CO2 from the soil that our plants could have used later. the soil is now exposed to wind and water erosion and more prone to compaction. hence the tillage is going to beget more tillage. the residue is only good for about 1% OM contribution. by doing tillage and working in that residue we also eliminate that opportunity for new top soil to be made. with worms eating the residue there castings are the new very nutrient rich topsoil. in a full tillage farm you are losing more topsoil then you are making. I would love to have a bigger non farming following so the general public can see that farmers don't have to be full tillage and chemical. farmers can produce organic quality products at Walmart prices. if you enjoy this stuff take a minute and look around my channel. also created a website called "soil-man.com" for farmers and the public to talk farming and soil health farming.
I do this in my container garden I layer mulch to create soil every spring I will grow peas shop and drop them then I will grow tomatoes after I have a 2 gallon pot last year I started off with a quart pot I am creating the soil as I go
Grow giant clover in sections sickle bar and harvest for all the animals. Germinate peas n clover in a tray and feed as live foods to all your animals. Great video charming persona
It's a good question. Based on my research so far, any level of full field tillage (beyond attempting to break up really hard pan) is counterproductive, and will get you short term gains (leaching nutrients that appear readily bioavailable) for long term loss (persistent nutrients and tilth/structure.) I am playing with the idea of top dressing with composted manure after harvest for winter, to feed the soil and get the next cover established. I'll probably need to add some additional medium here and there for a while, just to get some seeds started. (But I'm trying to cultivate the native microbes, so I'm wary of providing them with too much "buffet style" food. Better to build and grow slowly if you can than risk a serious cycle crash.)
I have been debating planting a cover crop for a few years in my garden. You just Sold me on the idea. I live in the foothills of NC and my soil has a lot of clay and some sand in it. What time of year would be the best to plant peas? Maybe after the tomatoes play out and die? October maybe? Also, would soybean be an option if I don't plan on planting in one of my garden areas this year? Just leave it and let it do it's thing until next year. I'v always heard of planting cover crops to help the soil and you explained it nicely!
Gotta check your frost dates - fall is usually good though if you have the weeks for them to get established before any snow or whatever. I'm not sure about soybean... if you're skipping an area this year, I'd honestly go with like at least clover and buckwheat for N fixation and pollinator food, provided that you're prepared for the amount of time you're about to spend mesmerized by flying insects. 😬
If you plant a fixer like clover in your beds for a season to allow the soil to regenerate will it be a problem the next season when you plan to plant crops?
Not if you terminate it or clear enough space for your crops - really depends on what you follow with and what type of clover and what your winter is like.
would you recommend tilling first then cover cropping?? Ive found that I have a lot of rocking clay soil. Ive dug up rocks as big as a fist. That cant be great when a tap root hits it
Thank you Veronica for another informative and delightful video. Have you ever thought about putting your gardening tips into a book? And maybe throw in a few interesting recipes. That would be a book I will buy. Best Wishes. Grandpa Jones. 😃
Alfalfa is a good investment cover crop bc here in Pennsylvania it returns the next year. I got my cover crop seeds from Johnny's. I also like Medium Red Clover bc it too returns. It can grow tall. I had it compete with the height of one of my rose bushes last year. I also grew Pearl Millet last year. It was nice and tall and gave seeds to the birds. I planting Oats. They stay knee high and are easy to incorporate around other plants. I planted them and radish around my butterfly bushes last year. I am planting Annual Rye aka Italian Rye Grass aka Ryegrass bc it stays short but grows an extensive root system. This year I am interested in growing a short cover crop to see how much I enjoy having it.
Great list! I really need to look online and order a few things to try this summer... the feed stores around here are pretty useless unless you want to plant grass.
@@VeronicaFlores High Mowing Seeds offers seeds and offers decent shipping rates. I got Phacelia from Albert Lea but it cost me approx $20 for shipping:-( I miss the feed stores in Texas.
Mowing your legumes is a good idea - you will add much more carboniferous mass that way than by letting the plant mature fully and die back. Clover is going to be great for that north Texas clay, particularly if you don't till it under - the roots will keep everything in place, while going deep into the substrate to pull up minerals for the topsoil. Nitrogen fixing trees - native, you most likely have redbud and black locust in abundance to propagate - the locust is going to propagate anyway, and usually where you don't want it :p A word about perennials and zones - in N Texas, you get some good hot weather, but also some extremely cold spells during the winter when the jet stream dips down, and drags arctic air along with it It isn't quite so bad in the NE, but it can get hellish in the panhandle - if you have become accustomed to the west coast's Humboldt currents, it can be a bit of a shock!
Lucky for me, I lived almost as close to central valley as I did to the coast, so the high desert temp swings is something I've gotten used to. Not 100% sure that mowing was the best call in a few spots, as the residue simply didn't persist when it wasn't allowed to mat (I let it go in other areas without mowing and the soil is better there for it.) Totally agree on clover- actually eyeing some deer plot mixes they sell around here, just to get a good diversity going (but tough to find something affordable that isn't 60%+ canola.) Looking at mesquite and mimosa for nitrogen fixation long term as well as agroforestry crops- would love some redbud as well if I can find them for less than $40-50/pop!
Keep your eyes open come next spring - those purple flowers will be hard to miss, and you can get all of the redbud seedlings you want for free. If I were going to buy some nitrogen fixing trees (and I am) I would try to get some Elaeagnus Multiflora - similar to Silverthorn and Autumn Olive, but not prone to exponential self-propagation. I think I can squeeze 2 of them into the budget for next spring, let them get acclimated, and then layer them from then on. I forgot the mimosas! they're blooming right now, and easy to spot - and very easy to grow.
you explain the science almost as well as harley smith-npk=raw solutions and dr elaine ingham/microbes....WOW-to be so young and have so much knowledge---YOU WILL BE ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT SOMEDAY-you're well on your way...
Love this series! You're teaching me a great deal on things I'm going to be implementing in my field as well. I've seen clover used around fruit trees recently which seems to work pretty well but wouldn't clover be an issue in a field?
Thank you and I see you are outdoors not getting hammered day after day with rain like we are,Been awful........ So can I use just regular peas?My thought is to row the peas and plant Carrots/Beets in between the rows of peas.And other crops.. The other reason why I like what you are doing is the Grand Solar minimum,With the GSM Cycles come more storm,More rain,Less sun,And if i'm gonna be dealing with that,the peas may help reduce the water in the soil ,Aiding in the drying process.?!? I will look for dried peas in the grocery store and try this ,I think it be a bit expensive buying a seed pea? Stay well.If you ever heading to NE please put me on your bucket list. Happy growing,Love your new videos,Such a great teacher and so sweet and to the point of explanation,A great communicator with the finest smile on YT!..
