Small Scale No-Till Cover Cropping (plus what you can use instead)

[@jvin248]

"A healthy farm is loud" That is a great way to put it. If you know the garden is so noisy at night it reminds you to stay out after darkness because you know there are spiders as big as your thumb and praying mantis the size of butter knives in there chomping on all the pests, you are doing it right.

[@LegacyFarmandHomestead]

You really should release the living soil handbook as an audiobook narrated by you. I would buy it in an instant

[@ChadnRanda]

Not a fan boy but AGREED ! I trust Jesse, As far as I can trust someone I've never met. But if I hear him reading the book, I would believe it more.😊

[@evanbyrne4433]

110%. Please do this Jesse. I would even pre-buy it.

[@krtkovogazdovstvo]

Yes please!!

[@patrickvetra9869]

do it!!!

[@KimWilliamsystunisia]

Yes please. Add me to the list

[@spakchitown]

This channel is my vibe. Fellow GenXer here.

[@user-cu8bm9tw7s]

Just two of you running the farm this year?! May you be blessed with all that’s needed to stay healthy in mind, body & soul and may that translate to your beautiful farm. God bless you both ❤

[@davidpenfold]

I'm looking forward to lots of expedient tips for the lazy grower 👍

[@hyacinthABC]

Thanks so much for including the very small farmers and giving solutions for interplanting into beds that are still producing. In deep south 9b I grow year round but this season will be away for a month so I've started planting some cover and cash crops between eggplant, okra, basil etc. to "keep it growing as much as possible." For other southern growers I've found wild arugula varieties keep going through the heat, attract pollinators, self seed and make a great cover crop with no effort.

[@thepragmaticfarmer6308]

As always, great content. No matter how many cover crop videos you put out, I always learn something new. Valuable content.

[@EarthtoTable-s9u]

I love how informative this video is! [3:38] The tips you shared here are incredibly useful. Thanks for breaking it down so well!

[@Chet_Thornbushel]

I am just a home gardener. I do field peas as a cover crop in my garlic bed. It works great on adding good stuff to the soil and then mulches the garlic all winter and early spring for that little bit of protection which is nice. We get some very low cold snaps in winter (-15F)and sometimes we have no snow cover when they hit. I feel having that mulch protection makes a huge difference on how the young garlic does. I’d like to experiment with more winter kill cover crops on the rest of my food garden as well. We go from very hot, short summers to freezing temps very quickly and timing that transition is something I struggle with.

[@robertcotrell9810]

This is a good idea! I should try this.

[@adamthomas9004]

I also live in a very similar climate like this. Do you remove the pea mulch at some point or does the garlic grow up right through it fine?

[@leahtruckenbrod1279]

@@adamthomas9004 following

[@Chet_Thornbushel]

@@adamthomas9004 I never remove it. And by the time I harvest in July it’s hardly even recognizable. I think letting it break down in and on the soil gives the garlic a good nitrogen boost in the spring while it is putting out its new green growth before it bulbs.

[@kendi425]

I just plant what grows, and chop and drop what I don't want to keep, ie weeds. I use this method to use up all my left over, outdated seeds, adding a handful of cover crop seeds also. This wouldn't work for a big gardener, but on a 1/4 acre planted in fruit trees and garden, it's perfect. If some plants survive the winter, I let my greens hungry chickens into the garden to finish the job. This would be a slight version of tilling, I know, but the chickens leave the beds cleaned of weeds and composted to lol. Not sure how science based this method is, but I got good results.

[@mandyrice6481]

Thank you for the cover crop refresher! I appreciate your consideration for permanent bed gardens and small spaces- it always feels like cover cropping is for the big guys with tractors. Practical solutions and "lazy" gardening, I'm here for it all!

[@monster2804]

I use a wildlife/food plot mix for my winter cover crop. The deer love it, and it seems to die off in the spring.

[@tmarkhamesq]

The deer don’t stick around to eat the summer cash crops too?

[@monster2804]

Once the woods green up the deer seem to leave.

[@JohnJude-dp6ed]

I'm trying chop and drop in my walk ways with any weed that jumps up. Really love making my garden thrive. I've improved 25 percent in most of my garden thanks

[@MynewTennesseeHome]

I planted crimson clover last fall in a couple areas to improve the soil and mustard in my potato and root beds. The year before I planted buckwheat and have it coming up everywhere ever since cause I let it go to seed. I don't mind since I feed it to my chickens and goats and it's easy to pull up where I don't want it.

