Why do I continually read gardening books even though I’m fairly knowledgeable on the subject? Because every now and then I come across a gem like this:
“Another unique use of cover crops is in the strawberry bed. Recent research has shown that after fruiting, June-bearing strawberry plants are very tolerant of shade. A cover crop–of oats, for example–sown right in the strawberry bed after the berries have been gathered can shade out weeds through the growing season, then eventually flop down dead to provide the mulch in which strawberry plants thrive.”
Lee Reich – from Weedless Gardening
The section on cover crops in this book is fantastic. Since it’s a no-till garden book, he focuses on the cover crops that are easy to kill without tilling in. In fact the cover crop chart in this book is fenomenal, worth ready the book for. The remainder of the book wasn’t anything too exciting.
I’ve always had good luck with rye and vetch, I simply cut them in the late spring and let the foliage compost on the ground. I’ve never had issues with it growing back or causing problems. This year I’m looking forward to trying a few new cover crops, no doubt you’ll be reading all about them here.
What’s your favorite cover crop? Or have you never used them before?
