2020 cover crop
 

Sunday pulled my garden and tilled in some alfalfa pellets then planted Daikon radishes for this years cover crop.Last couple years used winter rye and hairy vetch.Radishes are up already and hoping I get good size before they are killed off in November.This was a very productive year for my tomatoes and peppers.

I thought I saw you kicking the tires on a Mantis or some such tiller. Did you retire your S&J fork?
I went with a winter killed Sudex cover last Fall and this Spring the worms loved it. I did have to time my Spring planting before or well after any rains.
Previous years, with live rye cover as mulch, it soaked up so much of any rain it got, it left the soil workable most days.
Of course dealing with rye live through the Spring is extra work and I have traded in my grass shears for a propane weed burner to tame it.
Burning it is easier, but trickier :?!?:



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[QUOTE=decherdt;759866]I thought I saw you kicking the tires on a Mantis or some such tiller. Did you retire your S&J fork?
I went with a winter killed Sudex cover last Fall and this Spring the worms loved it. I did have to time my Spring planting before or well after any rains.
Previous years, with live rye cover as mulch, it soaked up so much of any rain it got, it left the soil workable most days.
Of course dealing with rye live through the Spring is extra work and I have traded in my grass shears for a propane weed burner to tame it.
Burning it is easier, but trickier :?!?:

LOL After having both knees replaced 3 years ago I decided the tiller was the way to go.That 4 cycle Honda engine really does the job.I still have the fork,it needed a rest too.:lol

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I think I could go for some in with rye if they were about the size of carrots. What kind did you use? Oops I see that vendors have Daikon or Tillage

[STRIKE]Think[/STRIKE] I wonder if they would winter kill in Texas. Sounds much easier than the double digging I did 10 years ago, there's some firm brown clay under the topsoil here.

These can get very large,2 to 4 inches round you can do a search on Daikon Tillage radishes there are some videos on Youtube that show the size they can obtain.I would research your local farmers feed store and see what they recommend.

I'll be doing a mustard cover crop again this fall. Nematodes, ya know....

[QUOTE=Goodloe;759909]I'll be doing a mustard cover crop again this fall. Nematodes, ya know....[/QUOTE]

Last year I planted marigolds around my garden.They have the same effect not that I have a problem with nematodes but have rabbits that like to live under my tomato plants.They don't bother anything and I like the the looks of the flower boarder.

I ordered some daikon seed, enough for a few years. First time I have tried it as a cover crop. I have them in every row that is done for the year, put in over the last couple weeks. Be interesting to see what they do. It has been very dry until the last few days, and this rain tonight will really set the sprouting.

[QUOTE=JRinPA;759918]I ordered some daikon seed, enough for a few years. First time I have tried it as a cover crop. I have them in every row that is done for the year, put in over the last couple weeks. Be interesting to see what they do. It has been very dry until the last few days, and this rain tonight will really set the sprouting.[/QUOTE]

Mine were up in 48 hours,I watered everyday.It takes around 60 days to mature for the ones planted.I was 2 weeks late when I planted on 9/22.Leaves now are 2 to 3 inches tall.What I have seen about them is they are very fast growers.

I had the order timed perfectly for the weather, but the supplier's "fast shipping" decided to take a week off. I ordered Wednesday. Should have went out Thursday. Or at least Friday. Saturday morning? Well Tuesday surely? No, I had to email the following Wednesday. They printed a slip 30 minutes later and then emailed me like "what did I expect, it was labor day weekend." So Fast Shipping meant 1 week delay to Hancock Seeds. These should have all been in the ground the day after Labor Day. Can't say I'm real happy about that.

[QUOTE=JRinPA;759927]I had the order timed perfectly for the weather, but the supplier's "fast shipping" decided to take a week off. I ordered Wednesday. Should have went out Thursday. Or at least Friday. Saturday morning? Well Tuesday surely? No, I had to email the following Wednesday. They printed a slip 30 minutes later and then emailed me like "what did I expect, it was labor day weekend." So Fast Shipping meant 1 week delay to Hancock Seeds. These should have all been in the ground the day after Labor Day. Can't say I'm real happy about that.[/QUOTE]

When do you expect the first hard frost?It took a around two nights to kill them when I planted them 2 years ago but they were around 2 inches round.I believe I planted the second week of September that year.We have a feed store nearby that has the seeds.But the mail is messed up these days so I know how you feel.Good luck with cover crop.

They wouldn't all have been in the ground that early, just the rows I had that were finished and open plots at the comm garden. The earliest seeded and watered are up now about 3" I guess.

I first found daikon in fields here maybe 6 years back on some state land. There were a bunch of big fields of them. I dug some up to see what they were. Ended up cooking them too. In mid-November they were still green and 18" tall, and 3" diameter and 8-10" long. Somewhere around there, years back now. But I don't know when they were planted. And unfortunately I haven't seen them since.

Usually the first hard frost is mid October. Then it will get warm again at the end of October. I expect they will be growing until mid November at least. Generally it doesn't freeze until December, but some years there will be a light freeze as early as mid October, enough for skim ice, but not often.

NWS climate prediction center shows the next few months as warmer and dryer than avg. I think I read la nina pattern this winter. So maybe they'll be growing into mid December...I could even cover them for frost protection since they are in rows and I have lots of ag19. Extra work though. Between the delay, the weather timing, and my schedule I feel like I lost 2-1/2 weeks of cover crop growth for the initial plots.

I just seeded some today under my okra, which has a new rounds of flowers with this warm weather. That will be about it, I guess. I still have corn with ears forming for another two weeks. Have fall peas, and beans and squash. My raised beds out back have peppers and eggplants and sweet potatoes still in. All those will be too late for daikon and will need to be mulched/leaf mulched/manured.

