Do I need a cover crop?

18 years ago

I'm starting my first vegetable garden this fall for planting in the spring. It will be a raised bed set on top of an area that was cleared of brush and weeds. I plan to fill the bed with approx. 5 inches of a loam/compost mix left over from my lawn renovation and then top that with an inch of compost straight from my pile. In the spring I would add a fresh layer of compost before planting. I have been reading a lot about cover crops and was planning to seed oats this fall, but is this even necessary? I am not concerned about erosion/soil loss due to it being a raised bed. I think the soil I will be adding is plenty healthy and loose so I dont think nutrients or compaction will be an issue either. I know it wouldn't hurt, but would the cover crop really add much benefit in this situation?

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Comments (5)

denninmi
18 years ago
Well, that's the thing about cover crops, you don't HAVE to plant them. It's just that they're SO beneficial to the soil, predominantly for the "green manure" they provide when tilled/worked in in the spring.

In northern climates, you can do a cover crop which dies over the winter from the cold, like oats or fava beans or field peas, if you don't want to contend with a bunch of growing plants in the spring. Or, if you want them to grow and generate even more green manure, use something like winter rye or winter vetch that will survive the winters.

Used consistently, they really add a lot of humus to the soil. But, if you have a small raised bed, you can do that just by adding compost. If you had a much larger area, I would say that it would be hard to come up with enough compost, unless you can afford to buy some and have it brought in, to cover the area effectively, so a cover crop would be a good alternative in that situation.

So, the choice is really yours. The one thing I would suggest, should you choose to do a cover crop, is to mix in a legume, such as field peas, favas, or crimson clover, which will fix nitrogen, in with the oats.
Kimmsr
18 years ago
Erosion could be even more of a problem in a raised bed since more of the soil surface would be up where they wind could blow the soil away. If you do not put a good, thick mulch on top of the beds then you do need a cover crop to help hold the soil in place and to aid in suppressing "weed" growth.
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smokensqueal
18 years ago
Hey I never even thought of this. Good idea. My raised bed well isn't really raised. I have sides on it but the dirt isn't much higher then the dirt on the outside and being the first year it got really compact. So for me this might be something to try. Thanks for the idea.
grassman84
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the tips, both good advice. I got some field peas to go along with the oats. We'll see what happens.

Do I mix them 50/50 and seed together, and at the same time?
peter_6
18 years ago
The usual mix for hairy vetch and cereal rye is 1:3. Field peas and oats are used for the same reasons in the northeast, so that might be a good guide. Regards, Peter.