Does anyone wanna talk about cover crops?

[ThreeLittleBirds]

We have found that unless you are in big beds indoors attempting to run cover crops for the same benefit outside is a logical fallacy, an appeal to nature. We did not find a recreation of the outdoor nitrogen cycle, we found we created competition for nitrogen and a habitat for pests. This was not best practice for us.

 

[OntologicalTurn]

We have found that unless you are in big beds indoors attempting to run cover crops for the same benefit outside is a logical fallacy, an appeal to nature. We did not find a recreation of the outdoor nitrogen cycle, we found we created competition for nitrogen and a habitat for pests. This was not best practice for us.

It really depends on the companion plants and the way you are growing outdoors, different specific herbs repel different specific pests, and it is not the same to plant outdoors in pots, or in the soil, or in raised beds.
I make my raised beds by digging 1 and a half meters, mixing the clay soil with peat, perlite and worm castings and manure plus 40 cm with soil, in this environment the soil is not compacted at all 2 meters below, the plants compete less and tend to generate more vertical rather than lateral roots, you can also use companion plants as living mulch, such as clovers or purslane, which generate superficial rhizomes that do not reach a depth that could present problems to our main crop and help maintain humidity, prevent soil compaction soil and keep allied microorganisms happy and safe from the sun.