[QUOTE=JRinPA;759930]They wouldn't all have been in the ground that early, just the rows I had that were finished and open plots at the comm garden. The earliest seeded and watered are up now about 3" I guess.

I first found daikon in fields here maybe 6 years back on some state land. There were a bunch of big fields of them. I dug some up to see what they were. Ended up cooking them too. In mid-November they were still green and 18" tall, and 3" diameter and 8-10" long. Somewhere around there, years back now. But I don't know when they were planted. And unfortunately I haven't seen them since.

Usually the first hard frost is mid October. Then it will get warm again at the end of October. I expect they will be growing until mid November at least. Generally it doesn't freeze until December, but some years there will be a light freeze as early as mid October, enough for skim ice, but not often.

NWS climate prediction center shows the next few months as warmer and dryer than avg. I think I read la nina pattern this winter. So maybe they'll be growing into mid December...I could even cover them for frost protection since they are in rows and I have lots of ag19. Extra work though. Between the delay, the weather timing, and my schedule I feel like I lost 2-1/2 weeks of cover crop growth for the initial plots.

I just seeded some today under my okra, which has a new rounds of flowers with this warm weather. That will be about it, I guess. I still have corn with ears forming for another two weeks. Have fall peas, and beans and squash. My raised beds out back have peppers and eggplants and sweet potatoes still in. All those will be too late for daikon and will need to be mulched/leaf mulched/manured.[/QUOTE]

I never ate them but lots of people do.The seeds I had were 4 years old and all seemed to come up, kept them sealed in a coffee can in my basement.You have a good plan and knowledge on how to use them for the best results.Good luck and hope they arrive soon.

Supposed to dip into the low 30's tonight,radishes are growing well so I pulled out my tarp and covered the garden.I would love another 3 or 4 weeks of growth.The next week looks good with rain and high temps in the 60's and lows in the 40's.Great weather for radish growth.

I should cover stuff tomorrow night, threatening frost here. My fall peas are about 4 ft tall and that should probably be the first thing to cover. It will probably not frost for another couple weeks.

We did have a slight frost this morning,I did cover my radishes and the few that were not covered on the edge of my garden survived without any damage.We have a week of warmer weather during day and nights with rain in the forecast.Hoping to get a few more weeks of growth and they should be good size.Overall they did well.

It is really still out there so I took the time to drape everything important with some old ag19. Lots of peppers to pick, and butternut, but haven't had time. I'm glad you posted the other day, got me looking ahead and I had it planned out for the end of a long day.

It was a pretty good frosting out there an hour ago, still icy now. The AG19 is frosty, underneath is not. Definitely worth the effort.



The daikon uncovered looks okay, but some champion radish that are still in the garden are instant wilts. Some uncovered sweet potatoes were affected. Parsnips look like they will wilt back. I hope the red beets are okay, they are excellent right now, but I didn't cover them, since they are not in the yard here.

[QUOTE=JRinPA;760185]It was a pretty good frosting out there an hour ago, still icy now. The AG19 is frosty, underneath is not. Definitely worth the effort.



The daikon uncovered looks okay, but some champion radish that are still in the garden are instant wilts. Some uncovered sweet potatoes were affected. Parsnips look like they will wilt back. I hope the red beets are okay, they are excellent right now, but I didn't cover them, since they are not in the yard here.[/QUO Hope things work out for you,I have not heard much about a forecast for this coming winter but if I recall right the Weather Channel said more a mild winter expected.But who knows?Sounds like you may be in a lower elevation than myself.I sit above the Cuyahoga Valley.Have a friend south west of me about 15 miles away that has his garden in a lower elevation that had frost twice in the last two weeks.

About 600ft here. I never thought much about it mattering for frost. There was about 3/16" of skim ice in the wheelbarrows and buckets. It was super still the night before, and the carport thermometer had read 36-37F at midnight. The garden sweet potatoes leaves that were the top layers have turned dark, almost black. The ag19 seemed to protect everything it was used on. I still haven't checked the peas at the comm garden. The ag19 may have blown off the pea trellis there, since it was windy yesterday. I'm heading over there now. I have peas corn red beets butternut still in over there.

Peas look fine, frost kissed pods on the edges. They are not developing fat peas at all like springtime. Sweet corn looks like it's stuck for a week at tender kernel stage and won't turn ripe. I wish I had done transplants instead of seed for that late patch. Mostly it was just too dry I think, particularly right after seeding. Last year I had similar timed corn and it did well enough in the raised bed, but it got more water. Red Beets look fine through the frost. Parsnips mostly look fine. Butternuts look okay because I had pole beans climbing over top. The pole bean leaves turned dark instead. I picked them today, two good trays.


The daikon, especially the beds I seeded earlier, heavily, and watered, look just fine.


This is probably the latest I have pushed the garden with so many different crops.

Sounds like you have a large variety of vegetables. I have not tried green beans but was thinking of adding them next spring.I have a small 200sq.ft garden and just grow tomato,pepper,cucumber and some basil.My Grandson loves Green Beans.With my small space I want to try some bush beans but will have to see what grows best in Northeast Ohio.Looks like you had a productive garden.Hope you can get a little more time for it.We are going to warm up into the 70's Thu. and Fri. then back to highs in the 50's for the next 10 days.

Hey cjp did I send you some parsnip seed? I think I did but not positive.


I dug these out today. They were broadcast along with a bunch of other stuff early last summer. After 10 months, these are the last to be harvested from that planting!


I found a few daikon too, putting tops back on, but they were only about 3" long and 1/2" wide. This year I need to get the daikon in the ground in August.

Yes you did,those look great!I need to get mine in earlier too.I usually turn things under 3rd week of September.I wait till my tomato plants are damaged by cold nights.Thanks again for the seeds!!!!Hope you have a great 2021 garden!:)