Cover Crops for Montana Gardens
In Montana, cover crops go into the ground once the soil itself holds steady warmth, typically mid to late May around Billings, and come out by the first…
Cover Crops in a Small Garden: What Actually Works
The cover crops that work in a small garden are the ones a person can kill without a tractor: buckwheat, oats, crimson clover, field peas, and daikon…
Cover Crops for Missouri Gardens
Soil temperature, not the calendar, decides when a Missouri garden is ready for cover crops.
When to Pick Summer Squash in Arkansas — and What to Do With a Glut
Ripe summer squash in Arkansas is a matter of days, not weeks. The plant tells you it’s ready long before a calendar does, and once fruit sets, the…
How a Legume Actually Adds Nitrogen
A legume doesn’t feed your soil nitrogen while it’s standing in the field, green and healthy.
Cover Crops for Mississippi Gardens
Mississippi gardeners can seed a fall cover crop through October in most of the state and expect a full winter season before spring planting begins…
Sowing More Than One Species Together
A cover crop mix pays off when the species chosen actually complement each other: a grass to scavenge nutrients and hold soil, a legume to fix nitrogen…
Cover Crops for Minnesota Gardens
Minnesota gives cover crops a tight, cold-bounded season: seeding depends on soil warmth after a frost date that arrives late (mid-to-late April) and…
Hairy Vetch: Nitrogen, at a Price
Hairy vetch pulls more nitrogen out of the air than clover, oats, or field peas, which is why farmers and gardeners plant it before nitrogen-hungry crops…
Cover Crops for Michigan Gardens
Cover crops in Michigan go in the ground once the soil has dried and warmed past the last frost risk, typically late April to mid-May depending on where…