And believe it or not, this fruit’s ability to hydrate us is an important part of its history, leading us all the way back to its first use by humans. Watermelons are native to Africa, where they were first used not so much as a food source, but as a source ofwater. The thick ...
Buckwheat is probably our favorite cover crop. Many times we cut it down before it reseeded and used these as a green manure. Green manure is simply plants which are mown or cut down and allowed to decompose in the place you want to improve. As they decompose, they provide readily availa...
Earlier in this post, we talked about growing cover crops to enrich our soil. Well, one type of cover crop is buckwheat and, when we plant buckwheat, it also becomes apit stop for Monarch butterflies, edible flowers ideal for their needs. We find them flitting every which-way, numbering i...
These beneficial insects can be brought into your garden by planting cover crops of clover, alfalfa, buckwheat, and daikon radish. These crops attract certain insects while growing and have flowers that provide a food source for bees and other pollinators. You may also want to consider planting ...
Tillage is the manipulation of soil and plant residues by iron/steel tools to prepare an appropriate seedbed for crop cultivation, which has several advantages such as loosening soil, improving surface drainage, changing soil structure, increasing the release of nutrients from soil for crop growth,...
To prevent weeds completely, cover crops such as buckwheat or winter rye are ideal solutions. Both produce allelopathic effects which release toxins that inhibit other forms of weed growth. When choosing to use chemical herbicides be mindful to adhere to all instructions and cautions on the label....
Even if you don’t want to get a harvest out of it, whether you’re putting in an oats and peas mix or the Austrian winter peas or buckwheat, or you’re thinking something that you want to over-winter, like winter rye. What we’ve put together is the amounts of those types ofco...
Sow a cover crop:This is another way to enrich soil and help accelerate the creation of a mini ecosystem. Summer: Buckwheat, cow peas, or millet Winter: Daikon radish, oats, or winter rye See what seeds I like to include in my‘kitchen sink’ cover crop mix. ...
As for quinoa, I never had good luck growing it. Maybe my climate isn’t cold enough? When it did grow, it was small and the seeds shattered before I was able to harvest the plant. Grow Grains: Buckwheat Buckwheat is one of my favorite plants. I use it as one of my flours in gl...
You can grow a cover crop which you can use yourself. If you don’t have room to grow wheat, you can search for a local flour or feed mill. Some livestock stores will sell wheat as well. Be sure to verify when purchasing wheat from livestock stores, that wheat is the only ingredient...