News & Notes

of the UCSC Farm & Garden

Center for Agroecology
Issue 135, Fall 2012 & Sustainable Food Systems

Choosing & Using Cover Crops

Forrest Cook

in the Home Garden & Orchard

Orin Martin
Where no kind of manure is to be had, I think cultivation of lupines1 will be found the readiest and best sub-
stitute. If they are sown around the middle of September in poor soil, and then ploughed in, the following spring,
they will answer as well as the best manure.
- Columella, 1st century Rome

Cover crops (often used as green manures; see below) and their positive, restorative effects on the soil
come down to us through agricultural antiquity. Additionally, their ability to stimulate the growth of subsequent
or follow crops is well documented via Chinese manuscripts from 3,000 years ago. Greek and Roman cultures
also featured liberal reference to cover crops in both technical treatises as well as poetry. The Roman poet Virgils
classic Georgics (Earth Works) is an epic poem of agriculture and culture laced with frequent and quite specific
reference to the use of cover crops/green manures and compost.
Cover crops, compost, and cultivation techniques (plowing and digging) are the three fundamental drivers of
any sustainable/organic growing system, from a postage stamp-sized backyard to sections2 of wheat in Kansas.
So first, to define terms:
Cover Crop: Any plant cover used to protect, and of course, cover, the surface of the soil and to prevent ero-
sion. This includes the effects of foliage to shield the soil from the explosive impact of rain hitting an exposed
soil, as well as the binding and holding power of roots to prevent erosion. While there are many domesticated
cover crops (principally, but not exclusively, legumes and annual grasses), weeds are also an effective cover crop.
Bare soil is anathema (Greek for an accursed thing) to good soil stewardship, and not often found in natural
systems.
Green Manure: A cover crop that is chopped up and turned into the soil. Chopping the cover crop into small
pieces increases the surface area of the incorporated biomass, which translates to faster decomposition by soil
microbes. Green manuring has two main benefits:
1. When incorporated at the succulent stage (pre flowering) the crop decomposes quickly and acts primarily
as a fertilizer for the follow crop, usually spring and summer vegetables.3
2. When incorporated at a more mature stage (half to full bloom) with a higher carbon content, it adds to
the organic matter content of the soil. In this instance nutrients are stored in the reservoir of humus and
released slowly over a number of years.
While this is not a strictly delineated process, both approaches provide a food source for soil organisms, a
fertilizer, and a way to build organic matter in the soil. You tend to use the first approach on established soils to
fertilize crops, and the second on developing soils to build organic matter and improve structure, i.e., to build the
body of the soil.
Trap or Catch Crop: Cover crops can effectively trap or catch nutrients and prevent them from leaching down-
ward in the soil profile. For example: Broadleaf mustards and canola tend to take up nitrogen, calcium, and
phosphorous, and concentrate them in their leaves, thus preventing leaching during the rainy season. Legumes
are effective in this regard as well.
continued on page 2
1
Lupines are a nitrogen-fixing legume (member of the pea/bean family) used extensively throughout antiquity as well as presently in
Europe. This is akin to our modern use of bell beans and vetches.
2
A section = 640 acres
3
The field operation of 5.8 acres of vegetable crops at the UCSC Farm has used fall-sown, spring ploughed-down cover crops as its
sole fertilizer for the better part of the last decade. Note, this is after establishing a foothold of fertility for 35 years with both cover
crops and compostmy joke about fertility systems being: Fertility systems are a lot like political systems (democracy being the pre-
ferred system), that is, the broader the constituency, the greater the end product.
News & Notes

