Cover crop for increasing soil organic matter
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- Posts: 1745
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- Location: Orange County, NY
- Grass Type: Bewitched mono and TTTF/KBG mix
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Cover crop for increasing soil organic matter
Does anyone have experience of growing cover crop to improve soil structure? I have a section of lawn that has very sandy soil and would like to see if this is a better option for me.
- MorpheusPA
- Posts: 18129
- Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
- Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
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Re: Cover crop for increasing soil organic matter
Don't bother. Use your lawn as your cover crop and mulch mow; over time, nothing's better than that. Grasses slough off roots at massively high rates, as well as constantly have their top mass mowed off and turned back right onto the soil every week. You can't beat that for mass going back into the soil.
And they're heavy feeders, so if you do that organically, you're pouring mass onto the soil as well.
And they're heavy feeders, so if you do that organically, you're pouring mass onto the soil as well.
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- Posts: 6837
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Re: Cover crop for increasing soil organic matter
Aren't grasses sometimes used as cover crops in places where other things are grown, anyway? I've seen them planted in ag fields...at least, it looks like grass form a distance. Maybe it's something else.
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- Posts: 488
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Re: Cover crop for increasing soil organic matter
Rye (Secale Cereale) is a classic green manure cover crop for fields and gardens. This rye is what rye bread is made from. I was given five pounds to sow along with my KBG when I did my renovation, for use on sharp inclines. It roots quick and can temporarily hold the soil while the KBG establishes. I chose to run it through my handmill and make rye bread instead.
- MorpheusPA
- Posts: 18129
- Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
- Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
- Grass Type: Elite KBG
- Lawn Size: 10000-20000
- Level: Advanced
Re: Cover crop for increasing soil organic matter
Yep. Annual rye is a fast grower with "deep" roots (in that they go to maximum depth fairly quickly). The concept of a nurse grass is a bit old-fashioned, but on a steep hill, a fast-germinating grass might actually be of use. Assuming you can get rid of it afterward..."Annual" rye isn't always as "annual" as advertised.
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- Posts: 488
- Joined: September 14th, 2018, 10:56 pm
- Location: Western Illinois, parallel to tip o Lake Michigan.
- Grass Type: Mazama KBG
- Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
- Level: Some Experience
Re: Cover crop for increasing soil organic matter
Annual rye is 'Lolium multiflorum'. Rye bread rye, green manure rye is 'Secale Cereale'. I grew it once in a garden plot and had so much difficulty spading it over because of the root mass that I said never again. That is why I politely accepted the gift of the seeds and made rye bread instead.
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