[@ThinkLittleFarm]

good vid, farmer. i injured myself in May. Unable to walk for a few months, so I'm taking the chance to cover crop most of my .5 acre farm with buckwheat in preparation for next spring. this video answered many of my questions. peace and love.

[@lisamcdonald1415]

Another great video from my favourite nerd. So scared to get into cover cropping while needing beds to grow. Tried once and winter did not kill it, the clover came back despite minus 50c winters. Wish you luck with no extra help and will appreciate all the “lazy” farmer tips as it’s just us doing this too :) your awesome thanks again

[@TaxEvasion777]

Clover is a good weed crop though

[@stacihill2528]

I did not get around to planting my cover crop last fall. Which down here in Arkansas consist of mustard and kale and tillage radish. I very much regret not getting it in. Weed pressure is terrible without a winter cover crop. I will try planting the clover for the areas that I do not typically plant until middle of May. Thank you for the info and the reminder.

[@KrazyKajun602]

I planted my cover crop today. (cereal rye, vetch, smart radish)

[@rondavis2791]

Very good explanation for large scale and small scale and good for talking about how cover crops can be very challenging and in some cases disastrous but if done correctly can be super awesome. Good video.

[@robertcotrell9810]

I tried my first ever winter rye last Fall. I thought I only fed the birds...But it worked! Now I have a nice layer of straw, and various things in its place. I turned my backyard into a full garden, and I allow clover and creeping charlie and purple dead nettle to exist over the winter, for instance. Both are easily removed when I'm ready to plant stuff. I had crown vetch big time this year, and K just allowdd it to exist until it was time to plant, then I wemt in a cut back/pulled the vetch. It's worked relatively well!

[@hankua]

I’ve been cover cropping for several years in an urban 9a garden; both summer and winter. I’ve found Sunn Hemp and Sorghum Sudangrass difficult to terminate, by hand and was still tilling at that point. I like to buy cover crops from Hancock Seed, when they have a sale with free shipping. Just picked up #5 coated crimson clover for the fall cover and have some buckwheat to try out this summer. This is my first year trying out no-till, the tiller been silent since last October. 😅

[@RandomPerson-y9c]

I like these videos more every time I watch them! Great work!

[@BobbyHill26]

Would there be any/many downsides to sowing peas/clover into something like well established tomatoes as a living mulch? My thoughts are that at this time of year my peppers and tomatoes have deep enough roots and they are far enough apart from each other that there shouldn’t be much if any competition for nutrients and I get all the benefits of a mulch aside from the composting effects. Im not very intensive with my gardening so I can’t be bothered to interplant and the straw I’ve used before has wayyy too many seeds and has filled my garden with undesirable weeds

[@joshuahoyer1279]

I have learned so much from these cover crop videos, and really enjoy the humor scattered throughout! My latest trial in our little backyard garden was to cover crop our garlic. After the cloves were planted, I broadcast peas, oats and some mustard seeds over the top of the bed, and then covered it lightly with compost. Everything grew nicely up to about hip high, and then got knocked out mid January when our biggest freeze happened (zone 8b here in Oregon, so our big freeze was 15°. I know it's not that bad compared to other zones). Except for the outer edges, pretty much all the cover was killed, and then I scattered some shredded leaves over top for good measure. Our garlic looked very happy this spring, and I'm excited to see the harvest in a couple weeks!

[@floriswou]

Have you ever tries perennial groundcover where you can poke holes into to plant your 'crop plants'. Works a treat! No need for constantly adding compost and cover cropping & your soil is ALWAYS covered with plants that ALWAYS feed the soil and stabilise the microorganisms including mycorhizal fungi & much more! Dr. Elaine Ingham has emphasised on this so much! She's got a whole list of plants on her 'soil food web' website. These are mostly locals to the US. But similar plants can be found in the similar plant families if you live somewhere else :)

[@DongusKong]

Do you have an examples of perennial cover crops? I think I need to do that with my yard

[@brokenmeats5928]

I love ALL No-Till Growers videos!

[@daviddakotarogers3420]

Very thankful for this video. I would love a video about succession planting and crop rotation for the crops outlined in your book. There's so many different ways to rotate I still don't feel like I have a good system.

[@Detour4it]

I'm constantly going back to your book because I always find something I didn't catch or upload. Problem in my small home garden... fix is in your book. Thanks.

[@notillgrowers]

🙌

[@verenamoore2427]

I bought your book through Amazon because I live in Canada. Hope it still helped you. It's great btw.

[@khristinepintor4820]

Whoah you’re graying really fast!! Looks good though you look the same just the hair changed fast 😊

[@ZehraJardine]

Seriously, this was what you felt compelled to say to him for this video?

