Garden Series: Restoring Your Soil

Shidonna Raven
Aug 2
2 min read

By Tim Goodwin

April 16, 2025

Source: Almanac

Photo Source: Unsplash,

• 4:06

Restoring Your Soil

To stimulate the soil, plant manure crops or “cover crops.” Even if you don’t use them for food or forage, they help restore the soil to make it better suited for crop growing.
Rye is the best-known green manure crop. Others that enrich the soil include alfalfa, clover, cowpeas, mustard, oats, timothy, and winter peas.
The legumes return nitrogen to the soil along with organic material and are a good choice for long-term soil development. Winter rye is good to plant in the fall and plow 2 to 4 weeks before spring planting. White clover is good for bees if you let it flower before plowing under. Alfalfa is expensive to plant, but its deep roots do wonders for your soil. Trefoil is a good choice for wet areas.
Cowpeas, mung beans, and mustard are good for spring planting. They germinate in cold soil and are planted as soon as the ground thaws. In 4 to 6 weeks, they can be plowed under. These are a good option for preparing a vegetable garden if you can’t get to your land in the fall.
Allow 2 or 3 weeks between plowing under and planting. A rear-tined rototiller will chop the vegetation well and incorporate it into the soil. The principle of a green manure crop is that as it decays after being plowed under, all the nutrients it uses while growing return to the soil. It also adds vital organic matter, so all soil types, from sand to clay, respond positively to this treatment.
Unfortunately, the return of organic material to the soil isn’t a one-time project. It must be continuous, in the form of planting or fertilizing with compost, leaves, or animal manure, if the decay process is to continue.

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