First Time Cover Cropper

peebee · January 26, 2015

I sowed 4 large beds with cover crops for the very first time last fall and they are very tall right now. I'm in zone 10 and while it is technically not Spring yet, it sure is looking like it now. My questions:

When should I cut them down? Do I have to then chop the stalks up in little pieces? What about the roots?
Do I have to turn the stuff under after a week or two of drying? This seems to be a daunting task; the stalks are really quite large at this point and there is no way I can cut all that into bits to make decomposition better.
Can I save seeds from some plants for next year or will this take too long?

I've read online various ways of dealing with cover crops. Some say to leave it in place after cutting, to use as mulch and to just plant under it.

I got a bare root fruit tree earlier than I expected and want to plant it in one of the beds soon. Please advise, I'm new at this! Thanks!

January 26, 2015	#1
peebee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 1,714	First Time Cover Cropper I sowed 4 large beds with cover crops for the very first time last fall and they are very tall right now. I'm in zone 10 and while it is technically not Spring yet, it sure is looking like it now. My questions: When should I cut them down? Do I have to then chop the stalks up in little pieces? What about the roots? Do I have to turn the stuff under after a week or two of drying? This seems to be a daunting task; the stalks are really quite large at this point and there is no way I can cut all that into bits to make decomposition better. Can I save seeds from some plants for next year or will this take too long? I've read online various ways of dealing with cover crops. Some say to leave it in place after cutting, to use as mulch and to just plant under it. I got a bare root fruit tree earlier than I expected and want to plant it in one of the beds soon. Please advise, I'm new at this! Thanks!