Okay, I'll admit it. I'm ready for the rain to stop and for it to warm up. Correction: I'm really, really, really ready for the rain to stop and for it to warm up. I love how much rain we've had this year and I highly enjoy the restful cool of winter, but for pete's sake, I really want to stop having to wear five layers of clothes and rain boots every day! Not to mention how much the plants would enjoy decent temperatures and steady sunshine! I know I should be patient. Spring and summer will be here soon enough, and fall and winter again after that. Time passes faster than I can keep up with...especially when we're farming.
I've been noticing lately that talk of organic farming, ranching, gardening, and eating is all over the place. Celebrities tout their dedication to the earth, politicians lead with environmental policy, the color green is synonymous with coolness and trendiness - green really is the new black. With the barrage of information about unconventional farming methods (unconventional being organic...isn't that ironic), it's easy to get lost and not know exactly what everyone's talking about. There is a whole language used when talking about agriculture, specifically farming, and it's nothing to be embarrassed about if you don't know what "green manure" is, for example. These confusing and muddy waters of farming lingo have motivated me to periodically define and illustrate any obscure terminology.
Today's Term: Cover Crop (noun, verb)
Cover crop is any crop grown with the express purpose of strengthening the soil. Cover crop can be comprised of any number of plants that have benefits for soil fertility, weed suppression, water conservation, erosion prevention, and beneficial insect attraction. Cover crops are typically grown during the land's resting period during crop rotation. Once the cover crop reaches maturity, it is tilled back into the land (at this point, it's called green manure), returning the beneficial nutrients back into the ground.
Cover cropping is a big part of Jeff's growing system. Areas that have been used heavily over the past year(s) spend the winter growing a cover crop, which will reinvigorate them for summer planting. Cover crop also helps boost the growth of lush pasture, through which we move our pastured chickens. Not only do the chickens get to feed on all the organic nutrients of the cover crop, but the chickens then add their own fertility to the soil, making the areas phenomenal for planting.
So, that is cover cropping. Now go teach someone what you learned!
Jeff in his cover crop. It's getting tall!
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