Cover crop for tomato garden in zone 5
doriswk
last year
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beesneeds
last yearkevin9408
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Fall Crops in Zone 5
Comments (4)There are many short season cole crops that have been bred for fall cropping, that can be direct seeded or transplanted in july, depending upon various conditions. I usually will plant seed in seedbeds in june, and when the plants get large enough in july, they get transplanted into the garden. I grow turnips, head cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and Creasy Greens. Creasy Greens being by far the easiest cole crop for me to grow. Many of the cole crops will overwinter, so you can harvest them next spring also. Most are biennial, though some are perennial, such as Sprouting Broccoli and Creasy Greens. If you do grow cole crops, don't get into the bad habit of throwing away good vegetables, like some gardeners do. Good homegrown food is too valuable to throw away. All of the cole plant can be eaten. Just because the only part of a broccoli plant that they sell at the market is the head, doesn't mean that the leaves cannot be eaten. They taste just like collards. Rutabaga florets taste sort of like broccoli. Etc, etc....See Moretoo late for fall crop in MI, zone 5?
Comments (1)Sorry, I think it's too late for most of the things on your list. You CAN definitely still plant lettuce, spinach, many of the Asian greens (various mustards, etc.), radishes, mache, escarole and endive. Broccoli and Cabbage probably wouldn't do anything now even from transplants -- they should go into the garden about mid-July for a fall crop. Beets and fall carrots should be planted by about August first. You wouldn't have a whole lot to lose by trying, but I doubt you'd get much of a root on either, since things grow more slowly in the autumn. If you had a coldframe to give them an extra month of growing time, it might work....See MoreZone 4 cover crop for raised beds?
Comments (26)Sorry to further hi-jack the subject-line of this thread. But the 'pissing contest' seems to have overtaken courtesy. When I do a google search on my REAL NAME [not forum moniker] I get 20,305 'hits'. I know from experience that many of the references to my name are duplicates and even bogus hits. I used to be very active ... my name is on a lawsuit against the CA Board of Ed, which went clear to the U.S. Sup.Ct.[we lost, which is not the same thing as being wrong] I only mention this to mitigate for the silly claim about 763 'hits' for kimmsr's name in connection with money. Which is apropos of nothing. What does it matter if this participant has a 'thing' about not wasting money. How is that different from your 'thing' about holding his views up to ridicule. If we search your name in connection with smarmy, sarcastic references to kimmsr, what will we find? Nice try, but no cigar....See MoreCover crop for Zone 5?
Comments (12)beebooks (5): cereal rye is a great cover, but it usually comes back strong early in spring when it will provide stiff competition for your vegetables. For me (Southeast Michigan) it works best if its incorporated deep, and then waiting a month before planting small-seeded vegetables, although you can safely plant potatoes, fava beans, and other large seeded plants. White clover can work, but you need to chop it into the top few inches of the soil in spring; don't expect it to fix nitrogen however, too late for that. How about the option of planting some vegetables that will over-winter, like fava beans, garlic, and lettuce-under-a-row cover? Another thing: I understand that incorporation is a stiff chore, but it does build up live carbon in the soil, which is never bad. Regards, Peter....See MoreJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
last yeardoriswk
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last yearken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last yearJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
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last yearkevin9408
last yearlast modified: last yearfloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
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