Cover Crop Trials
I’m writing an article for a magazine about using cover crops in the small garden. In order to have great recommendations, I’m doing cover crop trials this winter to see which options offer the best cover in winter and the most weed free seed bed in spring. When I was out in the garden yesterday I noticed the only cover crop that was still lush and green was the crimson clover.
Of the other varieties I tried, most were killed by frost months ago and are already starting to break down. It looks like crimson clover is going to get high marks for soil protection throughout the winter. I also love that it provides a little extra green in the garden when most plants are brown.
Do you utilize cover crops in your garden? Which is your favorite to use over the winter?
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Welcome Volunteers
Last summer I let overwintered carrots go to seed in the garden, the result was welcome volunteers here and there this spring. I left all the carrots seedlings that sprouted up here and there throughout the potager. Yesterday, I harvested a few of them to make soup.
There are a few things I allow to go to seed because I enjoy not having to plant them again. Cilantro, parsley, dill, kale, lettuce, and fennel are all things that sprout up here and there every spring. Sometimes I pull them up, most of the time I let them grow as they wish. The result is a lot of wonderful things that I didn’t have to plant myself.
What sorts of edible volunteers do you have in your garden?
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Gifts from Readers
A month or so ago I received this lovely hand-forged tool from a blog reader. She said it was one of her favorite garden tools and she thought I’d like it as well. As I’ve been clearing out the front flowerbed, I’ve been using it to level the soil. The extra reach provided by the extra long handle is quite convenient, with it I can reach more of the bed from one location.
This tool is made handmade in Missouri by Homestead Iron. You can find their tools over in their Etsy shop. I really like some of the other items, a boot scraper would come in handy around here that’s for sure.
So far I’m loving this tool. A big thanks to Amy for sending this along. If you’re looking for a gift for yourself or for friends/family this Christmas check out this little shop.
Have you received any thoughtful gifts recently?
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Starting from Scratch
When a garden bed is overtake with invasive weeds, sometimes you just have to start from scratch. Quackgrass or couch grass, as it’s also called, is a BIG problem here in my garden (here’s a great article about it if you’re interested in learning more). It’s EVERYWHERE and it’s quite a thug when it comes to the gardens. I’ve been working hard over the past 3 years to eradicate it from the edible beds. The pigs were most useful in dealing with it in the large food garden, in other areas I’ve been digging it out by hand.
It’s a problem in the edible and perennial beds because it reduced yields in edible gardens by up to 95% and in ornamental beds it will slowly choke everything else out. The front flowerbed was filled with it when we arrived three years ago, I haven’t done much to deal with it until this fall. Now I’m digging out everything in the bed, saving what I can, but most of the plants have been choked out or are infested with quack grass rhizomes. Luckily, the plants are easy to get if I want to replace any of them, which I don’t think I do.
I have big plans for this space, which is behind the boxwood hedge that I just moved. There’s the new hedge, a 2-3 foot rock wall, then this garden area. My plan is to put a row of ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas in this space, I’ll probably need 5 of them for the front. On the corner of the house I plan on putting some kind of ornamental tree that I can prune to come out from the house.
It’s a lot of work to dig out entire garden areas, but it’s what needs to be done in cases where invasive weeds have taken over. This weed is also in the lawn in front of the box hedge, I’ll have to start dealing with that next spring so it doesn’t creep back into the beds. Most likely the lawn area will be smothered and reseeded with weed free seed. Sometimes starting from scratch is the easiest way to get to where we want to be.
Do you have any invasive weeds you’re dealing with in your garden?
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Box, Box, Box
I talked last week about propagation and how great a skill it is to learn. This weekend I spent a half hour or so taking 100 boxwood cuttings from two different varieties. I’ve been wanting to do this for a few years, but I’ve been forgetting to do it until the garden is covered in snow.
I have a huge garden now and I need lots of plants to fill it. I’m especially in need of hedges to help tame the wildness of this garden and add a little structure and definition to all the different spaces. While I plan to use a variety of plants for the hedges, boxwood is going to be a main plant because it’s so easy to propagate.
I have ‘Wintergreen’ and ‘Green Mountain’ boxwood, both look decent without pruning, which is a bonus. I’m not positive that I want a crisply pruned hedge, and I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to actually prune the hedges.
Generally, I have great success rooting boxwood. It’s much later than I usually take cuttings. These will go in the basement on a heating mat and hopefully that will increase my success rate. If not, I’m not going to lose anything but a bit of time. If I have good success I save myself quite a bundle.
Typically, I take them in August and let them root for a few weeks before planting them in the garden. I have read that they can be rooted directly in the garden, I’ll definitely be trying that next year! Propagating hedge plants is something I need to prioritize when it comes to garden chores, in the coming years I’ll be glad I took the time to get them going.
What did you do in the garden this weekend?