[@WesternMONo-TillGardening]

So helpful as usual, Jesse. Thank you! Never thought about using cilantro as a cover crop but that totally makes sense. I do more and more cover crops each year and am definitely seeing the benefits. I've used cowpeas, radishes, and sorghum sudangrass the most. I did oats and peas for the first time this year with good results.

[@jeanettebot193]

I used winter rye as a support for my pies for harvest. That works!

[@mkwats5375]

Hey Jessie, I have watched your Jennie Love videos a dozen times. So much great info! Was her video on her shade or "forest" garden ever posted? She mentioned it but I don't see it. Thanks!

[@kannmann97]

So could you use small clovers as a living mulch underneath larger crops? The way people use sweet alyssum?

[@richardkut3976]

Excellent, thanks.

[@melsanderson7774]

I’m a veg growing beginner, and I need more specific, simpler videos than this! I’d really like to know exactly how to use phacelia on a small scale; when to sow, whether or not to let it go to seed etc etc ( to quote Yul Brynner)

[@larry78cj7]

Awesome. I’ve been using leaves, but always looking for other ideas!

[@martinlee9391]

Lazy...or efficient..Work smarter not harder I reckon. Good One Jesse.

[@aileensmith3062]

Last year was our first attempt at cover crops. This year we are planning on expanding that much more. Thank You for another informative video and of course always patiently awaiting more!

[@MistressOP]

Just learn about yarrow as a living pathway mulch for arid areas. My mind is blown and now I want more cover cropping and living mulch videos cos I never knew it was possible. Good vid I'm so hyped. If you combine small anaimals like cuy, rabbits, incests, or snails. With a cover cop on small and meduim farms. It actually makes TONS of sense. IE-snails rotation (if EU) over a cover crop followed my a fowl means you can leverage very small covercrop rotations and make them SUPER profitable. Even smaller micro goats can rotatate through a cover crop if you are milking and making cheese. Thinking size range of 2 acres with a lil pasture area. - Ramial chipped wood over the winter is helpful as well. evergreens can work for that but it's tough. (dang this got me so hyped) (the tillage raidish can be replace by a nice tasting one and harvested) btw. Even the other varities do well and you can sell and make kimchi. While leaving the rest of the cover crop mix in place. If you can time it right you can create kimchi boxes for local koreas incertain areas. They buy bulk product.

[@hyacinthABC]

First time I've heard about snails as a part of this process. Maybe I should let them be!

[@MistressOP]

@@hyacinthABC We don't do a lot of free range snails in the USa. There's only like 1 or 2 snail people. But weirdly, snails are eaten here in the USA if you are near a larger city. The problem is heliciculture licing and everything else just a mess for the USA. I've wanted do to it for 8 years since I learn how. Just completely not worth the side quest for me. Mostly due to the way the USA subsidies system are very cattle focus. In the USA snails just aren't really vaible, Cuy (some what) and Rabbits are. But that would basically be like grazing it out. Small mini cattle mini sheep on larger scale 2 or 3 acre market gardens can be really huge. Grazing the cover crop and frankly more effective. but if I was in the EU I'd definality do a cover crop rotation on snails if I was a market gardener and just follow it up by some good cleaner ducks. The reason why snails on a cover crop (you sitll must feed them corn though) would be pretty huge is becaus snailsdo pay well. It has a lot of backing. And they don't eat the cover crop to bare nubs. Id even do a cover crop over a thick mulch of woodchips. So like cover crop then once it came up enough spread woodchips then Add snails. to grow them out. It lets you rock down the woodchips get the cover crop. But I'd have to test it out myself. I don't eat snails though LOL then again selling snail goo has become very big lately. For beauty products. But as it would be (outdoor) it's only good for food production. Again, the snail thing is just on my list of projects for the farm. The selling Kimchi and Kimchi kits absolutely do because I live in a large korea population and bulk sales of kimchi stuff at certain times of years are kind of my backbone for cover crop being profitble. It's not huge money but it's still a payout as I rebuild soil.

[@hyacinthABC]

@@MistressOP I see - we're not talking about the same type of snails at all! Very interesting ideas and I wish you good fortune in your enterprises.

[@MistressOP]

@@hyacinthABC what type of snails are you talkng about? there's only 1 legalized for us but it's from EU and you can't cultivate it outside of control conditions. Ya no the day for snails was a lot younger. Maybe if I hire another person because I try to employee people and give them full time work and not seasonal work. I might use that as an enterprise so I can employee them elsewhere and do that for the filler. But I highly doubt that a naitve snail speices will be picked to cultuviate so I could actually do it outdoor on rented properties.

