concur about oats (they are also the most mycorrhizal of cover crops, although clover is close) but let me say something nice about buckwheat. It comes up right away with minimal moisture, outracing all those in the list above, which are themselves fast sprouters. It makes non fibrous plants with stems as thick as my thumb, which decay rapidly and will be good fertilizer in early spring. fenugreek is similar in functionality, although it is a legume.

you peeps always catch me by putting it in the title.. i reread the post 3 times .. lol first .. to be clear.. i wanted the rag covering the water.. to soak up most of the water.. so the roots stay damp.. but its not standing in water ... and i would put it in the garage ... where did it come from physically .....are the buds starting to break.... is it coming out of dormancy ... what im getting at.. it needs to be hardened off ... if its not completely dormant ... moisten your media today .... pot it up tomorrow ... then in my MI ... it would go in my garage .... to acclimate to temps for a few days ... by then.. i would probably put it on the north side of the house.. which happens to be my front door ... and i would leave it out there for a week or two ... and only bring it in the house ;... if a hard frost or freeze was forecast .. like under 30 degrees .. if any amount of leaves pop out. .they will then need to hardened off to direct sun ... being outside in the relative cold.. will keep it in slo motion until its time to go in the ground ... i have no clue as to specific planting time in your area ... ken

Gee, I hope so. I would also like to know. I am planting Wollerton next to a bench and I hope no one will end up sitting on a cane. I can use it elsewhere, but I wanted something kind of tallish there. I'm a zone lower than you, so whatever you are told will work for me, too.

I found this interesting. I'm definitely going to try it next year. "Not only do they look surprisingly great together, but parsley also has many benefits for roses. Parsley deters many unwanted insects from your roses, including aphids and rose beetles. Even better, this herb may actually enhance the fragrance of your roses."