More plants does not always equal less available water in the soil though - at a certain point it seems to become a bit of an inverse u curve, and types of plants matters a whole lot too. I don't see why you couldn't use whatever peas you want to though - I mostly bought winter peas bc they're pretty hardy and frost tolerant and I needed the 50# bag. No idea if the peas in the grocery store all germinate, but it could be worth a shot.
Hey Veronica, I have alkaline soil in the Albuquerque area. Weeds and desert cholla grow without any effort, but I too want to plant a nitrogen fixing cover crop for the same reasons you stated. Would you have a recommendation for a good starting cover crop I can plant in May that would do well in NM desert conditions this summer?
Just added a few links to the video caption based on this question! (Also, I will always recommend clover, especially if you can find an endemic variety and start growing it out.)
Rhizobia will be attached to the roots and be small, relatively round, whitish, slightly fuzzy looking, and should be pink or red inside if you slice in half with your fingernail. The roots and plant will look healthy. Nematodes (on roots) will be irregular or misshapen, appear as an extension of the roots as well as attached to them, and the plant and roots may not look healthy.
I like your videos, you represent yourself fairly by sharing your experience without pretending to be an expert while sharing useful info. You may want to check out Dr. Elaine Ingham's videos on soil microbiology (including no-tilling, hot composting and building soil). Best wishes.
I've had the pleasure to work with Dr. Ingham on the validation of our process of pathogen reduction for USDA requirements (and her husband before he retired from the field). She is incredible!
So this is what we need to collectively figure out. Typically we plant in fall, yes. As the harvest is at its peak, perhaps even among and between crops as they're finishing. As long as the covers can get to the point where they're almost flowering before frost, they're likely gonna help us out. Sometimes they'll even bounce back in the spring, as they can be fairly frost tolerant when planted en masse. I'm not tilling them under here though. We have clay soil... and not that I'm great at math, but I've run the numbers and by my modest calculations it would take me beyond any imaginable thousands of lifetimes to make nice soil by incorporating covey crops with a tiller. Rather, much like the forest soil, my clay is my "base layer" and I'm building up from there. I've heard this is a 5-10 year process to get to a place that is high functioning soil, but idk... I'm mostly learning as I go (and attempting to connect lots of dots.)
You need to search for "Dave Brandt Walnut Creek Seeds" if you have not already done so. No need to re-invent no till farming, since he (and others) have been working on solutions since the 70's.
Honestly depends on your growing region and what your goals with it are- I do either fall or spring or both, and adjust accordingly (too many variables at play to give you a straight answer!)
I wait until it is just beginning to form flower buds- that's when nitrogen is highest. It's nice to leave little patches as well if you can help it for pollinators.
Now to the best of your knowledge is there anything that can add potassium and phosphate to the soil(minus animal fertilizers). I'm just wondering if it's possible to cover crop with any kind of combination of plants to where you'll infuse your soil with all of it's nutrients and then you can plant your veggies afterward and not have to really fertilize them with anything.
Working on that one... but I have a feeling that this might be where biodynamics (and the byproducts of animals raised as a food source) come into play. Incorporation of wild game bones, feathers, manure, and offal into plots historically comes up as a practice in some regard pretty consistently among indigenous farmers. Maybe it sounds woo, but IME it's also a really ideal way to honor the rhythms of the season, and show gratitude for and respect towards every single bit of the life that you've taken in order to sustain your own. Most organisms do this - take life to sustain their own, or are complicit and standing by to pick the slims while someone else does the dirty work for them. Maybe my most unpopular opinion thus far, but I think the "problem" that we at the human condition seem to have is one of mistaking virtue signaling for balance. You cannot colonialize the natural world without adverse effects. She has a built in dead man's switch.
@@VeronicaFlores I happen to agree, it's a very intricate balance, and we keep disrupting it under the guise of "improvement" but we aren't improving anything. Nature knows how cycle best. We're at our infancy in the process, I think we can stand to learn a lot from how it functions naturally and then apply that knowledge. So you just keep doing what you're doing, and we'll learn as we go. 😊
hi veronica i have a question with regards to planting such a big area. did you till and seed or just seed. I have a 3 acre paddock I would like to try this with as the weather is cooling down now here in australia
I'd do a light tilling if you have heavy soil, just for the first pass, lest the seeds not make enough soil contact to germinate. We ended up tilling them in (set to like 2-3" on tiller) because the soil is so compacted here. Would be better to broadfork or the like, but three acres would break you lol. Till just enough to get the soil loose so you can plant (or find someone you can borrow a drill planter from would be the best option.)
@@VeronicaFlores thank you for your advice. the soil isn't too compact as we have had lucerne(alfalfa) on it for years but its finished its life now so time for a new crop. Thanks again I have just found your channel and the information is valuable, so I encourage you to keep going.
as always, once my day is done, i keep you for the last video....on a clear head....you mentioned that there is a tool you are missing, please what is that tool, just so i know...and for ground cover, last year once all the big rigs were off after building my house and doing boulder retaining walls, etc...i went crazy with clover and a little of grass... but seeded clover everywhere i could..although i do have an amazing soil, forest, loose, nutrients, will have it tested again but from my septic system tests, i could grow anything...i am missing some K, as per the stuff you suggested me to read and i just bought a soil test kit...i do have intention to hire a pro..but by doing it myself first...when he comes up with his results, i will know what i did wrong....again please let me know the toll you are missing...so i can learn what you are using, wink wink...Thank you so much...and also, happy gardening Veronica...only 2 feet of snow left...but 15 celsius temperature...go on practice....ok ...59 F
I really want a broad fork. And a seed drill. And a BCS tractor. 😂 But I honestly don't have the space to warrant it, so I'll modify with what I have for now.
You will be amazed at the improvement in your soil after a couple of years. I believe you can increase the nitrogen fixation by inoculating the seed with the proper microbes before sowing. One way to double crop and nitrogen fix for the small gardener is to plant a few pole beans around each corn plant when it reaches about half a foot. You get corn, beans an nitrogen and raccoons hate climbing around the beans. Just a note for those who till in the cover crop is that you need to wait a couple of weeks before crop planting because the decaying cover crop will actually tie up nitrogen for a period of time. Another great informative video
You can add inoculants for sure! I just wanted to get a visual read of what exists in the soil here first, before I start tinkering with the balance of it.
