Cover Crops benefit your Garden in Many Ways

Once you’ve finished cleaning up your vegetable beds, it’s time to consider planting a cover crop. Cover crops, sometimes called “green manure” crops, are planted to maintain and improve soil structure, soil fertility and to protect the living portion of your soil, including micro-organisms. Cover crops generally fall into two categories: Non-Legume and Legume.  Non-Legume cover crops produce a large amount of bio-mass.

 Bio-mass is plant material, including roots, stems and leaves. Non-Legume crops are the definition of “green manure” and include winter rye, oats and annual rye.  

Turn these crops over in the spring to add organic material to your garden. Legume cover crops also build bio-mass and help fix Nitrogen as well. 

Crimson clover, peas and red clover are Legume cover crops. It should be noted; the fixed Nitrogen becomes available once the legume starts to decompose. 

Cover crops also have an influence on components of your soil through the winter. If you’ve left a portion of your garden fallow for some period of time, you’ll discover there’s not of life left in the soil. Most, if not all of the earthworms have disappeared, as well as the beneficial micro-organisms necessary to make you soil work effectively with your crops.  

Cover crops will help protect the earthworms and micro-organism population by providing moisture and food through the winter. Cover crops can be sown directly into your garden anytime in late fall. Use a bow rake to work up the soil, then broadcast the seed over the soil. Cover the seed lightly with compost or peat moss. 

Keep the area moist until the cover crop seed germinates, usually within two weeks. Cover crops are well suited to all gardens, regardless of size. 

They're among the easiest crops to grow and whether you choose Winter Rye, Buckwheat, Clover or Peas and Oats, cover crops will protect and enrich your garden soil through the winter. 

How to plant Bulbous Iris

Bulbous Iris are among the earliest of the spring blooming bulbs, often emerging through the snows of late winter.

Their striking colors are a sure sign spring is on its way. Bulbous iris includes Iris hollandica or Dutch iris, Iris histrioides or Dwarf iris, as well as Iris reticulata, often called miniature iris. Of these, Iris histrioides will bloom first in the spring, followed by Iris reticulata, then the Dutch irises. 

Dutch Iris are available in shades of white, purple, yellow and blue.

‘Katherine Hodgkin’ is a popular Dwarf Iris.

‘Harmony’ is the choice for Iris reticulata.  Late September into October is the time to plant bulbous iris.

Unlike bearded iris which are planted from rhizomes, bulbous iris are planted from teardrop shaped bulbs.

Bulbous iris displays best when planted in bunches, rather than single bulbs. Select a site in the garden that will receive full sun.

Once you’ve selected a sunny site, plan to add 2 inches to 3 inches of compost or peat moss to your existing soil, then mix it in thoroughly.  While you're at it, work in some Dutch Bulb Food.

Used at planting time, Dutch Bulb Food provides the nutrients necessary to promote good root development.

Plant your bulbous iris point end up about 4 inches deep, then cover with soil. After planting, water the bed thoroughly.  Your bulbs will start rooting right away. As the temperatures cool down, the bulbs will go dormant. When the soil warms up in the spring, your bulbous iris will wake up and begin to grow and bloom. After flowering, the foliage will fade away and the bulb will remain dormant until the following spring. Once in place, your bulbous iris should bloom for many seasons.  

Now’s the time to plant grass seed

If you’re thinking about repairing those bare spots or over-seeding the whole lawn to help thicken it up, now is the time.

Start with selecting the right seed for your lawn. Most lawns in our area are “cool-season” grasses. They do best when the temperatures are cooler. That’s why spring and fall are the right times to seed or over-seed your lawn. 

We recommend you choose seed that will work in our area. We get our grass seed from the Greely, Fort Collins area. Our seed selection includes "Colorado Perfect", Flowerbin Blue" and "Emerald III". Colorado Perfect features a blend of quick germinating Perennial Rye, Fescue and Blue Grass. This by far is our most popular grass seed. It will germinate quickly and does well in sun and light shade. Emerald III is a blend of elite turf-type fescues. This is the seed to choose if you have shady spots in the lawn. Emerald III turf-type fescue has a fine texture, dark color and superior shade tolerance.  Flower Bin Blue is a blend of top performing Kentucky Bluegrasses. This grass features dense growth, dark green color and holds up well under traffic.

The next step is to rake up the areas you’re trying to repair. Using a leaf rake, remove enough of the dead thatch to expose bare soil.

Step 3, add some organic material, such as compost and peat moss. We recommend Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost. This product is produced locally and will help build up the soil in your lawn. Once the site is prepared, apply the grass seed as evenly as possible then cover lightly with Sheep, Peat and Compost. Now it’s a matter of keeping your grass seed moist until germination. It’s important to avoid letting your seed dry out.

This is also a good time to over-seed your lawn. If your grass is thin, with bare patches and more weeds creeping into your yard, it’s time to over-seed. Begin by mowing your lawn a little shorter than you have all summer. Next, have the lawn aerated.

Core aeration will open the soil up, allowing air and soil amendments to get down to the root level. 

Organic soil amendments come in the form of compost and humates. These two products will build more robust soil, encourage deep roots and help choke out weeds naturally.

You’ll see a significant improvement in your lawn if you apply humate and compost twice a year, spring and fall. If you’re not sure which seed to select or how much seed you’ll need, stop in. We sell grass seed in bulk, so you can select the right seed type and the amount you need for your fall lawn project.  

Fall is for Planting Bearded Iris

We’ve just received our shipments of bearded iris rhizomes, so it’s a great time to add to your collection, while stock is fresh and there’s a good selection of colors.

 As you're shopping for bearded iris, you may notice some boxes are labeled "Blooms Spring and Fall".

These are "reblooming" iris, that is iris that have been developed to produce blooms in the spring and again in the fall. Whether you choose the reblooming varieties or not, there are certain things to do to ensure the success of your iris for many seasons to come. First, iris need to be planted in a sunny spot in the garden. Second, iris need to be planted in well-drained soil.

It’s important to take the time to improve the planting site by adding organic material in the form of compost and peat moss. These amendments should be mixed about 50:50 with the existing soil.

Next, add some Dutch Bulb Food, working it into the soil. You’re now ready to plant your iris rhizomes.

There is a “front and back” to iris rhizomes, a toe and a heel. The leaf indicates the heel side. Iris will grow in the direction of the heel, so keep that in mind when you're planting, especially if they're going to be growing along a path or fence.

Another important factor to remember when you're planting your iris rhizomes is to avoid planting too deep. Iris do their best when planted so the top of the rhizome is right at the soil level or just thinly covered. If you plant iris too deep, the leaves may develop but chances are the plant won't bloom.

If you didn’t divide your iris this spring, now’s the time. After a few seasons, Iris will become crowded and stop blooming, so it’s important to dig and divide iris every so often in order to reinvigorate the plant.

Irises grow in clumps and can be lifted using a garden fork.

Once out of the ground, cut or break apart the rhizomes into sections, each with a healthy set of leaves and firm, tan/white roots.

Next, cut the leaves back in a fan shape to about a third of their length and mark them with the name of the variety. You are now ready to plant your iris, following the same guidelines outlined earlier in this article.

Your iris will establish themselves through the fall and early winter and be ready to bloom for you next spring and in some cases, again next fall.