Growing Cover Crops in a Small Space
This started as a quick note and slowly turned into something longer. If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. I sow a little too early every spring and never seem to learn. You can get unexpectedly far with a watering can and some patience.
The process
I keep a short list of things to try next; sowing seeds is near the top. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. Saving seed means next year’s garden starts this autumn.
Where it started
Thanks for reading, and for the generous observations that keep arriving. I keep coming back to wildflowers, largely because it rewards patience. It took me two attempts to see the pattern. The slugs got most of the lettuce, but the beans did well.
This is less a guide and more a record of what worked for me. Nothing here requires a rain barrel, though it does make things easier. For a long time I treated compost as an afterthought. A friend once described wildflowers as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. Here is what changed, and what stayed exactly the same.
Small things
It took me ten attempts to see the pattern. The difference showed up slowly, then all at once. I keep coming back to cover crops, largely because it rewards patience. Below are a few observations, roughly in the order I learned them. The trick, if there is one, is to leave sufficient room for mistakes.
For a long time I treated wildflowers as an afterthought. A friend once described compost as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. Half of the work is deciding what to leave out. I would rather do one thing carefully than five things fast.
There is no single right way to approach sowing seeds, but some ways are kinder than others.