What are you on about? It's really hard to find any clover seed for sale that isn't already inoculated.
@@oldcountryman2795 Mine wasn't inoculated.
The three sisters for growing corn. Corn, pole beans and squash.
I love these videos because it feels like we are all learning together as we go along. I have the feeling that with horticulture the learning never ends.
Remember that feeling ❤️😂
Great content on a topic that all gardeners should appreciate. I'd like to thank all our little garden buddies out there fixing nitrogen and closing the cycle !!! 🌱
Incredibly intelligent, and incredibly beautiful..... what’s the catch 😂😂😂, thanks loved the vid/info. Good to see others celebrating we should look after our soils and then there look after our veg 😍😎🇬🇧 keep’m coming
The catch is a brain that never shuts off and an endless struggle with keeping weight on. 😜 Working on both - thanks for joining! ❤️
Veronica Flores 😂😂🤣🤣 I know where your coming from, my brains the same way.
Not someone to sit about watching endless UA-cam clips.... oh .. wait ? 😂
If you need to keep weight on, then breads my worst enemy, maybe it could be your best friend 😱😍
@@VeronicaFlores Stop struggling and don't change a thing , You are truly perfect and a gift to this crazy world !! I VOTE VERONICA FOR PRESIDENT !!!. 😀😀😀
How did you get so clever in gardening young lady. I am 60 years old and just stumbled on you videos and love them. New subscriber here. I am a urban gardner so am scaling everything down. Look into swales for your slope. I have watched a few videos on that and I think is is a awsome idea. The do it in Permaculture, have never heard about swales before. We have a steap slope so I am definitely going to do that. It slows the running down of water down after rain. Keeps the water on your property and give water to the roots of your plants where it is needed and stop your top soil from going to the neighbour's
I installed milpa beds on the worst of the slope recently- slow spread saturate, or whatever the permie saying is :P
Make sure your soil has a sufficient amount of Molybdenum (or Iron or Vanadium) for Molybdenum nitrogenase and especially Cobalt for a hemoglobin-like enzyme that is absolutely essential for nitrogen fixation! These rules apply to all N2 fixing bacteria. Thanks for the video.
Thanks!
I believe another bonus to any cover crop is that it regulates the soil temperature. If my memory serves me correctly cover crops keep soil temperatures @ around 70-ish degrees.
Thanks for the content it is greatly appreciated and I look forward to many more postings
Excellent, Veronica. I plan a multi-species cover crop regime, with, as you do, mowing periodically. That way, as you say lets the cuttings decompose and builds up soil organic matter.
Brava!
Yeah I'm working in that direction as well. The feed stores around here have nothing but turf grass though! Gonna need to look online I think...
Hi, Great to see a cover crop. Just a helpful tip that all the nitrogen that the peas make will be used up fully then the peas start blooming and setting pods. The pea plant will take all the nitrogen and change it all into proteins that will be in the peas only and pod only. There will be nothing left in the soil.. Thanks . If you have any question please ask.
Yes! That's why we mowed them. 🙂 (Though I do have some that I left to set seed on the perimeter, but mostly because I think seed saving is important, and also the perimeter is a wild and native space where growing cover crops is a fairly zero sum game, so I feel confident letting enough do their thing there so I can save seed for the coming fall. 🙂)
That must be why the "rule of thumb" i've heard is that the more protein in a plant the better they are at nitrogen fixing! Now I can put 2 and 2 together:)
I'm pretty sure this channel has the most positivest comments.
Thanks! I like to keep it that way. 🙂
(Literally though: I'm all about constructive criticism, but anything mean for the sake of being mean, aggressive, personal, vile, or otherwise off topic - religion, politics, pseudo science, etc - gets you a block. 😂 I'm a farmer and I really don't have time for nonsense. I barely have time to answer questions as-is!)
''You have a clever mind.''.....I have also been applying this type of programme to my soil here in Australia for more than 20 years now.
Sustainable soil management with these cover crops will nurture and improve your farm land again... ..
Hi Veronica!
If you want improved soil tilth, try Hairy Vetch. Its root system is like a Dolly Parton wig with lots of roots for the nodules to form on. I have seen it take some of my sandiest soil and change it almost to the consistency of potting soil. -Jack
Thank you! I have it in my mix now. Love the stuff!!!
Cover crops can provide a number of functions including nitrogen fixation, green matter addition, insect habitat, erosion control, nutrient mining, hardpan penetration, soil structure improvement, etc. Whether it be alfalfa, buckwheat, rye, or vetch, each cover crop will provide several functions from the above list. Some plants, like fava beans/peas, while being fantastic for nitrogen fixation and green matter, also can provide a market crop in the cold season.
Yes! Were it up to me, I'd plant nothing but covers and just eat those. 😂 Finally got my dad on board I think... he's been loving the nonstop pea shoots I harvest. 🙂
@@VeronicaFlores Lol. I lived and farmed on an intentional community near Santa Rosa for 7 years. You would have fit in perfectly. Lots of living off the land. Definitely makes you appreciate the power of the soil and where we all come from.
Don't forget mustard
Seems like there needs to be more of you to go around for all of your fan requests :) lately. We really appreciate your time and efforts to educate us in a way that gets the knowledge to sink in. It gives us hope and encouragement that we too can succeed in whatever we grow. I spent the better part of today installing a well water filter treatment system to finally be able to have a large crop of peppers this year. With your help and advice I think we figure out where I was going wrong. Forever you fan and thanks again for these videos.
Yay! I think there's always a solution to any problem... we just need to look more closely. So happy to hear this resonates with you! 🙂
You could make growing weeds interesting. Great job and Thank You.
Some really great points that a lot of large scale crop farmers don't seem to know about or don't want to follow. I've had a time trying to convince my dad not to till soil around here but he's determined to like it's his job. He has a couple of tractors so he wants to use them. Thankfully the disc is busted right now so he's just been mowing everything in sight with the brush shredder. xD Ah, set-in-their-ways parents. Anyway, always great information. I really appreciate your effort to get this content out there for people who are interested and willing to listen. Well done.
I've been fighting the same fight. Every single conversation is an opportunity for a science lesson with my dad. It was a huge learning curve for me, still is really, so I can't even imagine what it is for him! (But he does like the green field out his window, even though my contours have him teasing me about a spaceship landing soon.)
