so many choices is right. (see LITFA in case of emergency)
my non-qualified choice would be all the clovers because theyāre nice & innoffensive(except bur clover)ā¦they wonāt be annoying if they spread, imo.
the cowpeas/black-eyed peas is one i tried simply because i got bag for a buck at the grocery storeā¦as a no-till cover crop last year.
and finally alfalfa iāve wanted to try. not so much the vetch but MendoDope seems to have a lot around.
I like this mix really reasonably priced then you donāt have to buy 8-12 different varieties diversity is important ,different seeds/plants bring more diversity to the soil matrix and thus more and different microbes!
I wouldnāt think you would need anymore than a pound of red wigglers as far as cover crop seed I like to plant a nice bunch in my pots guess it all depends what your eventually going to grow your cannabis as well but it benefits the cannabis on every grow cycle you do also!
Finished the first of my flower cutting garden. Dug out and turned the soil added some fresh bag soil, some steer manure and bone meal. Planted approx 300 flower bulbs, tulips, irises, giant allium, freesia, and daffodils. Working on another planter now for some lilies and other fancy flowers for the border of the veggie patch. Been turning and watering about half of the veggie patch that is now a giant compost. Still need worms. My cover crop is on the way and I still have a bunch of soil to till in there. Iām considering biting the bullet and renting some kind of tiller and just getting it done. Itās a lot of work for 1 person. Iām going slowly but surely by hand, but dayummm! lol I want to get that cover crop going. The special mj planters still need to be dug out and I was hoping to have the cover crop going and the compost covered in plastic to cook by the time I need to start that. I still have naked planters that will need to be dealt with eventually, but that might be next years fall project.
Well, it actually has a slightly sandy element to it. So far Iāve only been planting flower beds right now and have added a bunch of new soil and composted manure to them. Time will tell on the veggie patch. Half of it is a compost at this point. Iāve decided to rent a rototiller within the next week or two, till it and plant this cover crop. Weāll see what happens come spring when the compost is cooked and the veggies are planted. So far the soil seems to break up pretty good. As a matter of fact I suppose I will find out everything come spring if all my flowers bloom. lol What I do know is that the nitrogen is depleted, cover crop should fix that and I believe it said it breaks up clay soil as well.
I have a book that talks about the density of clay being affected by ionic imbalances, or something like that. I didnāt quite understand, but the takeaway was that gypsum and ag lime good, dolomite/sweet lime bad. Magnesium makes clay worse.
I have only been able to try it out once, but in a side by side test it made a huge difference.
Iām pretty sure Our Lady @MomOnTheRun can tell us all āhow itās doneā here. All you need is the missing link mineral and microbes, evidently. And patience. And a rototiller! haha
@fishdude
i may have read the same authorā¦ calcium good
@Meesh I wouldnāt bother adding drainage amendments to native soil like that over time with good soil practices your soil will start aggregating with all the microbes and fungi in the soil and be crumbly like the consistency of rinsed cottage cheese which will drain perfectly and have nice aeration in time !