Dear Elaine, you will most likely get 20 differing opinions on this topic. I am sure your cover looks beautiful and seems to be a shame to kill it. This year I mixed winter rye, annual rye grass and some mustard. The grass and mustard die by freezing. Anyway, I like to mow the cover at least four weeks before I plant vegies. After mowing I like to shallow till, about 4 inches deep to cut the crown from the roots. This method leaves the dead roots as a channel for the new growth to send its roots down. In fall I deep till and plant the cover. I also like charcoal ammendments in the fall. Last year we had a long productive season growing vegies. The best ever. You will most likely get no-till ideas from others here. Best regards.

I am not sure if cutting or mowing would fully kill the vetch....maybe it would if it was flowering. Most of the other things in the mix probably would die off.

I have a strip of oats planted last late summer after sweet corn. It has now winter killed and I plan to plant tomatoes in the strip....leaving the dead plants in place for mulch and digging holes with a sholvel for the tomatoes.

Thanks for the info so far. I think I'll mow it down and then till it in mid to late February. We don't have cold enough winters to kill it off, so it would probably be there until May or June before it died of lack of water.

pagardner, I figured I'd get differing opinions, but I'm open to suggestions from all. What are you referring to as charcoal amendments? What does that entail?

Elaine

Elaine: 30 days before planting, because that's how long it takes to decompose. If the crop is too tall to handle at that time, mow it down first. Regards, Peter.

Hi Elaine, the great thing about this forum is the differing opinions and theories. Pick and choose what makes the most sense to you. You had mentioned dry spells in your area and is why I mentioned the charcoal, also known as 'terra preta". There is a lenghty discussion over on the 'soil, compost,' forum about it, with links. Lots of differing ideas. Look for "Charcoal where to get it" topic. I believe you will find some useful information there. Also, upon further thoughts on your cover crop, since you have an abundance of growth, maybe you might want to set your mower at full highth and mow it or hand cut it now and see what crop continues to grow, if any, then final cut it as low as possible a few days before shallow tilling. If all your vegies will be transplants you may not even need to till, just dig and plant as suggested by others. Best regards.

Everything I have seen on when to till in a cover crop is 2 to 3 weeks before you want to plant.

Certainly you want to mow or cut the cover crop at least two weeks before setting transplants. My incorporated winter rye grain and hairy vetch appear to be mostly decoposed after two or three weeks in the soil in March. As the cover crop grows you're getting more biomass, both above and below ground, and the legumes reach their zenith in terms of nitrogen fixation in their bloom stage. I always try to cut my cover crop before seeds set. That way they do not reseed and become weeds. In my area soil temperature is also a consideration. If the winter has been cold the cover crop, having been a "living mulch," will keep the soil from warming. As my rye decomposes it also has an allelopathic effect. That is to say that for a couple of weeks as it decays it inhibits the germination of small seeds.

I guess that in a long-winded way I wanted to say that you want to let the crop grow as long as possible without allowing reseeding but not so long that the decomposition of said crop has an ill effect on the following crops.

Great, more great options to consider, thanks! Sounds like however and whenever I do it won't be wrong, so that's a relief. I would hate to have wasted my money on seed and not received the full benefit of the crop. Thanks for the info.

Elaine

This is also my first time with green manure. We've had some warm weather, followed by very wet, here in Northern Calif. My bell beans are starting to bloom, but the soil (heavy clay) is much too wet to work. Should I go ahead and cut them down (say, with a weed whacker), then let them stay on the ground until the soil is dry enough to work?

bob: my desire is to let any cover get as mature as possible before incorporation -- all other requirements permitting. The more mature the plant, the more of its essence becomes part of the soil. Regards, Peter.