Orchard Up-Date- Round Two of Cover Crop Planting: Rebuilding Our Sandy Hillside Soil
It’s time for round two of cover crop planting!
Hopefully, this attempt will be a little more successful than the last one. We’re working with some pretty challenging soil and landscape conditions, so I’m trying to remind myself that this is a long-term project—not something that will transform overnight.
For those who are new here, my husband and I are working on turning the area below our house and main yard into a future orchard. Right now, it is a dry, sandy hillside that has been through several different stages over the years.
At one point, it was dry forest. Later, it was cleared and used as a horse pasture. Pasture mix was planted, but very little grew—especially farther up the hill, where the conditions are even drier.
The soil is approximately 90% sand and silt, which means it drains very quickly and holds very little moisture. It is also low in nitrogen, making it difficult for plants to establish and grow strong.
One benefit is that the soil is slightly acidic. That can work well for many fruit trees, especially once we begin adding more organic matter and topsoil back into the area.
You can read my previous posts to see how the first round of cover crops went. In the spring, we planted barley, field peas, and clover. They did grow, but very sparsely and stringy. It was not exactly the lush green cover crop I had hoped for, but it was still a beginning.
Even a small amount of growth means roots were added to the soil, some carbon was returned, and a little organic material was left behind.
Why Try Cover Crops Again?
Cover crops can help improve soil slowly by adding living roots, protecting the surface, reducing erosion, and increasing organic matter as the plants die and decompose.
In sandy soil, organic matter is especially important. It acts a little like a sponge, helping the soil hold onto water and nutrients instead of allowing everything to drain away immediately.
Realistically, one planting of cover crops will not turn sandy soil into rich garden soil.
Depending on growth, moisture, and how much biomass is produced, a single season might only increase soil organic matter by a very small amount—perhaps around 0.1% to 0.3%.
That may not sound like much, but even a 1% increase in soil organic matter can significantly improve water-holding capacity. A commonly used estimate is that each 1% increase may help soil hold approximately 20,000 gallons (75700 Liters) of additional water per acre.
Results vary greatly, but the principle is important: small improvements can add up over several years.
For our hillside, the goal is not an instant fix. The goal is to keep adding roots, plant residue, carbon, and life to the soil season after season.
Planting
This time around we decided to first start off by mowing a clean slate, in the spring we skipped this step, and I think the new seedlings may have struggled to compete with the faster growing native plants, so we tried a different approach.
Now, we are planting in late summer and early fall. I’m hoping this timing will give the seeds more moisture than they had during our spring planting.
We are also planting a more diverse mixture:
Winter wheat
Fall rye
Field peas
Fava beans
Daikon radish
Plant diversity is helpful because every plant interacts with the soil a little differently. Some grow shallow roots, while others grow deeper. Some provide carbon-rich residue, while legumes help contribute nitrogen. A mixture also gives us a better chance that at least some plants will succeed if the weather does not cooperate.
Daikon Radish: Nature’s Little Tiller
The daikon radish is one of the plants I’m most excited about.
These radishes can send thick roots deep into compacted soil. As the roots grow, they create channels that can improve aeration and allow water to move deeper into the ground.
This is sometimes called biological tillage. Instead of using machinery to break up the soil, we allow plant roots to do the work.
When the radishes die over the winter, those roots will begin to decompose. This leaves behind organic matter and tunnels that future plant roots may be able to use.
The radishes will not magically fix the entire hillside, especially in very dry or compacted areas, but they can help open small pathways through the soil. Over time, repeated root growth and decomposition can improve structure and create better conditions for soil organisms.
Radish residue may also add small amounts of nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and sulfur. However, the exact amount depends on how well the plants grow and what nutrients were already present in the soil.
Field Peas and Fava Beans: Adding Nitrogen
Field peas and fava beans are legumes, which means they can work with soil bacteria to capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it available to plants.
This process happens through nodules on the plant roots. The legumes do not simply “pull nitrogen from the air” on their own—the right bacteria need to be present in the soil.
If the plants are inoculated properly and grow well, legumes can contribute a meaningful amount of nitrogen. Depending on the species, growing conditions, and total plant growth, a cover crop planting might contribute anywhere from roughly 20 to 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre.
Our results may be much lower because the hillside is so dry and nutrient-poor. Still, every healthy root system helps.
The nitrogen is not immediately available just because the plants are growing. Much of it remains in the plant tissue and becomes available as the plants decompose. This is why cutting the plants down at the right time is important.