What a lovely green field so much land to grow crops. Totally awesome 💐💐💐💐
I am new to all this but I was watching a video interview with Dr. Weil and i found it interesting that he talked about the fact that farmers mostily base all their decisions and worry about the top 6 to 10 inches of soil. One of his comments really intrigued me, that everyone is essentually growing their crops in pots if thats is all they worry about. I myself am thinking just because things have been done a certain way for generations does not mean they are correctly done. But it does feel from the videos that people are realizing this and applying real science and logical projects to determine outcomes to help change old habbits to better habbits. This is one of many reasons why i love your videos because they are about trial and error and trying to think outside the box. :)
Thank you! Yes I'm very big on trying to take as holistic of an approach to farming as possible. Nature already has all this stuff figured out- we just need to learn it now. 🙂
If you can get your hands on it, a thick layer of wood chip could work wonders on that clay soil. We have a much smaller scale home garden, but it's amazing how much our clay has transformed in even 8 months since I threw my first layer on top. I simply tossed it on top of my cover crop and let it get munched by the soil life. Happy worms, soft tilth, just glorious! And it holds the top soil in place through all our spring and fall deluges.
Absolutely! That’s more the direction that this space headed in, plus a lot of raised beds to make it easier on dad. Should do an update soon!
Love these videos! They always get me thinking about how I can improve my way of growing, and most importantly why!! Have green manure crops growing on beds not in use, but hadn't thought about filling the spaces in between a crop whilst I grow. Thanks, hope you manage to keep the regular updates going!
Forgot to say, my soil is very clay rich and cracks up quite badly. I have started to brush, wash, fine compost in to the cracks whilst they are there. My theory is that the compost gets down in to the soil through the cracks and helps improve the structure, also helps moisture retention.
Thanks! Yeah like 90% of my field will be cover crops, just because we don't have the tilth in looking for yet, and I want to see how this all works- I'm also wide spacing the rows because I've run them east to west on a bit of an exaggerated contour (so shadows), and because I need to be able to get the mower in there. 😂
The compost in the cracks theory is interesting! Have you noticed any visual changes yet?
@@VeronicaFlores Bit difficult to tell yet. It did get mixed in when i harvested the Elephant Garlic. Since then it has had a layer of manure over Winter and now has Broad Beans growing in it. I'm assuming that the compost in the cracks will help the water get down in to the soil even when the bed is no longer baked hard?
You are one busy girl , love your enthusiasm. Just remember to use sun screen.
Really interesting video. I wondered what was going on when I saw ground prep just mowing down the "weeds." My father was doing no till (actually low till ... no plowing) in Ohio grain country 50 years ago on a large farm. I'm not sure he proved his theories at that time (I should have actually listened more) he only farmed a few more years.
It will be interesting to watch how you balance not disturbing the soil and getting the right balance between supporting crops and main crops.
Your father must be really happy to be working on this with you. Good luck ... interesting stuff.
Ahh I wish you had too!
He finds it all to be quite curious, but is happy for the help. 🙂
Veronica, I've been in the garden all day myself. I've been transplanting a good majority of my babies. Peas, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, bush beans, garlic, beet, turnip, radish, swiss chard, and spinach. Tomorrow is gonna be another busy one, granted it is not raining all day... Didn't plant any monoculture boxes this year, either btw.
Last fall, I planted winter wheat in 2 seperate beds. I started working on the largest bed 2 weeks ago in order to start potatoes. I did not take the time to look for root nodes on that wheat, but I can tell you that I love the end results- no erosion, more soil texture, and easier to work with hand tools.
I'll check the second bed this summer after the wheat begins to dry, as this bed will be used for a fall planting of garlic. It's part of a crop rotation program/ experiment I've concocted. Lol
I love it! I've been trying to figure out how to do it in raised beds, as I think it would be super helpful for a lot of soils 🙌
@@VeronicaFlores I believe you are right. My favorites so far are the winter wheat and red & white clover. When I used to do environmental work, we planted a lot of crown vetch for a similar purpose, but it doesn't seem practical for small beds. It is however great for larger fields and borders.
Anyway, keep up the great work. You are doing a wonderful job!!
Great Insight dear, that too explained in a beautiful way. Keep up the great work.
Another great vid!
A friend of mine grows a small patch of alfalfa, which spreads everywhere!, then mows it, shreds it and dries it out. Then he covers his gardens with the dried shredded remains. It's great for retaining water and as it decays it puts nutrients back into the soil. He also rotates the areas that he grows alfalfa so he's always planting in an area where a nitrogen fixer was the year before. Course he's always cutting the stuff back, cause, as you say it gets out of control really fast. I don't have the room so just buy a bale of hay or straw and spread that over my garden and the fruit trees.
Yeah same. I just keep having this thought where the neighbor's cows smell it and break through their electric fence and eat my field. 😂 (Though I kind of want to test intensively grazing them on my crop stubble for like two days, but also don't want to give them any crazy ideas.)
I'll likely mix it in in the future; this season, my goal is to show my dad that this sort of space management can be productive AND low maintenance... because if I can't, he'll likely argue that we should revert back to tillage. 😑
Plus I think alfalfa may be a little too much of a water hog unless you plant it at the perfect time- too risky this round.
(The head shake I do about alfalfa here is me having this entire conversation in my head in under two seconds. 😂)
Hello, I live in Dallas so your stuff works good with my zone. Great job! I learned that if you cut the cover crop before it produces that you get a maximum amount of nodules. That the plant feeds from the nodules to create a byproduct of food and so on. What's your take on this and is it true? Thanks again!
I'm inclined to agree, just because plants double down on repairing themselves. I've cut twice now, and am trying to let it go to seed but it's getting high in the pathways... may roll it a bit and see if that helps. My goal is more biomass to build topsoil than anything else right now, though nitrogen fixation is an added bonus. 🙂
I know Gabe Brown talks a lot about this subject too. Great info thank you for providing it.
Gabe Brown has had a profound influence on my thought process in this space. I love the way he explains things. Huge part of the reason I'm going down this path for sure. ❤️
@@VeronicaFlores I think you may want to look at the Ruth Stout method also. I believe her hay on the garden would be what Gabe calls the amour that is left on the field. And then of course Will Harris of White Oak Pastures very inspiring.
@@VeronicaFlores any idea how inoculants work. How could one extract or maybe do a mother culture from an existing product. I'm looking to make an environment that rhizobial can replicate. I know the will be water sugar of some kind
Your farm is lucky to have you. Inspiring as always.
Thanks! It's really nice to have my own space. 🙂
Good to do your homework on soil, thanks for nitrogen:)
New subscriber here! I love your relaxed yet enthusiastic vibe. I just started a farming last year, and I'm seriously considering natural ways to boost my soil nitrogen for my ginger crop.
