Time for Fall Garden Cleanup

October 11, 2016 - Blog, Featured, Gardeners Corner - Comments: 
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This raised bed has been seeded with crimson clover cover crop. It will grow very slowly then dug in during late February.
This raised bed has been seeded with crimson clover cover crop. It will grow very slowly then dug in during late February.

Some gardeners ignore or forget a very important part of the garden year. But you should think of it as getting ready to plant again.

With the decrease in daylight, our plants are slowing down and it is a good time to remove all spent annual and garden plants and consider planting a few garlic cloves or some crimson clover cover crop.

At the end of the summer garden season, you can use the space for cover crops or a winter vegetable.
At the end of the summer garden season, you can use the space for cover crops or a winter vegetable.

Garlic is very easy to grow and fun to watch as it develops for a July harvest next year. Choose the largest cloves from a garlic head and plant them 2 to 3 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart. Cover with garden soil and tap down lightly.

If you are not interested in garlic, do not leave your soil bare for the rainy season, as it will get packed down and possibly filled with weeds during the rainy months.

Cover-crop seeds are not only used by farmers in large plots of soil. Organic gardeners have recognized the usefulness even in small plots or raised beds.

The roots of a desirable cover crop will keep your soil from compaction. Crimson clover is quick to germinate and slow to grow, with the added benefit of providing nitrogen back to the soil when the growth is turned under in the spring about two weeks before you intend to plant.