Thus, cover crops/green manures offer numerous

Abby Huetter
benefits; they can
Improve the physical properties of a soil, particu-
larly the enhancement of aggregation and development
of a crumb-like structure.
Increase soils organic matter content, which feeds
soil microbes and stores nutrients in a non-leachable form
and releases them slowly over time.
Protect the soil surface and prevent erosion.
Improve water infiltration and retention as well as
drainage.
Provide a feedstock for soil organisms.
Break up hard pans and reduce compaction via
the bio-drill effect of the deep tap roots of legumes,
mustard, chicory, daikon radish, etc., andin the top foot Alan Chadwick Garden manager Orin Martin chops down a stand of
of soilvia the fibrous roots of annual grasses. bell beans and vetch cover crop.
Cycle nutrients.
Provide habitat and food (in the form of pollen A simple method to calculate the nitrogen contribu-
and nectar) for beneficial insects, i.e., provision the 3 tion of a legume cover crop is alternately referred to as
Ps: pollinators, predators, and parasitoids the Rule of 4 or Rule of 16:
Offer a rest or fallow period for soil, with little Cut and weigh (wet weight) the fresh cover crop
or no disturbance for 57 months (fall through spring). from 16 square feet (4 feet x 4 feet)
This allows for an increase in earthworm populations, Multiply the weight in pounds by the appropri-
among other benefits. ate factor to estimate the pounds of nitrogen per
Reduce or eliminate the need for purchased fertil- acre contributed by the cover crop
izer. Factors: Vetch = 16
Increase nitrogen levels in the soil. Through the Bell beans = 10
use of legume species (vetches, bell beans, clovers, etc.) Clovers = 13
atmospheric nitrogen can be fixed and left in the soil to So if the wet weight = 10 pounds and the cover crop
fertilize subsequent crops (see sidebar, below). legume is bell beans, multiply 10 x 10 = 100 lbs/acre of
nitrogen. Most vegetable crops require between 100200
Nitrogen Fixation pounds of nitrogen/acre (an acre = 43,560 square feet).
Through a biological and chemical process now Timing
called facultative-parasitic, but formerly referred to by
On the Central Coast, cover crops are best seeded in
the more poetic term symbiosis, soil bacteria in the
genus Rhizobium (root zone) associate with the roots
late September mid November and plowed into the soil
of legumes and fix atmospheric nitrogen that can be late February early April. Note that on a garden scale,
retained in the soil after the cover crop is plowed in. incorporating cover crops into the soil is often slow and
This is in addition to the contribution of nitrogen from laborious, and it may take 35 weeks for the cover crop
the foliage of the legume. to break down to the degree that crops can be seeded or
The rhizobial bacteria are attracted to the legume transplanted.
roots by chemical secretions and gain entry into the An alternative method is to skim off the cover crops
roots via an infection thread, a tunnel-like ingrowth at the base of the plants and combine them with a car-
of the root hair. The infection thread keeps migrat- bon source (straw, and/or leaves and manure) to make
ing farther inward into the root hair and is filled with compost, and to subsequently reapply the compost to the
multiplying bacteria. Eventually it enters the main part soil. In the interim, a previously made compost can be
of the root, ruptures, and spews bacteria into root cells. applied to the skimmed area where the cover crops were
These cells enlarge and form a visible, pink-colored removed at a rate of 1 pound of compost per square
nodule where the rhizobial bacteria fix or grab foot to fertilize crops.
nitrogen from air in the soil and convert it into a form It is important to retain the roots and nitrogen-filled
(ammonium) that plants can use. In return, the legume nodules in the soil (see sidebar). Take only the vegetative
provides the bacteria with carbohydrates, protein, and
portion of the cover crop for compost construction. When
oxygen. When the cover crop is killed the nodules
agitated by the skimming action of the spade or machete,
remain in the soil and release their nitrogen, which is
the nodules will slough off into the soil in 37 days and
then available for uptake by crops (or weedsa cau-
tionary note).
then as you dig the soil the roots can be picked out. This
is a gardeners dividend from the coevolution of grazing
continued on page 6
2
News & Notes

