Or so goes the way I learned it.
The last two mornings I woke up at dawn to see a very pretty pink sky and I knew we were in for some crazy Central NY weather. I was not disappointed. Yesterday winds and a hard, quick rain. Today hail. I am not complaining about this weather, as I love when I don't have to water thirsty seeds. Yesterday, I was able to get radish, beet, turnip, carrot, greens, and sunflower seeds into the ground before being caught in the rain. Already wet, I decided to throw down some clover seed into some beds that I won't plant for a while. Not a typical cover crop, at least alone, but I plan to use it as a "living mulch" under late planted brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, etc) and late planted tomatoes. The clover quickly shades out other weeds and grows low to the ground providing moisture retention. It may need mowing before I transplant the brassicas, but it recovers quickly and clover has been shown to reduce populations of the cabbage looper, aphids, and flea beetle. One drawback is the increase in slugs. But I have some old beer for them (more on that another time).
Things are moving quickly now and we are about 1 month away from the first market!
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