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Location

Message

Date Posted

Vancouver, White Rock, Canada

Just wondering what is the purpose of a winter cover crop? Is it to prevent the soil from blowing away, etc? Excuse my ignorance, but I live in the city...

10/3/2004 3:30:58 PM

Hobbiton New Zealand

I used mustard for a cover crop this year to try and dump some of the nitrogen out of my patch due to the large amount of chicken manure I applied in the autum and it seems to have worked. But it will also keep alot of weeds out over the winter timeas well as when you mulch it all in the spring it will raise your OM.

10/3/2004 3:40:35 PM

Topsfield, Ma.

I used to think it was for the nitrogen value when you till it in the spring. But when the deer graze regularly on it here, there's not much left. The roots tend to keep the soil fluffed and stabilized at the same time, which might be the primary value?

10/3/2004 6:32:56 PM

Puyallup, WA

Right duff! It improves the "tilth" of the soil.

10/5/2004 11:56:07 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

The only real downside is that we can't winter till or add amendments without killing the cover crop. In the past this was always a priority for me so I'd pass on CC's.

This year with our Organic Matter holding at 17.9%, I decided to try Winter Rye after tilling in the potash, calcium, micros, etc.

We'll see.

10/6/2004 7:18:24 AM