Do it! It only gets better every season.
Excellent post....Green Manure plants are so important and particularly in a Organic, artificial fertilizer-free future...fertility that is truly sustainable. We will never produce enough compost, manure (using plants for fertility is far superior to animal manure anyway) and man-made chemicals are undesirable, harmful and unsustainable. I mainly use Nitrogen fixers...Clovers, Trefoil, Lucerne(Alfalfa), Winter Tares etc plus others that mop up and hold on to nutrients such as Phacelia, Hungarian Rye, Mustard etc. Thanks for this post Veronica to raise awareness.
I'm not disagreeing with you... I am new to this... but the last few years I have been composting in somewhat mega-quantities for a residential setting. I have built several iterations of compost bins until I have finally settled on a ~5 ft tall, 3 1/2 to 4 ft deep, to ~2 1/2 ft wide bin... My first being two compartments, which I will alter to match, the other being 3 adjacent compartments (or bins).
I mow a meadow of about a square 150 ft x 150 ft area of grass, also collect the leaves, comprised of three neighbors' backyards. I can fill these bins three or four times in a season... they are full now for maybe a week or more... yesterday their temp was 150 degrees. They have the predominant smell of hamster dung right now, because that is the recent additive manure I am using. But I have used cow, rabbit and chicken in the past and I am sure the current biome stew still contains those microbiotic elements.
Anyway, I understand that if I were to add just a cup full to a 5 gallon bucket and aerate it for 24 to 48 hours, I would end up with a five gallon bucket of fertilizer. Ok, so this is a labor intensive project I am engaged in and I am not really sure what the application effectiveness is... but it seems to me that there is room here for development to larger operations... for the development of technology and cultural practice to create not only greater livability in our communities, but a real impact on the production and quality of our food supply.
And with the potential of anaerobic artificial "digestors" to handle meat, dairy and other kinds of animal waste not suitable for aerobic composting... well, it just seems there is the real possibility for comprehensive solutions to not only handling human waste/garbage accumulation and the deterioration of soils and quality grocered goods with dynamic nutritional signatures, but also, changing society's awareness of consumption and waste and putting us more in touch with our own sustenance and sustainability.
I just think that a culture has suffused our entire society from the top down... that of the belief in the "magic bullet". Maybe it comes from industries which enjoy too much grace and right of way, wealth power and lobbying ability... bolstering a privileged class of over-compensated, do-nothing businessmen... who make their careers on the next big cheat... that next strategy to sell out the interests of the entire society to save a few cents on the dollar of massive corporate economies in order to make their own individual career. Kind of in the vein of "hoop dreams" for the professional elite.
The entire society is rife with the hall marks of a depth of vision ruled by the quarterly financial report. And those with the biggest bank accounts, certainly seem to make the most "sense"--perhaps spelled (cents). Anyway, something stinks!
Bluebonnets are nitrogen fixing and the state flower of Texas.
I for sure plan on seeding them this fall... have only seen paintbrushes around here so far. Maybe won't seed in the field so much though, as I'm not sure my heart could handle mowing them.
@@VeronicaFlores True they are too pretty to chop down. The bluebonnets here have gone to seed recently so I'll save some for stratifying in the fall as well. I have an 8x8 bed that has bluebonnets each year, it'd be nice to expand their area as a beautiful fixer for the whole garden.
Do you need to stratify where you're at? I always just chuck those sorts of seeds out into their desired locations before the first big frost. 😬
@@VeronicaFlores I probably don't have to but I'm going to try it. From what I've been told about bluebonnets, the seeds will be viable for years but without stratification you will have
Bluebonets can be tricky. One reason may be that the soil bacteria that they use is very different than that of other plants and I haven't been able to find a commercially available inoculation for them. The best thing would be to take some soil samples from where they are growing wild. They are lupinus texensis but the ordinary lupines inoculant is a totally different bacteria than what bluebonnets use. Lupine is also toxic to equines.
I love your open and relaxed videos, full of knowledge and great growing advice. Will you have farm animals, at your now location, like you did in your earlier videos.
Right now my only plan is more birds. Not 100% sure on hooved livestock yet, as I know first hand how much care and attention (and space) they need.
Good to see you going for a no till approach, have you ever watched Charles Dowding? He has some great success with a no dig approach and speaking of the English, Cliff and Dianne from Castlehill Gardens are a great watch too.
Yes I LOVE Charles Dowding (and squeal whenever he interacts when I tag him on Facebook in my fangirl moments. 😬)
Someone on here recommended him to me a year or two ago and I think what he's doing in his space is a fantastic approach for his climate and landscape. ❤️
Will have to check the other ones out! I don't have the bandwidth (wifi) to watch videos often, so I mostly read studies instead. 😂
Veronica Flores
Good to hear! Have you got a blog at all Veronica? I'd be interested to follow along with any studies that you may find interesting.
Also, have you considered a video in which you share your vision and goals for this endeavour?
Thanks for the reply, it's my turn to fan girl now.
Very nice job
Perfect vid.Winter peas? Are those snow peas?You are gold don't change
They're winter peas. I'm not sure if they're categorically snow or snap - probably closer to shelling, but I'm not sure what the pods look like yet.
Hi V, I'm glad you're going 'no till'. I love the theory of it as it seems to be working with nature rather than against it. However, weed control is always a problem here. I'll be interested to see how you deal with that.
I'm interested to see how I deal with it too 😂
Certain cover crops smother out weeds
gracias Veronica
Your videos are always informative and to the point. Thank you! I've only used rye cover crops in my beds for three years in my no till garden. I have found it, after cutting it down, difficult to plant in. It's as if I am planting my grocery crop directly into a lawn. Am I broadcasting the seed too close together? Now I broadcast the seed by hand because I'm thinking I only want cover crops in my 3' wide beds. Am I going wrong in my thinking here? Should I broadcast seed in my whole garden including the walks?
With rye, it's a good idea to crimp it (I'll build an example soon but basically you can use a 2x6 with rope on either side and your body weight, like you're standing on a tree swing but you're also holding the parts that the tree would) - you'd then want to cover it with mulch or a tarp (ideally both) for a few weeks prior to planting. If it's an issue of root density, I'd probably go a little lighter on the broadcast - try mixing the seed with compost before sowing so that it's not as tempting to sow densely.
@@VeronicaFlores That's great advice. I'm using weed fabric next year so I'll just cover the crimped rye with it in place of a tarp. Thanks for responding and blessings to you and your garden.
