Cover Crops Benefit your Garden in Many Ways

  

Cover crops are planted to improve soil structure, soil fertility and to protect the living portion of your soil, including micro-organisms. Cover crops have an influence on living components of your soil through the winter. If you’ve left a portion of your garden fallow for some period, you’ll discover there’s not of life left in the soil. Most of the earthworms have disappeared, as well as the beneficial micro-organisms necessary to make your soil work effectively with your crops.   

Cover crops generally fall into two categories: Non-Legume and Legume.  Non-Legume cover crops produce a large amount of biomass.  Biomass is plant material, including roots, stems, and leaves. Non-Legume crops include winter rye, oats, buckwheat, and annual rye and will add organic material to the soil when turned over in the spring.  

Crimson Clover, Red Clover and Hairy Vetch are Legume cover crops. Planted now, they will protect the soil, build some biomass and help fix Nitrogen.  It should be noted; the fixed Nitrogen becomes available once they are turned into the soil and begin to decompose.   

  

Crimson Clover is a nitrogen-fixing crop that grows best in cool weather making fall an ideal time to plant it. It will tolerate some shade so you can plant it among tall plants such as tomatoes. Crimson Clover can also be used to fill in spaces in flower beds. Hairy Vetch is a fast-growing cover crop that biodegrades quickly once it’s turned under in the spring.  

Cover crops can be sown directly into your raised bed or garden anytime in late fall. Prepare the planting site by removing any remaining vegetable plants, weeds, and mulch.  

Loosen the soil with a garden fork, then rake smooth with a bow rake. Next, broadcast the seed over the area, cover the seed lightly with compost and keep the area moist until the cover crop seed germinates, usually within two weeks.  

To sow a cover crop while vegetable crops are still producing, start by removing any mulch from around plants. This will ensure good seed-to-soil contact.  Broadcast the seed evenly along the row and cover with compost. This will give the cover crop a good start but will not interfere with existing vegetable plant growth. 

Cover crops are well suited for all gardens, regardless of size. They provide cover and stability for your soil through the winter months and help improve soil structure and vitality for the spring and summer garden. 

 

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How to Plant Garlic, Onions, and Shallots in the Fall

Garlic, shallots, and onions are members of the allium family. Typically planted in late September and early October, they are well suited to planting in the fall and will produce a good crop come late spring into summer. Like other spring flowering bulbs, garlic, onions, and shallots planted now will set roots and start to grow. As the soil temperature cools down, growth stops. When soil temperatures increase in the spring, the bulb will resume its growth cycle.

 

Garlic, shallots, and onions like sun and well-drained soils, so incorporate an organic soil amendment such as Sheep, Peat, and Compost into your planting site. Once the soil has been amended incorporate some Bone Meal or Phosphate into your garlic bed. This will facilitate root development.

 

Garlic, shallots, and onions can be planted in traditional rows or in raised beds.  Plant each garlic clove 3” to 4” deep, pointy end up and spaced 6” to 8” apart.  

Plant onion sets and shallots 2” to 3” deep, 5” apart. Garlic, onions, and shallots can also be planted and grown successfully in and among existing perennials and roses.

 

There are many different varieties of garlic, all of which fall into three general categories: Softneck, Hardneck and Elephant.

 

Softneck garlic is the kind you will generally find in the grocery store. The two common types of softneck garlic are artichoke and silverskin. Both varieties have a mild flavor and generally store well. Softneck garlics have a flexible stalk which can be braided.

 

Hardneck garlics also have a stalk –called a scape- which coils at the top. If left to mature, hardneck garlic will produce a flower which is several small bulbils, or tiny bulbs, which are edible. Hardnecks dry to a hard stem, hence the name. The most common Hardneck garlic is rocambole. As a group, they have a deeper, richer flavor than softnecks do, but they don’t store as well. Elephant garlic is the largest garlic. It is also the mildest and sweetest. It is easy to peel and has a long shelf life.

 

Garlic needs a cold period of at least 40 days. Otherwise, the bulb won’t set properly. This process is called vernalization, whereby the cold temperatures stress the seed, encouraging to divide it into separate cloves.

 

Begin by selecting high quality seed garlic. Garlic purchased in grocery stores is often treated with sprout inhibitors, disrupting the growth cycle. 

Break the bulb into individual cloves. This is often referred to as “cracking” the bulb. Each clove should produce a bulb of 6-8 cloves.

 

Garlic, onions, and shallots should be mulched in early winter, after the ground freezes. Around Thanksgiving, apply a 4” to 5” layer of mulch to the planting site. The mulch will hold in moisture and keep the ground cold and stable.  Soil Pep is a good choice for mulch as it can be worked into the ground after harvest. 

 

 

 

Come spring, when new shoots are about 3” high, side dress with Blood Meal. At 12-0-0, this will provide the Nitrogen garlic, shallots and onions need to grow and develop.

 

 

Softneck garlic planted now will usually be ready for harvest around July 4^th. Dig softnecks when the leaves turn brown. Hardneck garlic will mature a litt1le later in the season. They’re ready to harvest when the scapes straighten out.

 

Onions are ready to harvest when the tops turn yellow and fall over. Green onions can be harvested earlier, before the bulbs start to form. Shallot bulb picking can begin when the foliage droops and turns brown. The top of the shallot protruding from the ground is another indication they’re ready for harvest.

 

Dividing and Caring for Bearded Iris

Bearded iris (Iris germanica) is a popular perennial grown for its stunning flowers and variety of bloom colors.

Bearded Iris bear flowers with six petals: three upright petals which are called standards and three dropping petals which are called falls. The dropping petals have a fuzzy beard-like line running down the center, giving this perennial its name.  

Bearded irises grow from a thick root structure called a rhizome. As the plant matures the rhizome multiplies, resulting in more leaves and flowers. Over time, they can become crowded, and they stop producing as many blooms as possible. That’s an indication they need to be divided. Now’s the time to dig and divide iris.   

 

The best tool to use to dig iris roots rhizomes, is a spading fork. Spading forks make it easy to get under and lift the rhizome without causing damage to the roots. Once you’ve got the clump of iris out of the ground, you’ll be able to see the rhizomes clearly. You can divide the clump with a knife or by simply breaking off each root with your hand. Trim the leaves in a fan shape down to between 4" and 6". Mark the leaves with the variety of the iris, so you’ll remember which one it is.  

When you’re planting your iris in their new location, remember that iris grow in the direction of the heel so place your rhizomes with the leaves planted in the direction you want the plant to grow, in this case away from the rock edging.  

Iris will do okay in clay soils, but they thrive in soils that have been amended, so add a couple of inches of Sheep, Peat and Compost and dig it in 4-5 inches. 

Add some Bone Meal or Dutch Bulb Food and place the rhizome so that the roots are fanned out to the side, then add enough soil to cover the roots, leaving the very top of the rhizome exposed. Water in thoroughly. Your iris will establish through the fall and be ready to bloom next spring.  

For the rest of the iris in your garden that don't need to be divided, remove any weeds and dead vegetation, cut the foliage back to 4” to 6” long and fertilize with Bone Meal or Dutch Bulb Food, then water thoroughly. This will prepare your iris for the winter season ahead.  

This is also a good time to add new varieties and colors to your garden. 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 "Rebloomer" or "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.

Rooted bearded iris are available in our Perennial section. These are well-established iris, ready to take home and plant.

Same planting guidelines apply. Pick a good solid rhizome, amend the soil well, add some Bone Meal and make sure you mark the iris, so you’ll remember the name next spring.  With proper care, your iris will bloom reliably for many springs to come.