COVER CROPPING on the Flower Farm (Building Soil Health)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
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Thank you for watching my latest video! My name is Sarah and I am a flower farmer in East Yorkshire, UK. I am in my 5th season of flower growing and I love sharing the highs and lows with you here on TH-cam!
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Here is the link to more info about cover crops:
lovenfreshflow...
www.flourishfl...
So will you dig in that cover crop in the spring? Or will you remove it (somehow) and add more compost to the beds?
Hi Jan, yes! I realised when I was editing the video I didn’t do much explanation into the why or what next! I’m thinking of cutting the cover crop down with the mower, then applying cardboard and compost on top, then planting into the compost. Looking forward to seeing how that turns out 🙏🏻
@@bloomandgray Perfect. You get all that nitrogen fixed in the soil without disturbing it. Next year’s plants will love it. Sounds like a good plan.
Hello, I am so glad you are doing both things. 1. Leaving the old root in the ground. 2. Planting a cover crop. Your soil will say THANK YOU.
Would love to see you harvesting flowers for this last wedding and then you making the bouquets or decorating for the wedding itself !! That would be a great video I think !!
What a very interesting video Sara - thank you. I'm very interested in cover crops. I read somewhere a while ago that poppies were good for the soil as their long taproots are very beneficial. So last autumn here in my New Zealand garden I sowed about 3 packets of poppy seeds that I bought in the spice section of the supermarket - all across my garden beds. Now I literally have hundreds of poppies blooming - most a lovely lavender with deep purple markings, but a few are a stunning deep plum colour and I've earmarked those pods for seed saving for next autumn. Of course it's papaver somniferum so the pods will be fantastic for putting in bouquets. But like you have done - when they are finished I will just cut them at ground level so as to leave the roots in the soil. Do keep us updated on the cover crops won't you? Best of luck with the project. You are such a hard working young lady - and a very pretty one :)
Hedge clippers (battery operated) make quick work of cutting those things down
I am doing the very same on 3 beds on my allotment plot to see if it helps to improve my soil 🙂 my green manure is beans, as they grow, I cam pick the tops off to eat so, looking forward to that and in spring, I'm going to chop all the tops off and compost them then plant my plants, hopefully it will work. Looking forward to seeing how you progress 🙂 take care 🙂
So glad you did a video about cover crops Sarah! I've also wondered about this as well. I bought some cover crop seeds last year and didn't know where to start and you've motivated me to go ahead and give it a try. Thanks! The little "helper" in the video is adorable! 💜
I have been using Cover crops for the last few years, and for no dig just smothering works really well. I grow Winter Tares until mid February then cover with membrane for 5 weeks, then roll it back and rake off the tiny amount that has not been taken in by the soil. I don't need to apply fertiliser or compost on beds treated with Tares but I get Football sized Cabbages. I see no reaon why your mix will not respond with this treatment. Try a section for comparison :-}
Thanks for inviting us into your struggle and discovery process. Inspiring as I brainstorm my own space to find the methods that work for me. It's rarely a straight line from start to finish. So brave! And great music. :)
Hi , I so love watching and learning from you I’m cottage garden growing in the north east . I’ve been watching a few from America and love flower hill farm and it references growing zones and more stuff .Lisa Mason Ziegler and another man sorry forgot Davies full name run courses out there for flower farmers but have loads on u tube . Waiting for your 2022 season n build up best wishes JULIE x
It’s all about the soil! Good planning
Thank you so much Sarah for making this video. Cleared up a lot of confusion. I am definitely going to try it.
I'm so glad you did this video. I will be really interested to see how you tend it in the Spring. I understand the benefits of cover crops but if you are not tilling, which I am not either, what do you do in the Spring when you are ready to plant??? Can't wait to see :)
Hi Sarah, it's going to be hard work this year but trust me it will get easier. I still have compost envy from your last post😂🤣
Great compost info available on the brilliant Charles Dowding channel. He's a brilliant vegetable grower but flowers too and He's super cool and relaxed about compost making and sends out those vibes too.
Don't over think it and stress about it, the microbes know what their job is. 😉
You can NEVER have too much compost so get Rob carting.
Thank you for sharing this info! 🙂
Hi Sarah hope everything is ok with you and your family x you haven’t posted for a while so wondered if you are ok xx
Will you do a van tour?
How do you think the lab experiment take.
Did you see any good results?
Hi Sarah it's my first time using a green manure cover crop on my allotment. I'm using field beans on my potato bed this year and dig them in in the spring as they add nitrogen back into the soil. I hadn't thought about using poppy seeds. Do you let them flower or just dig them in?
Hi Ann, sounds great. I’m not sure where you heard about poppy seeds, I have never heard of them being used as a cover crop. Will have to google it!
Hi Sarah, great video again. Can I just ask would a cover crop be beneficial on a much smaller scale? I’ve just recently taken up gardening and I’ve made a few cut flower beds which have been great but once I take all the plants out now they’re dying back it’s going to be bare all winter long. Do you think I should leave the roots of the plants in situ as suggested and possibly do a cover crop too, if so what would be best sown in them? Someone mentioned poppy seeds but I didn’t hear you say anything about them, I have zillions of seeds so that would be ideal. Your help on this would be appreciated.
Hello! I think a cover crop would be beneficial no matter what size the area! It’s definitely better to leave an area with living roots in rather than bare soil. It will keep the soil microbiology happy. There’s loads of different mixes for different outcomes, so have a look on a suppliers site to see what would be best for your situation 😁
@@bloomandgray Thanks for replying so quickly. Like you I’m in Yorkshire so it’ll have to be something that likes the cold. I’ll take a look on a site today. Cheers
HEY! YOU MIGHT LIKE "GARDENING IN CANADA" Channel here on you tube. She's a SOIL EXPERT. Sorry..LOL..I'm not yelling, I just thought you might be interested. :) I just asked her about Boron and she said she'd try to make a future video about it. I also learned recently that it is not necessary for people to add Green Sand to their potting mixes. While it is a good idea to add it to soil, it takes about 14-18 months for it to break down and become bioavailable to the plant so those seedlings that are planted in potting mixes with green sand will never actually benefit from it (unless the seedling is a perennial) because the annuals would live out a season and die before the green sand works. That's what I heard anyway..I don't think it was from that girl's channel but I was surprised by that info. It is good to add it to beds..if Potassium and minerals is something one needs.
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