Nice! I also did cover crop this winter with mix of broad beans and oat.
I so want to do like a dozen or more species! Still figuring out what, little by little. 🙂
G'day Veronica thanks for the video on cover crops. I'm hoping to put a cover crop in at the farm soon just waiting for some rain. Thanks again video came at right time.
It's best to cut the nitrogen fixer down before it flowers.
To the base, or just the new growth?
Beautiful and smart. What do you think using also VETIVER to support your plants and avoid erosion of the soil. Great video Bella.
I think it's a good idea if you're working with a slope + perennials
Thank you so much for explaining me what is a cover crop.i have a test today about cover crops I have got full mark because of u thank you so so much
Have you considered adding any gypsum to break up the clay? It worked great with my garden where we have probably 3 feet of clay under our soil, but not sure how beneficial it'd be on your larger area.
I haven't. I'm trying to be as low impact to the native microbiome as possible until I get my soil results back. 🙂
What did it do for it? And when you say "under our soil", do you mean you brought in soil or?
I'm hoping to grow peanuts as a cover crop! Great video, thank you!
That's one of my goals too! Gotta get enough soil tilth over here first. 🙂
awesome video!!! Can I get same results from planting peanuts?
Hypothetically, yes, but you'd need to leave the roots to die in the soil which would mean no peanuts for you.
@@VeronicaFlores, oh, ok Thanks for the info.
Good Stuff , I love the dirt and things that grown in it :) Great Video Veronica !!
I like the thinking with mowing instead of tilling. I have used organic concepts for years and have all kinds of insects. A good no till way to transform that hard pan clay is to grow daikons . I have seen them get to 2 feet long and as big as a silver dollar. Then you get huge radishes to experiment with in all manner of cooking (and raw of course). Some of your agricultural seed catalogs will give you a better price for the amount of seed you need for acreage instead of a seed packet for kitchen garden use.
Great tips! For sure have daikons planned for the coming fall. One of our neighbors does a big field of them, and they seem to do really well. 🙂
Hi Veronica. I'm in the north east and i have been considering using winter pea as you have (I have the seed for protein in home made chook feed anyway) but I'm using it on land that is/has been wooded. The ash trees are dead due ash borer, so I'm re purposing the land. What ground prep did you do to sow the peas? Did you till for that first crop or surface seed and mulch? Thanks. Love your presentation style. Brian
Dad tilled and I surface seeded before rain, but when they weren't doing much (I went back to CA to pack up and move here) he decided to till again and they came up that time bc they had better contact.
I think a lot depends on how compacted your soil is in the first place. That should inform the method you choose to start.
Hi Veronica! Great information!, I hear dry molasses also improves soil,.what about corn?
I'm careful with adding sugars to soil, as they can cause a microbe spike and subsequent crash.
What about corn?
I guess corn is not consider ad a cover crop I guess my question was does corn improve nitrogen or rob it from the soil. Thanks again I am fairly new to gardening
🙂
Oh got it. Corn robs nutrients for sure. Every plant has different functions, and it's so much more than "does this serve me."
Hey Veronica how do you plant the peas in the clay in the first place? Is there any ground breaking at all? My clay is like concrete in summer.
Rain and disking with the tractor. It's like concrete here as well, which is why I'm focused on building up.
This year for the first time I have used a soil inoculant when planting my peas and beans. It is early, but they seem far more vigorous than I've ever seen them before, so I expect my (orange and yellow clay) soil was lacking in the right bacteria. The inoculant came as a fine black powder. The method I used is to mix perhaps a quarter teaspoon of it into a quarter cup of water (it does not dissolve). I then stir in a couple dozen bean or pea seeds at a time and leave them in at least a few minutes before planting, and take them out with a plastic spoon. No doubt very different methods are used when planting by the acre...
For sure. Lucky for me, my soil does have the right bacteria. I found rhizobacteria inoculants to be counter-productive here (tried a sample section to actually negative results!) but I do think they help in many cases.
Thanks for your reply.
Great video! Thanks for the info :)
Hi Veronica!, when do you think is the best moment to cut the legume cover crop? I have read that if you clear the cover with grain you can lose all the Nitrogen and is better to do it with 20% of flowering. Are you agree? Thank you great channel !
I try to cut before seed production begins, but typically let some flowering (aka a lot of flowering lol) go down before I do just to help establish pollinators. I'll also let some areas live through their cycle and seed the next cover directly into them if they're going to be "fallow" the following season. Idk if this is the "right" way to do it based on "most nitrogen fixation", but I try to view it from what's holistically supportive across all the needs of the ecosystem, and then respond accordingly.
good video and great channel! the N from the plants also is more stable then commercial N. we have been so mislead in the Ag world for so long. we have been told for so long that if we work residue into the soil it will add OM. when we till residue into the soil we wake up scavenger soil life that breaks that residue down very quickly. we also now release a lot of CO2 from the soil that our plants could have used later. the soil is now exposed to wind and water erosion and more prone to compaction. hence the tillage is going to beget more tillage. the residue is only good for about 1% OM contribution.
by doing tillage and working in that residue we also eliminate that opportunity for new top soil to be made. with worms eating the residue there castings are the new very nutrient rich topsoil. in a full tillage farm you are losing more topsoil then you are making.
I would love to have a bigger non farming following so the general public can see that farmers don't have to be full tillage and chemical. farmers can produce organic quality products at Walmart prices.
if you enjoy this stuff take a minute and look around my channel.
also created a website called "soil-man.com" for farmers and the public to talk farming and soil health farming.
Loved it. Very complete and well explained.
So beautiful and very informative;)
I do this in my container garden I layer mulch to create soil every spring I will grow peas shop and drop them then I will grow tomatoes after I have a 2 gallon pot last year I started off with a quart pot I am creating the soil as I go
Very helpful on nitrogen and cover crops , thank you !
I love all your information ,keep up the good work.
Grow giant clover in sections sickle bar and harvest for all the animals. Germinate peas n clover in a tray and feed as live foods to all your animals. Great video charming persona
Awesome video! You are on the right path!
On a field that size this might be hard, but what if you tilled the soil and immediately covered it with mulch?
It's a good question. Based on my research so far, any level of full field tillage (beyond attempting to break up really hard pan) is counterproductive, and will get you short term gains (leaching nutrients that appear readily bioavailable) for long term loss (persistent nutrients and tilth/structure.)
