Cover Cropping

Cover cropping is an important tool for caring for our soil and adapting to the challenges of our northern climate. With short growing seasons, protecting soil from erosion and building organic matter is essential and by planting cover crops like oats, peas, vetch, rye, buckwheat or clover between harvests, we improve soil structure, boost fertility, and help increase organic matter. This supports healthier vegetables, and a more resilient farm.

This spring Woodland Community School (the school here on the farm property) students helped us plant sudan grass cover crop seeds in holes where a spring crop of lettuce once resided. The lettuce was cut out so the roots would decompose in the soil and cover crop seeds added.

We were thrilled with the results of vetch and winter rye that came up after the winter in G7. When pollen started dropping from the rye flower we knew it was time to crimp. Crimping cover crops is a way to terminate them without tilling. A roller-crimper bends and crushes the stems, stopping their growth while leaving a thick mulch on the soil surface. This mulch helps suppress weeds, retain moisture, prevent erosion, and feed the soil as it breaks down. We use this method as it supports our efforts to reduce soil disturbance, improve soil health, and grow strong, healthy crops using regenerative practices. Water fills the roller-crimper to add more weight to the implement ensuring the crop doesn’t grow back.

In the coming week we plan on ensuring the cover crop perishes by covering with sileage tarps. We anticipate planting Salanova lettuce into this in August.

Some of you may recall last summer we included the video below of Colin crimping a cover crop in GH2. Check out last summers week #6 newsletter to get the entire picture. Colin planted a cover crop of Oats, Peas, and Beans which promptly germinated and popped up. They outpaced weeds fixing nitrogen, breaking up any hard pan, and provided organic matter for the soil. This set us up for a phenomenal fall crop of Salanova.

Above: Oats, Peas, and Beans starting to germinate and pop up.

Right: Notice the round nitrogen nodules on the roots of the Bean plant.

Beans fix nitrogen taking it from the air and converting to a form useable by the next round of plants that go in the ground. Rather than pull the nitrogen fixing cover crops, we leave the roots in the ground to decompose.

Pickup

If you are unable to pickup, please let us know so we can put your share aside to be picked up at your earliest convenience.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BAGS!

Woodland Community School Camp children and parents may be still in and around the driveway, please be careful navigating the parking lot.


Come anytime between 3 pm and 6 pm to choose your share on the day you chose when you signed up, so either Monday or Thursday.

Here's what you will find in this weeks share:

 Everyone gets to take: Head Lettuce

PLEASE REMEMBER:

Full shares receive an additional 11 choices and

Small shares receive an additional 7 choices.

Please use the tally sheets to keep track of the number of choices you are taking at pickup. We want to make sure you receive all 8 choices if you are a small share and 12 choices if you are a large share!

Want some recipe ideas?

CHECK OUT THE CSA RECIPE PAGE!

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Jeb, Colin, Jaime, Wyatt, Ani, Sophie, and Jess)