[@hyacinthABC]

@@MistressOP The only snails I have are garden variety - some almost micro sized - and I have been stepping on them or drowning them in beer traps. Lately I've been wondering if I should let some of them work on decomposing mulch as long as they're not munching on plants. I have no interest in raising any for consumption, even if it becomes legal.

[@FlylightD]

I really like the hat! Thanks as always for excellent content!

[@Not_So_Weird_in_Austin]

Thanks I have been looking at how to cover crop in 3 raised beds and containere

[@originalwoolydragon8387]

Where do you find clean straw? Every bale I have bought in the last 15-20 years resulted in mini crops of oats or wheat...which is exactly what I don't want. I'm now using pine needle straw.

[@mmc1318]

Very good video!! I have a question, do you have any no till planter for small scale agriculture? Greatings from Argentina🇦🇷

[@UsurpedLettuce]

Moved to the Blue Ridge (7A/7B for me, depending on the map, backyard garden) in December of '22, and other than that really cold snap we had that winter over Christmas, I don't know that we had a frost that was reliable enough to kill a winter cover crop. What would you recommend in that situation, especially with how warm our winters have been lately?

[@bm-outdoors]

How do you sow a fall cover crop that requires at least 1/4” seed depth with tilling in the fall?

[@petanisukses_garden]

Indah banget tanaman nya

[@julianadelion5497]

Iya. Petani ini teratur dan pandai menyusun waktu waktu menanam semua macam makanan

[@JS-mh1fh]

experimenting this year with crimson clover and barley, with the intent of adding N and ease of planting in spring (tomatoes) from winter killed barley. May consider running some broilers over it to eat the seeds, although this is on rented land 20 minutes drive away. i couldn't make out what you pair with crimson clover. Its my first year scaling from garden to market garden, same zone as you in so. indiana.

[@ConsiderationFarm]

Great stuff. I love it. Have you considered using a European scythe to cut the crops?

[@ramonebrown5704]

What about growing something like sorghum sudan grass in an unused area for the soul purpose of chopping it to throw in the compost pile. Is that a thing, or just in my head

[@aenorist2431]

Is there a substantial difference between crimping and mowing (with a scythe, for example) a cereal at the appropropriate time? (Milk stage and all that) They should still die, right?

[@ChefIsaac925]

New shirt, cover crop killah 🗡️

[@cordrel9000]

Thanks!

[@notillgrowers]

Thank YOU!

[@MovingBlanketStudio]

cool stuff, thanks!

[@sassafrasred6657]

So i have a lot i am rehabbing. I have put beds in it. I want to experiment with planting clovers in the beds then next year planting food crops into the clover. I am not a market gardener, yet, so my beds are not cash makers only food production for home use. I love southern peas as a cover crop along with buckwheat, radish, field peas and alfalfa. The long way around the barn to my question is can i plant food crops in the clovers? Either individual plants or carve out rows in the clover for a row crop?

[@flatsville9343]

Jess did a vid on planting into Dutch White perennial clover. Bad results. Annual veg can't compete with growing in a bed of perennial clover of that kind.

[@sassafrasred6657]

@@flatsville9343 i will have to check that out. I was looking at landino clover

[@ChadnRanda]

FATHERS DAY sale😊?? I've been searching for an excuse to spend $30 on a freaking book. 😅 Give us a code or something i can give to my wife as a hint 😊

[@clarkansas6590]

Good job

[@robertevans8024]

The good thing about using field peas is the extra nitrogen you get added to the soil through nitrogen fixation. 😎

[@AshleyFosterMom]

Can you please share where you purchase your cover seeds from?

[@hankua]

Hancock Seeds is great!

[@willbass2869]

Grocery store....blackeye peas, red beans, pintos. Coriander, dill seed in spice aisle. Watermelon and cantaloupe from store bought melons . They'll grow (& die) in their own time. Use a 5lb bag of "mixed" bird seed from the pet food aisle. It has Milo, millet, sunflower, etc. it's cheap. You don't need fancy schmancy seed catalogue stuff for cover seed

[@TaxEvasion777]

I don’t recommend it but a bag of bird feed is a huge bag of seeds that can be used for cover crops

[@LloydieP]

That's our cheap diverse mix! I'll add some clover, daikon, lentils as well. By combining some different types of blends, we have at least 15 different varieties growing.

[@johnsix1749]

cover crops are a requirement up here in central Ohio. If I leave any soil bare I will have a Violet, Quack grass and Nut sedge invasion in 2 weeks.

