September 22, 2010

The cover crop goes in as the first rain approaches

I started spreading the cover crop today. A fall mix from Territorial seed. It looked good enough to cook and eat. I couldn't find my broadcast spreader, so I just spread it by hand as the winds picked up and clouds move in from the Northwest. It's such a good feeling to have the first rains coming. It marks the beginning of change of the season.

There are two falls in here in California. A dry fall and a wet one. The dry fall is parched and the crunch of dry leaves and rattle of seed pods, the wind through dusty leaves is a reminder to keep up the constant effort to bring water to the yard and garden. Once the rains come, everything changes. You can turn the sprinklers and the drippers off and just sit back and relax. The fire season is over and it's cooler and time to get some wood in.

I was going to till in the cover crop as it does attract birds, but decided instead to rake and shovel a little dirt over the seeds and see if that does the job. There were a few bare spaces and the corn and tomato rows which will need more and I assured myself I would pick up some more ground cover from the local nursery.

Now! Let it rain!!!!