Benefits of no tilling and using cover crops.

O.K I found this really good and wonderful video about no tilling method and using various cover crops that you can interplant with your cash crops, thought I should share.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blxe7S41q9s&playnext_from=TL&videos=RZ3A3UN1198

Thanks for the link. I had heard of this, but didn't realize there were any farms doing it on a large scale.
I've practiced this in my vegie garden for years.

Katye, glad you enjoyed it. I have a question though, I mainly plants all my veggies in raise beds and also pots. I did place a cover crop on my first 2 raise beds but then once they were ready, I decided to till them under. I plant all kinds of veggies, not just momocroping like this farm does, my question is this, once I place the cover crop and it is growing fast and high, will I be able to plant veggies in these beds, will the cover crop shade all the veggie plants and make it imposible for them to germinate, I am talking expecially about low growing veggies such as lettuces etc... sometimes I direct seed these tiny seeds. I can see in the video that he plants corn from seed and also sunflowers. I am wondering if this is a method I can also use in my raise beds or not. What do you use as your cover crop? I bought mine at Peaceaful Valley and it contains Bell beans, Winter peas,Purple Vetch, and oats, some of these get pretty tall.

As far as which cover crops to recommend, i have a preference for crimson clover followed by buckwheat, & if I'm not too lazy, favas. Your climate is warmer & your growing season is longer, so you could use a wider variety of cover crops.
I only interplant among the taller crops so no problem shading them out - corn, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc. then plant cover crops in the beds when something is finished growing, or isn't ready to be put out yet - like melons, eggplant...
I have all raised beds in my vegie garden - much easier to deal with!

I have used Vetch, winter wheat & winter peas (in the spring), but Crimson clover does so well here that I tend to stick with it. It's pretty, too, and the Bees love it.
I think that i would plant the tiny seed crops first, then plant the cover crops in rows as he did. Let the main crop get a head start, so it won't be shaded out. does that make sense?

That link was an interesting video. I was surprised that the guy doing it lived in an area with only 18 inches of rain, on average, per year.

What sources are you using to order the cover crop seeds? Several years ago, I ordered hairy vetch and buckwheat from Gardens Alive, but would like to find a source in the midwest.

Thanks,

Salsadude

My source is west coast (Territorial Seed), but I do purchase cover crop seed locally in the spring, from a feed supply/tack shop.

Thanks katye, planting the main crops first in rows and then planting the cover crop is not a bad idea at all, right now I only have 4 beds so I am using the square foot method to try to grow as much food possible in my limited space but I am thinking of perhaps using the cover crop method more in the winter time frame when I am not growing quite as much. If I had a sizable lot to grow I would definetely try planting cover crops all year round.

Right now y cover crop seed that I bought from Peaceful Valley sais that this mixture is used mostly in the winter time frame, around Oct or so.

I'll also have to see about my local Feed and seed store see if I can get any cover crops or not.

I've been using the square foot method for a very long time - I think it's an easier way to manage crop rotation & cover crops. If you feel that you've sown too thickly after it all comes up, just knock down the extra at the edges of the rows - it works well this way, and most regular crops do fine. Feeds the soil, too.