What's Growing in My Plot? Cover Crops and Weeds
General ·By Emily Townsend
All the weeds in our plots are holding soil nutrients in their stems, leaves, flowers, etc. So they work a little bit like a cover crop in that sense. If you kill them they will release nutrients as they decompose. But weeds are harder to get rid of than a cover crop. Some of them go to seed in just a few weeks, so you have new weeds trying to crowd out your veggies all season long. Some of them spread by creeping along the ground, invading your whole plot. Maybe they just grow really quickly. Or maybe they can re-root or go to seed after you have pulled them and left them to die on the ground. We call them weeds when they have a way of showing up uninvited. Some of them are edible, if you want to exact your revenge personally.
Austrian Winter Peas
A cover crop we planted in many of the plots last fall. The tender shoots are edible and taste like peas. You can stir-fry them with a little oil, garlic and salt. They are a legume, which means their roots harbor bacteria that turn nitrogen from the air into fertilizer in the soil. The plant uses that fertilizer to build its stems and leaves. When it decomposes in the ground, the nitrogen becomes available for your vegetable plants. If we wait til it flowers and then mow it down to the ground, it is supposed to die completely.
Winter Wheat
A cover crop we planted in many of the plots last fall. It keeps nutrients from washing out of the soil by building its leaves with them. When it decomposes in the ground those nutrients are added back and the organic matter helps the soil structure and feeds beneficial microorganisms. If we wait til it starts to have seed heads and then mow it down to the ground, it is supposed to die completely. If you want to till before then, pull it out or it will get tangled in the tiller.
Clover
The smaller clover is white clover, the larger is crimson clover. It was planted as a cover crop in earlier years, and is still growing some places in our garden. It is a legume, so it also hosts bacteria that turn atmospheric nitrogen into fertilizer available to plants. When it blooms it attracts pollinators who will help your tomatoes, peppers, and most other vegetables to set fruit.
Vetch
This is a cover crop plant that we didn’t plant this year, but as a legume, it fixes nitrogen. It also attracts bees and other beneficial insects.
Chickweed
An edible weed.
Dead Nettle
An edible weed. Called “dead” because it doesn’t sting. The ones with purple leaves and flowers are the dead nettle. There is chickweed growing below it in this picture.
Long-leaf Plantain
Sort-of edible.
Wild Allium
An edible weed in the onion family. Smells oniony.