Garden’s Need Cover-ups Too

Here in Central Texas we are being blasted with day after day of relentless, 100-degree sunshine. Boo-hoo my family in 100-year record rain-soaked Pacific Northwest say, but the heat and intense light can take a toll on the garden.

It’s not just the plants and sweaty humans that suffer; the soil creatures can get overheated and go dormant as well. Mesophiles, the main microbes found in composting soil, can do fine in temperatures 20 to 45°C (68 to 113°F), but earthworms don’t like anything over 65°F. High soil temperatures are also accompanied by moisture loss.  Slower microbes, absent earthworms, and lack of moisture are a trifecta of problems this time of year, just when you are getting ready for the fall vegetable-planting season.

Mulching the top of the soil is the best practice to adopt during any time of extremes.  You can choose brown mulch (like compost) or green mulch (like a cover crop.) I use both. In my vegetable beds my preference is using a legume cover crop.  The legumes fix nitrogen from the air and convert it to a useable form in the soil. They help me keep my soil fertility constant so I don’t have to add much supplemental fertilizer, and are great for reconditioning the soil after a heavy-feeding vegetable or fruit crop.

In the summer I like planting Southern Cowpeas. There are many varieties to choose from.  My favorite is the cream pea because it seems to have slightly larger leaves and does a good job of completely covering the area it is planted in. My spring vegetables start slowing in May, and most shut down when the temperature hits 100. When that happens, I harvest what remains and then throw the rest of the plant into the compost bin.  I direct sow the peas right on top of the bed.

I cover the seeds with a mix of worm castings and compost. It is watered in well, and usually sprouts fairly quickly. I irrigate regularly until the plants are established and then water as infrequently as I can get away with in the heat. Some of my beds that get some shade only have to be irrigated once a week or so.

I’ll keep the peas growing until I am ready to put in my fall vegetable crops. I cut the top of the plant off at soil level and toss it into the compost bin, then plant my veggies directly where the peas used to be. I use finished compost to cover the seeds or mulch the new plants, and we are right back into food production. You can also just turn the peas back into the soil, but I am usually in a hurry and just use compost instead.  On my fruit berms where I don’t do any cultivation, I leave the peas as a “hay” cover and sow Crimson Clover over the top for my winter cover crop.

So while you are out there slathering on sunscreen under your big ole hat, think about your garden soil too.  It can use a little cover and will reward you with happy plants that you can show off with your tan this fall.