[@kelleyfarm]

No shotrage of screwing it up man have i done that enough....also did diakons as cover it sucked took forever to go away anddidnt knotice any difference

[@ChadnRanda]

Am I the only one thinking about weed when we say a loud farm?😂😂

[@sethl3702]

We are getting lots of interested volunteers at the market. Maybe that would work for you

[@leahtruckenbrod1279]

I'm struggling after turning more back yard to garden last year. Record pest pressure decimating seedlings after winter mulching all beds with shredded leaves in goal of no till and building up soil that currently has minimal worms. Im afraid to mulch again thinking it provided perfect hibernation. I'm racing to make as much compost as possible & just spread my first 18 day (ish) batch. Cant keep 5inch tall flower seedlings alive to flower and assist predatory insect population. So demoralized but will press on.....

[@WesternMONo-TillGardening]

I left everything in place last year rather than cleaning up my garden in the fall like I typically do, with the goal of allowing more beneficial insects to survive. I didn't think about the fact that it would allow a lot of non-beneficial insects to survive as well. I, too, am dealing with more pest pressure than I'm used to and losing a lot of seedlings that is not typical for me. It is demoralizing but I, too, just keep planting and hope for the best. Luckily I had put up wren houses around the garden for help with insects, though not all of them got populated. I think it's also helped somewhat that I put phacelia and daikon radish seed out in February, so those were up and flowering and drawing beneficials pretty early, along with last year's parsley and cilantro. Though I haven't seen slugs, some of what I'm seeing looks like slug damage, so I think I'm going to put out some beer traps just in case. Gardening can bring so much frustration and joy at the same time. Keep on keepin' on!

[@leahtruckenbrod1279]

@@WesternMONo-TillGardening Thanks for the moral support! I just have to trust that things will eventually balance out in a few seasons and try to limit urge to napalm the garden which would just end up starving the beneficials 🙄 I planted phacelia this spring and a few have survived. If I can just get some of each variety to go to seed that I can broadcast a bazillion seed this fall I may have a chance. I don't care to reflect how much $ I've lost buying various flower seed in the smaller amounts practical for small suburban garden. Even my marigolds have been eaten down to single stem and lone flower

[@WesternMONo-TillGardening]

@@leahtruckenbrod1279 Wow, even your marigolds! That is unusual. I used to use neem to help with bugs but don't let myself do it anymore. I'm trying very hard to just let birds and good bugs take care of the bad bugs. It is all about balance, and we'll get there! Whenever I'm frustrated with pests and need inspiration, I rewatch The Biggest Little Farm. 😊

[@scottbaruth9041]

I'm a married but single farmer, if you get my drift. If you can find a few others in your area that are in the same level of growing as you are, you can text and send pictures of what you are trying to or accomplished each day. It is a nice way to motivate and/or share frustrations from day to day. For instance, one of my friends who has suffered from deer and rabbit issues this year, yesterday found a baby deer "nesting," she said in her compost pile. I share my bluebird successes and many other updates that have led to them getting bluebird boxes going and things they do help me also. Last year, I had a hail storm on 30 June that completely destroyed my garden, and my friends were VERY supportive, and that was really needed at that time.

[@hankua]

Same problem here in 9a, cutworms were having a field day. Tried coffee grounds and DE, along with some nighttime bug patrols. Also sprayed with spinosad couple of times. Next planted some rows with solo cup transplants, not sure how to get the cups out of the ground with disturbing the bed. Maybe next time I’ll just transplant and cut a ring out of the Solo, if going that route.

[@JoyoftheGardenandHome]

I'm putting buckwheat after the garlic. Z6NY

[@dansobien8196]

Please I really want to know, why is having an influx of aerobic bacteria ie tilling, a bad thing for the soil. Especially if that tilling is burying organic matter? The bacteria will rapidly die and provide food for other soil life. I understand things like tilling dry soil on a windy day is probably not a good idea and keeping the ground uncovered is not good. However, no one who practices no till has ever explained to me why tilling (assuming you are growing annuals that like disturbed areas) is not a good thing.

[@jackyang2912]

Hope all is good for all farmers out there. Local governments are attacking farmers worldwide and hope that all is well.

[@JohnJude-dp6ed]

I don't believe I can cover soil with canolope because slugs

[@dintogx]

Please add to turkish subtitle

[@Rymorin4]

wear a faded hat!

[@herbhouston5378]

Murdering plants?? That's a bit overly dramatic, isn't it??

[@shellyneal7466]

It makes it funnier than shit. So yes…lol