Take the covers off your bed!

It's a really good idea to grow a "cover" crop in the vegetable beds whenever you decide to let the space go fallow. The idea behind a cover crop is to let something grow that you intend to just fork into the ground. My favorite the cooler months is crimson clover. It's a pretty thing and it's not hard to dig up. I grow it around my fruit trees too because the roots help break up the heavy clay soil. It has an awesome bloom with a fragrance that will knock you out and it's a great honey bee attractor to help with pollination. It doesn't like hot weather though, so I just let it die back and then fork it into the soil.

I really like it in the vegetable garden. I try to use it in rotation on those areas that I previously grew tomatoes, corn, squash, and other vegetables that really deplete the nutrients in the soil. Since we are approaching the last frost date here in Austin, it's time for me to get these covers tilled into the soil. The gardener in me has a hard time with digging up a perfectly good plant. Especially one as pretty as the clover!

But I persevere because I know how much good it will do for my vegetables. Every fork-full of upturned clover reveals a wealth of earthworms, and the soil is in really good shape. I dig up the plants and just leave them on top of the bed to dry out in the sun.

As soon as they are nice and brown, I just turn them into the ground, smooth out the soil, then plant my vegetables seeds right on top.

The dead clover will continue to decompose and enrich the soil as the vegetable seedlings start to take off and grow. The other added benefit to clover is that it is a nitrogen-fixing legume. Legumes are plants that have symbiotic Rhizobium bacteria that attach to the roots and generate nitrogen. The plant itself doesn't use all that is produced, leaving extra nitrogen in the soil. All the stored nitrogen is released into the soil when the clover dies. You can tell your legume has the Rhizobium if you see whitish nodules on the roots. These bacteria occur in the soil naturally, but you can also buy them and coat the seeds prior to planting. They come in a powder form and can be purchased online or at most garden centers. Some farm feed and seed stores have them too.

Now that my beds have their covers off, I can get those cucumbers planted! Try growing crimson clover in your yard and see if you don't become a big fan.