Here’s a Quick overview of what I feel would be a great solution. Slice, drop, crimp, plant.

As we watch the crimson clover and peas move into their bloom cycle, within the next two weeks (May 12-30) they must be cut and dropped so as to allow the greens to dry and become a beautiful mulch through which you can then plant your summer seedlings. The bees are currently loving the early morning bloom, but we want to cut before that bloom becomes seed.

Here are the steps I followed on Deb’s plot. See before and after photos below.

1. In an athletic, low-crouch position, slice through the crown at the soil line using a hand scythe . The curving sharp blade makes light work. A string trimmer or other tool could be used but note that this is 4’ tall vining plant material which could easily get bound up in your trimmer.
2. Lay the cut greens across the whole plot and walk on them to crimp the stems.
3. Enjoy a cool glass of water and enjoy the fresh air and bird song….
4. Allow the moisture to fall into your soil for few days … or … simply move right into step 5.
5. Pull away a small area of the drying greens to allow a trowel room to dig a nice hole for your seedlings and then simply replace the mulch around the stem. If still green, keep the mulch an inch away from the stem of whatever you are planting or 1” away from the side of the seed furrow.
6. This will eliminate the need for fabric or other mulches and the released moisture, nitrogen and organic matter will slowly nourish your topsoil as the sliced roots release their bounty of atmospheric carbon, moisture and nitrogen.

Working steadily, in an athletic crouch position, this half plot took me just 15 minutes. It was ‘work’ but, honestly, it took far less time, excursion, expense and compaction than were it tilled and mulched with fabric or leaves.

Enjoy the glory of Regenerative  Agroecology in action… and stop by the greenhouse runoff mitigation and capture project as it progresses through May. The final Hugel terrace will be created soon!

Peter Jensen