Cover Crops, from page 2

animals and perennial legumes. The animal chews at and with straw or leaves, then water. Stand back, go write the
agitates the perennial legume, nodules slough off, and Great American Novel, reappear periodically, and plow
nitrogen is released into the soil to regrow the legume. down in late Februaryearly April.
On a garden scale, seeding so as to have 810 plants/
Materials and Methods square foot is adequate. This is actually a light scattering
Typically, annual cereals (grasses such as oats, barley, of seeds. An admixture (by weight, not volume) of any-
or annual rye) and legumes (vetches, bell, or fava beans) where between 6090% legume and 1040% grass should
are used in tandem (see prior joke re: broad constituency suffice.
base). When planting cover crops around fruit trees, I prefer
The grasses are referred to as nurse crops. That is, to use only bell beans at about 2030 seeds per square
they germinate quickly (within 35 days) and provide leaf foot. The reason being that vetch is an 8-foot vine and
cover for the soil surface and soil-holding action via the recognizes the tree as a trellis and wreaks all kinds of
roots until the slower-emerging legumes get established mayhem as it intertwines and shades flowers and leaves
(710 days). The grasses have a fibrous, shallow root in the spring. The grasses are also often hard to eradicate
system that works the surface soil (to approximately in handworked systems.
one foot deep) and is amazing in terms of its ameliorating I have used the bell beans as a green manure under
effect on soil structure. Grasses are constantly sloughing trees and simply chopped them on the surface in the
off dying roots (on an almost daily basis) and growing spring and mulched them over with 34 inches of wood-
new roots, thus increasing the organic mater content of chips as the sole source of fertilizer input for our estab-
the soil even as they grow. Some of the richest soils of the lished (23 year old) trees for 25 years, to great benefit. In
world, the soil order Mollisoils (the root of the word, mol- the first two years after planting I also apply 23 shovels
lify, is to soften) are the soft, black soils of the U.S. upper of compost and 1/31 pound of an organic granular fertil-
Midwest and the steppes of Russiathe breadbaskets izer in addition to the green manure crop. Local organic
of the world. apple grower extraordinaire Jim Rider uses a similar
The legumes feature a deep taproot (bio-drill) that system on 80 acres.
breaks up compaction at depth as well as shallower, fi-
brous root systems. Some of the legumes, notably vetches Seed Sources
and bell beans, are amazing biomass producer (68 feet of General Feed and Seed
top growth). Legumes also fix nitrogen, as noted above. 1900 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz
Nitrogen is the most expensive, mobile, motile, and thus 476-5344, www.generalfeedandseed.com
precious of all nutrients. It is needed in greater amounts ProBuild Garden Center
than any other nutrient. 235 River Street, Santa Cruz
At plow-down time, the combination of the grass and 423-0223, www.probuild.com
legume contributes to a balance of carbonaceous mate- Mountain Feed and Farm Supply
rial (grasses) and nitrogenous material (legumes), which 9550 Highway 9, Ben Lomond
results in an optimal formula for both organic matter 336-8876, www.mountainfeed.com
increase and immediate fertilizer effect. Peaceful Valley Farm Supply (shipping)
The ideal time to incorporate a cover crop as a green 530.272-4769, www.groworganic.com
manure is prior to the grasses flowering and when the le-
gume is 2550% in bloom. Note that legumes make 7080% References
of their growth in the last 2030% of their growth cycle. Building Soils for Better Crops (3rd edition), by Fred Magdoff
The best legumes to use in our area are bell beans and and Harold Van Es. Published by SARE/USDA. Available by
vetches (genus Vicia), combined with grasses, including mail ($20.95) or free online: www.sare.org/Learning-Center/
oats, barley, or annual rye. Although fava beans were Books/Building-Soils-for-Better-Crops-3rd-Edition
formerly used, the law of supply and demand, and thus Managing Cover Crops Profitably (3rd edition), Sustainable
price, make bell beans a better bet: you get five times the Agriculture Network, Handbook Series #3. Available by
number of bell beans to the pound (vs. favas) and bell mail ($19.95) or free online: www.sare.org/Learning-Center/
beans cost five times less than favas (59 cents vs. 2.99/lb). Books/Managing-Cover-Crops-Profitably-3rd-Edition
The Soul of Soil: A Soil-Building Guide for Master Gardeners
Soil Preparation and Seeding and Farmers (4th edition), by Grace Gershuny and Joe Smilie.
Soil preparation can be as simple and easy as skim- Chelsea Green Publishing, 1999
ming the soil surface, irrigating, waiting 35 days for dry Unit 1.6: Selecting and Growing Cover Crops. In Teaching
down, broadcasting or scattering the seeds on the soil sur- Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors,
face, and raking them in with quick, short strokes using a edited by A. Miles and M. Brown. Available free online:
bow rake (not a leaf rake), moving in one direction http://casfs.ucsc.edu/education/instructional-resources/
either to or fro, but not bothto cover the seed. Mulch downloadable-pdf-files