What did we do on the official first day of summer, June 20? We planted winter squash and pumpkins, of course. Always planning ahead to the next season. Plants go in now for harvest in September and October.
This field is special for us. We haven't tilled this field since October 2021! That's right, no plowing, no discing, no cultivating and always covered and growing plants!
The secret is to allow the cover crop to reach full maturity and produce viable seed. This cover crop is a mixture of rye, vetch and several species of clover. Each one of these species provides a benefit to the soil. They form a low, green cover over the winter and in the spring they grow to around six feet tall. After they reach full maturity and produce viable seed, we flail mow the field down to 6" and tansplant the pumpkins. As the pumpkins grow, the cover crop seeds also begin to germinate and slowly grow beneath the canopy of pumpkin leaves. After the pumpkins are harvested, we mow the field again to reveal a green carpet of cover crop plants ready to restart the cycle.
This is practice is unique for us and quite unusual. We do grow other crops using a no-till method where we do not till in the spring. However, after harvest we would normally disc the crop residue and create a bare soil condition to plant a cover crop. That's not really no-till. It's still a light tillage event and it still exposes the soil to erosion. Plus, it costs money to till and to plant a new cover crop. With this new system we're using for the pumpkins, we get a cover crop for free with no tillage or planting required! Bonus!
