turning garden cover to hay

[redtailgal]

Until we got the goats, we'd been planting red clover over our large garden to enrich the soil and replenish nitrogren.

We usually bale the clover and use it for the cattle.

I'd like to come up with a ground cover crop that can be planted in the fall, winter the garden dirt for us, and then be mowed for hay for the goats before we plow. I know red clover is not the greatest thing to give a breeding goat herd, so are there any suggestions? It MUST be something to provide nitrogen to the dirt.

 

[elevan]

How does Alfalfa grow in your area?

 

[redtailgal]

No, alfalfa does not grow well here at all. oooh, I wish it did.

 

[elevan]

What about peanut?

 

[20kidsonhill]

Around here all the farmers plan winter rye and then bale it in the spring time.

 

[elevan]

Rye ties up nitrogen in the soil 20kids, she'd still have to plant a legume with it to add nitrogen to the soil as she wants.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Rye ties up nitrogen in the soil 20kids, she'd still have to plant a legume with it to add nitrogen to the soil as she wants.

Yup, I don't know a whole lot about it, just saying that everyone around us plants it after corn and then feeds it to their cattle in the spring.

 

[elevan]

Rye ties up nitrogen in the soil 20kids, she'd still have to plant a legume with it to add nitrogen to the soil as she wants.

Yup, I don't know a whole lot about it, just saying that everyone around us plants it after corn and then feeds it to their cattle in the spring.

I would think that they'd be adding a legume rotation in there to replenish nitrogen. Bet they do a lot of nitrogen application to the fields...corn sucks it up and rye ties it up.

 

[redtailgal]

Really following corn with Rye? Do they have to use alot of fertilizer? Or maybe they are growing one of these new hybrid corns that is less demanding on the soil. That's interesting. Rye is excellent for cattle though. That method would just be too hard on my dirt. (I dont like to fertilize, I prefer to just keep the dirt well fed with rotational planting, and organic material)

Peanut.

Hadnt thought of that. I've never grown any peanut (I assume that you are talking about just a regular peanut plant). I do know that it does feed the dirt, so that's good. I'm not sure if it will winter over here, though. I"ll have to check on that.

Thanks for the input, both of you!

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

[20kidsonhill]

I just know it has something to do with nitrogen run off and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and soil conservation.