Posted by Zootal on September 4, 2009, 5:49 pm
> On Fri, 4 Sep 2009 10:14:26 -0700, "Zootal"
>>
>>> Billy wrote:
>>>> cheapdave@home.com wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I am in zone 5 and have question about cover crop.......I have small
>>>>> garden,
>>>>> about 800 sq ft.....about 300 sq ft is now available for planting, and
>>>>> I
>>>>> have just planted winter rye as a cover crop/green manure......Now I
>>>>> am
>>>>> having second thought...I have only small rotor tiller and am
>>>>> concerned
>>>>> that
>>>>> the rye grass will be difficult to till in spring....any advise
>>>>> appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> After the rye, you won't need it.
>>>
>>> Depends how high it gets. Too high, use your mower with a cacher, or a
>>> mulching mower, then till. Yep, the small tillers have a hard time with
>>> the
>>> high cover crops, takes several passes.
>>
>>How high is the rye likely to get? And how late in the year can you plant
>>it? Much of my garden has squash and tomatoes and plants that produce
>>until
>>a good frost kills them, which can be as late as mid October. Can you
>>plant
>>rye that late in the season?
> I'd plant the rye now - reminds me I need to buy some seed myself. You
> can plant amid the tomatoes and perhaps other plants. I'll be planting
> where my zinnias are.
> depending on the weather etc, my best rye crop was close to 3 feet
> high. It was great looking out to a mini field of green when
> everything else was dead and brown.
> Kate - mid TN
Would you want to plant rye in places where you want to grow early spring
crops, like peas and onions? I would think not, at least not where I live,
because spring planting here means planting in the mud. It doesn't stop
raining long enough for the ground to dry out until May. In Jan/Feb, when we
plant peas and onions, it is cold and wet and muddy, and we plant stuff in
the mud. I have to prepare the bed for planting before the fall rains hit.
It's supposed to rain this weekend. Summer is over, and we may not see dry
ground for a long long time...
Posted by Billy on September 4, 2009, 11:45 pm
> > On Fri, 4 Sep 2009 10:14:26 -0700, "Zootal"
> >
> >>
> >>> Billy wrote:
> >>>> cheapdave@home.com wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> I am in zone 5 and have question about cover crop.......I have small
> >>>>> garden,
> >>>>> about 800 sq ft.....about 300 sq ft is now available for planting, and
> >>>>> I
> >>>>> have just planted winter rye as a cover crop/green manure......Now I
> >>>>> am
> >>>>> having second thought...I have only small rotor tiller and am
> >>>>> concerned
> >>>>> that
> >>>>> the rye grass will be difficult to till in spring....any advise
> >>>>> appreciated.
> >>>>
> >>>> After the rye, you won't need it.
> >>>
> >>> Depends how high it gets. Too high, use your mower with a cacher, or a
> >>> mulching mower, then till. Yep, the small tillers have a hard time with
> >>> the
> >>> high cover crops, takes several passes.
> >>
> >>How high is the rye likely to get? And how late in the year can you plant
> >>it? Much of my garden has squash and tomatoes and plants that produce
> >>until
> >>a good frost kills them, which can be as late as mid October. Can you
> >>plant
> >>rye that late in the season?
> >
> > I'd plant the rye now - reminds me I need to buy some seed myself. You
> > can plant amid the tomatoes and perhaps other plants. I'll be planting
> > where my zinnias are.
> >
> > depending on the weather etc, my best rye crop was close to 3 feet
> > high. It was great looking out to a mini field of green when
> > everything else was dead and brown.
> >
> > Kate - mid TN
>
> Would you want to plant rye in places where you want to grow early spring
> crops, like peas and onions? I would think not, at least not where I live,
> because spring planting here means planting in the mud.
Sounds like you should investigate raised garden beds.
> It doesn't stop
> raining long enough for the ground to dry out until May. In Jan/Feb, when we
> plant peas and onions, it is cold and wet and muddy, and we plant stuff in
> the mud. I have to prepare the bed for planting before the fall rains hit.
>
> It's supposed to rain this weekend. Summer is over, and we may not see dry
> ground for a long long time...
--
³When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the
poor have no food, they call you a communist.²
-Archbishop Helder Camara
http://tinyurl.com/o63ruj
http://countercurrents.org/roberts020709.htm
XML site map
>>
>>> Billy wrote:
>>>> cheapdave@home.com wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I am in zone 5 and have question about cover crop.......I have small
>>>>> garden,
>>>>> about 800 sq ft.....about 300 sq ft is now available for planting, and
>>>>> I
>>>>> have just planted winter rye as a cover crop/green manure......Now I
>>>>> am
>>>>> having second thought...I have only small rotor tiller and am
>>>>> concerned
>>>>> that
>>>>> the rye grass will be difficult to till in spring....any advise
>>>>> appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> After the rye, you won't need it.
>>>
>>> Depends how high it gets. Too high, use your mower with a cacher, or a
>>> mulching mower, then till. Yep, the small tillers have a hard time with
>>> the
>>> high cover crops, takes several passes.
>>
>>How high is the rye likely to get? And how late in the year can you plant
>>it? Much of my garden has squash and tomatoes and plants that produce
>>until
>>a good frost kills them, which can be as late as mid October. Can you
>>plant
>>rye that late in the season?
> I'd plant the rye now - reminds me I need to buy some seed myself. You
> can plant amid the tomatoes and perhaps other plants. I'll be planting
> where my zinnias are.
> depending on the weather etc, my best rye crop was close to 3 feet
> high. It was great looking out to a mini field of green when
> everything else was dead and brown.
> Kate - mid TN