Are you doing a cover crop while the plants are still growing Seamaiden? One of the issues I've had with cover crops is by the time the outdoor plants are finished and chopped down, it's too late in the year and too cold to get good germination going. The seeds I sowed in my beds last year didn't germinate until the weather warmed up in the spring. I am thinking of trying to get the cover crop going in like late Sept or early Oct while the plants are still in the ground, before the winter hits.
Yes, I am, it's the whole point. You will need to rotate crops, and expand
greatly the species used, especially at the same time. ;) You'll also have to spend some time doing the old "chop & drop" but that's putting the nutrients right back into the soil, while at the same time keeping it covered and, this is absolutely
key, ALIVE. I'm finding that soil depth is making a HUGE difference as well as how the beds are filled. While at first I was concerned that the bed being almost 3' deep would cause me problems, in fact it's working out
great. Also, I've borrowed permaculture techniques and have logs in the bottom of the bed, and they're acting as a massive sponge. This is disallowing the mid-day wilt entirely (only in that bed, the Smarties are typical for
Smart Pots--dry out far too quickly and get hot in the sun, and are too shallow).
