Get the Veggies a-Poppin’ with Some Cover Croppin’

I’m committed to improving the soil in my spot, a spot which I’ll be stewarding for a long time, I hope. In 2014 I decided to try cover cropping, resized for the urban garden.

Green Manure is one term used to describe planting species which will improve the soil quality. They do this while they are alive by lossening the soil, adding nitrogen to the soil, and preventing weeds, and they do this when they are dead by breaking down and creating first a layer of mulch, and then compost.

Green Manure Mix
Green Manure Mix

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2014 Home Soil Tests

Separating and drying soil samples for testing
Separating and drying soil samples for testing

When it comes to organic gardening, the wisdom seems to boil down to “add compost”. So the previous year, 2013, I added a TON of compost from various sources, along with several other healthy soil amendments to lighten and improve the soil. All in all, I added three inches of material over all the beds. I prepared for a bumper crop.

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