I am playing with the idea of top dressing with composted manure after harvest for winter, to feed the soil and get the next cover established. I'll probably need to add some additional medium here and there for a while, just to get some seeds started. (But I'm trying to cultivate the native microbes, so I'm wary of providing them with too much "buffet style" food. Better to build and grow slowly if you can than risk a serious cycle crash.)
I have been debating planting a cover crop for a few years in my garden. You just Sold me on the idea. I live in the foothills of NC and my soil has a lot of clay and some sand in it. What time of year would be the best to plant peas? Maybe after the tomatoes play out and die? October maybe? Also, would soybean be an option if I don't plan on planting in one of my garden areas this year? Just leave it and let it do it's thing until next year.
I'v always heard of planting cover crops to help the soil and you explained it nicely!
Gotta check your frost dates - fall is usually good though if you have the weeks for them to get established before any snow or whatever.
I'm not sure about soybean... if you're skipping an area this year, I'd honestly go with like at least clover and buckwheat for N fixation and pollinator food, provided that you're prepared for the amount of time you're about to spend mesmerized by flying insects. 😬
Oh I also added a few links on this to the video caption if you really want to search beyond the basics and find good native species to work with 🙂
Great video! How many acres do you have?
This location is five, but only one acre is production field
If you plant a fixer like clover in your beds for a season to allow the soil to regenerate will it be a problem the next season when you plan to plant crops?
Not if you terminate it or clear enough space for your crops - really depends on what you follow with and what type of clover and what your winter is like.
would you recommend tilling first then cover cropping?? Ive found that I have a lot of rocking clay soil. Ive dug up rocks as big as a fist. That cant be great when a tap root hits it
Great technical info thanks
Thank you for the links! Awesome info
what is your thoughts on adding animals, chickens goats or even cattle+chickans
Yes
You are a wealth of knowledge
Thank you Veronica for another informative and delightful video. Have you ever thought about putting your gardening tips into a book? And maybe throw in a few interesting recipes. That would be a book I will buy. Best Wishes. Grandpa Jones. 😃
I'm working on it, always! (She's said for nearly a decade now 😂)
Alfalfa is a good investment cover crop bc here in Pennsylvania it returns the next year. I got my cover crop seeds from Johnny's. I also like Medium Red Clover bc it too returns. It can grow tall. I had it compete with the height of one of my rose bushes last year. I also grew Pearl Millet last year. It was nice and tall and gave seeds to the birds. I planting Oats. They stay knee high and are easy to incorporate around other plants. I planted them and radish around my butterfly bushes last year. I am planting Annual Rye aka Italian Rye Grass aka Ryegrass bc it stays short but grows an extensive root system. This year I am interested in growing a short cover crop to see how much I enjoy having it.
Great list! I really need to look online and order a few things to try this summer... the feed stores around here are pretty useless unless you want to plant grass.
@@VeronicaFlores High Mowing Seeds offers seeds and offers decent shipping rates. I got Phacelia from Albert Lea but it cost me approx $20 for shipping:-( I miss the feed stores in Texas.
Thanks you for your knowledge God bless
Great job
Mowing your legumes is a good idea - you will add much more carboniferous mass that way than by letting the plant mature fully and die back. Clover is going to be great for that north Texas clay, particularly if you don't till it under - the roots will keep everything in place, while going deep into the substrate to pull up minerals for the topsoil. Nitrogen fixing trees - native, you most likely have redbud and black locust in abundance to propagate - the locust is going to propagate anyway, and usually where you don't want it :p A word about perennials and zones - in N Texas, you get some good hot weather, but also some extremely cold spells during the winter when the jet stream dips down, and drags arctic air along with it It isn't quite so bad in the NE, but it can get hellish in the panhandle - if you have become accustomed to the west coast's Humboldt currents, it can be a bit of a shock!
Lucky for me, I lived almost as close to central valley as I did to the coast, so the high desert temp swings is something I've gotten used to.
Not 100% sure that mowing was the best call in a few spots, as the residue simply didn't persist when it wasn't allowed to mat (I let it go in other areas without mowing and the soil is better there for it.) Totally agree on clover- actually eyeing some deer plot mixes they sell around here, just to get a good diversity going (but tough to find something affordable that isn't 60%+ canola.)
Looking at mesquite and mimosa for nitrogen fixation long term as well as agroforestry crops- would love some redbud as well if I can find them for less than $40-50/pop!
Keep your eyes open come next spring - those purple flowers will be hard to miss, and you can get all of the redbud seedlings you want for free. If I were going to buy some nitrogen fixing trees (and I am) I would try to get some Elaeagnus Multiflora - similar to Silverthorn and Autumn Olive, but not prone to exponential self-propagation. I think I can squeeze 2 of them into the budget for next spring, let them get acclimated, and then layer them from then on. I forgot the mimosas! they're blooming right now, and easy to spot - and very easy to grow.
you explain the science almost as well as harley smith-npk=raw solutions and dr elaine ingham/microbes....WOW-to be so young and have so much knowledge---YOU WILL BE ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT SOMEDAY-you're well on your way...
Wow thank you! 🙂 I really do try to make better sense of it all, so glad to hear it resonates.
😊
Love this series! You're teaching me a great deal on things I'm going to be implementing in my field as well. I've seen clover used around fruit trees recently which seems to work pretty well but wouldn't clover be an issue in a field?
Don't see why it would be an issue. I just threw out handfuls in the rain in my field earlier today lol. (Bees love it!)
@@VeronicaFlores Ok great!
Thank you and I see you are outdoors not getting hammered day after day with rain like we are,Been awful........
So can I use just regular peas?My thought is to row the peas and plant Carrots/Beets in between the rows of peas.And other crops..
The other reason why I like what you are doing is the Grand Solar minimum,With the GSM Cycles come more storm,More rain,Less sun,And if i'm gonna be dealing with that,the peas may help reduce the water in the soil ,Aiding in the drying process.?!?
I will look for dried peas in the grocery store and try this ,I think it be a bit expensive buying a seed pea?
Stay well.If you ever heading to NE please put me on your bucket list.
Happy growing,Love your new videos,Such a great teacher and so sweet and to the point of explanation,A great communicator with the finest smile on YT!..
More plants does not always equal less available water in the soil though - at a certain point it seems to become a bit of an inverse u curve, and types of plants matters a whole lot too.
I don't see why you couldn't use whatever peas you want to though - I mostly bought winter peas bc they're pretty hardy and frost tolerant and I needed the 50# bag. No idea if the peas in the grocery store all germinate, but it could be worth a shot.
Peas won't aid in the drying process, but they'll aid in the soil runoff issue to some extent.
@@VeronicaFlores Thank you !
Hey Veronica, I have alkaline soil in the Albuquerque area. Weeds and desert cholla grow without any effort, but I too want to plant a nitrogen fixing cover crop for the same reasons you stated. Would you have a recommendation for a good starting cover crop I can plant in May that would do well in NM desert conditions this summer?
Just added a few links to the video caption based on this question! (Also, I will always recommend clover, especially if you can find an endemic variety and start growing it out.)
What about soil compaction due to foot traffic?...without tilling how are you going to airate the soil?
#yourawesome:)
Hi, nice channel! My question is, how can you tell the difference between the rhizobia, and nematodes?
Rhizobia will be attached to the roots and be small, relatively round, whitish, slightly fuzzy looking, and should be pink or red inside if you slice in half with your fingernail. The roots and plant will look healthy. Nematodes (on roots) will be irregular or misshapen, appear as an extension of the roots as well as attached to them, and the plant and roots may not look healthy.
@@VeronicaFlores thank you 🙏
thank you for making this easy to digest.
I like your videos, you represent yourself fairly by sharing your experience without pretending to be an expert while sharing useful info. You may want to check out Dr. Elaine Ingham's videos on soil microbiology (including no-tilling, hot composting and building soil). Best wishes.
Thank you. Love her!
I've had the pleasure to work with Dr. Ingham on the validation of our process of pathogen reduction for USDA requirements (and her husband before he retired from the field). She is incredible!
What time of year would you plant those peas? In the fall and till under in the spring? I just have one garden. The best I can do is rotate ccrops
So this is what we need to collectively figure out. Typically we plant in fall, yes. As the harvest is at its peak, perhaps even among and between crops as they're finishing. As long as the covers can get to the point where they're almost flowering before frost, they're likely gonna help us out. Sometimes they'll even bounce back in the spring, as they can be fairly frost tolerant when planted en masse.
I'm not tilling them under here though. We have clay soil... and not that I'm great at math, but I've run the numbers and by my modest calculations it would take me beyond any imaginable thousands of lifetimes to make nice soil by incorporating covey crops with a tiller.
Rather, much like the forest soil, my clay is my "base layer" and I'm building up from there. I've heard this is a 5-10 year process to get to a place that is high functioning soil, but idk... I'm mostly learning as I go (and attempting to connect lots of dots.)
You need to search for "Dave Brandt Walnut Creek Seeds" if you have not already done so. No need to re-invent no till farming, since he (and others) have been working on solutions since the 70's.
Agreed. I'm not reinventing it at all. Just applying it to my land, for my region, with my topography, for the seeds I am stewarding.
When to plant it August? When to mow it April ? How manny month before i plant other crop i need to mow it ?
Honestly depends on your growing region and what your goals with it are- I do either fall or spring or both, and adjust accordingly (too many variables at play to give you a straight answer!)
Great video, thank you!
Nearly called you to ask about this, figured I'd at least watch the video first lol. great stuff!
Next time call me!!! :P But also thanks for watching. ;)
at what point should we chop and drop the austrian winter pea? are we supposed to just let it die then chop or do it earlier? thankyou
I wait until it is just beginning to form flower buds- that's when nitrogen is highest. It's nice to leave little patches as well if you can help it for pollinators.
Now to the best of your knowledge is there anything that can add potassium and phosphate to the soil(minus animal fertilizers). I'm just wondering if it's possible to cover crop with any kind of combination of plants to where you'll infuse your soil with all of it's nutrients and then you can plant your veggies afterward and not have to really fertilize them with anything.
Working on that one... but I have a feeling that this might be where biodynamics (and the byproducts of animals raised as a food source) come into play.
Incorporation of wild game bones, feathers, manure, and offal into plots historically comes up as a practice in some regard pretty consistently among indigenous farmers.
Maybe it sounds woo, but IME it's also a really ideal way to honor the rhythms of the season, and show gratitude for and respect towards every single bit of the life that you've taken in order to sustain your own.
Most organisms do this - take life to sustain their own, or are complicit and standing by to pick the slims while someone else does the dirty work for them.
Maybe my most unpopular opinion thus far, but I think the "problem" that we at the human condition seem to have is one of mistaking virtue signaling for balance.
You cannot colonialize the natural world without adverse effects. She has a built in dead man's switch.
@@VeronicaFlores I happen to agree, it's a very intricate balance, and we keep disrupting it under the guise of "improvement" but we aren't improving anything. Nature knows how cycle best. We're at our infancy in the process, I think we can stand to learn a lot from how it functions naturally and then apply that knowledge. So you just keep doing what you're doing, and we'll learn as we go. 😊
Can you eat field peas as pea shoots like with sugar snap peas?
Absolutely! Though they're not quite as sweet, but still very edible
You are perfection.
Very informative. Thank you!
hi veronica i have a question with regards to planting such a big area. did you till and seed or just seed. I have a 3 acre paddock I would like to try this with as the weather is cooling down now here in australia
I'd do a light tilling if you have heavy soil, just for the first pass, lest the seeds not make enough soil contact to germinate. We ended up tilling them in (set to like 2-3" on tiller) because the soil is so compacted here. Would be better to broadfork or the like, but three acres would break you lol. Till just enough to get the soil loose so you can plant (or find someone you can borrow a drill planter from would be the best option.)
@@VeronicaFlores thank you for your advice. the soil isn't too compact as we have had lucerne(alfalfa) on it for years but its finished its life now so time for a new crop. Thanks again I have just found your channel and the information is valuable, so I encourage you to keep going.
as always, once my day is done, i keep you for the last video....on a clear head....you mentioned that there is a tool you are missing, please what is that tool, just so i know...and for ground cover, last year once all the big rigs were off after building my house and doing boulder retaining walls, etc...i went crazy with clover and a little of grass... but seeded clover everywhere i could..although i do have an amazing soil, forest, loose, nutrients, will have it tested again but from my septic system tests, i could grow anything...i am missing some K, as per the stuff you suggested me to read and i just bought a soil test kit...i do have intention to hire a pro..but by doing it myself first...when he comes up with his results, i will know what i did wrong....again please let me know the toll you are missing...so i can learn what you are using, wink wink...Thank you so much...and also, happy gardening Veronica...only 2 feet of snow left...but 15 celsius temperature...go on practice....ok ...59 F
I really want a broad fork. And a seed drill. And a BCS tractor. 😂 But I honestly don't have the space to warrant it, so I'll modify with what I have for now.
Oh yeah and definitely keep an eye on that K. So overlooked in most gardens.