If the plants are left until they produce mature seed, more of the nitrogen may be moved into the seeds. Cutting them while they are still green and actively growing usually gives us a better chance of returning nutrients to the soil.
As the pea and bean plants die back, they will also contribute organic matter and help cover the soil surface.
Winter Wheat and Fall Rye: Long-Term Soil Builders
The grains will be our long-standing soil builders.
Winter wheat and fall rye can germinate in the fall, grow a little before winter, and then remain dormant during the coldest months. In spring, they should come back to life and begin growing rapidly as the snow melts and temperatures rise.
Fall rye is particularly hardy and can survive very cold conditions—potentially temperatures around -30°C to -40°C when well established and protected by snow. Winter wheat can also tolerate hard freezes, although survival depends on variety, planting time, soil conditions, snow cover, and how well the plants establish before winter.
Their main benefits include:
Extensive root systems
Protection against erosion
Improved soil structure
Increased carbon and organic matter
Weed suppression
Better water infiltration
More habitat for soil organisms
Grains are generally carbon-rich plants. Their stems and roots contain more carbon than legumes, which makes them useful for building soil structure over time.
When the plants are cut down in spring, their residue will remain on the soil surface. We can either mow them, cut them, or use a method called roller-crimping.
Roller-crimping means pressing the plants down and crushing their stems so they form a mulch layer without completely removing them. This can help suppress weeds, reduce evaporation, and protect the soil.
Because our area is small and we do not have specialized equipment, we may need to cut them down by hand or use whatever method is practical for the hillside.
The important thing is to prevent the grains from producing mature seed, as right before the seeds set is when the plant has built up the most amount of stored nutrients in its stocks.
Covering the Seeds
Because we do not have a seeder, we broadcast most of the seeds by hand. This makes it harder to get the seed evenly distributed and properly covered.
To help, we added a layer of straw over the seeds.
The straw should help in several ways:
Reduce evaporation
Protect the seeds from wind
Provide some insulation during temperature changes
Reduce erosion from rain
Hide the seeds from birds and other wildlife
Add carbon as it breaks down
Provide food and shelter for fungi and other decomposers
Over time, though, the straw should become part of the soil’s organic matter. Fungi will begin breaking down the tougher plant material, and other organisms will continue the process.
This Time, We Irrigated
This time, we also decided to irrigate after planting.
That may seem obvious to some people, but working on this hillside takes energy, time, and equipment. During the first round, we were not able to provide as much water as the seeds needed.
Newly planted seeds need consistent moisture to germinate. They do not need to be soaking wet, but they do need the soil around them to stay damp long enough for roots to form.
Thankfully, it rained on and off for the first two days after planting. I’m hoping that continues and gives these seeds a much better chance.
Irrigation will not replace rainfall permanently, but helping the seeds through the first stage may be enough to get them established. Once the plants have stronger roots, they should be better able to handle dry periods.
What I Wish We Could Have Added
There are a few things I wish we had been able to do before planting.
The first is adding a layer of compost or topsoil. Even a thin layer could have given the seeds more nutrients and improved moisture retention at the surface.
Adding one inch of compost over an acre requires approximately 135 cubic yards of material. Even for a much smaller area, that can quickly become expensive and physically difficult to move.
Getting soil to this area is also challenging because access requires going through the neighbours’ property. If we could not find enough suitable soil locally, buying enough would be far beyond our current resources.
So, for now, we chose straw because it was cheaper, easier to spread, and still provided some protection.
In the future, other useful additions might include:
Finished compost
Aged manure
Shredded leaves
Sawdust
Biochar that has been charged with compost or nutrients
Worm castings
Compost tea or microbial inoculants (I do plant on adding this as my body is able)
More locally available organic materials
The most important thing is that any manure or compost is fully finished before being used near plants. Fresh manure can burn plants, contain weed seeds, and create other problems.
The Missing Piece: Animals
Eventually, I would also love to cycle some animals through this system.
Animals are an important part of natural soil regeneration. They eat plants, trample vegetation, disturb the soil surface, and return nutrients through manure and urine.
When managed carefully, animals can help:
Add nitrogen and other nutrients
Increase organic matter
Stimulate new plant growth
Spread seeds
Encourage microbial activity
Break down plant residue
Create small pockets where new plants can establish
The key is management. Too many animals, or leaving them in one place for too long, could make our soil problems worse by compacting the ground and removing too much vegetation.
Chickens would be especially useful one day. They could help scratch through plant residue, eat pests, add manure, and contribute to composting systems.
For now, I’m hoping that some wildlife finds the area appealing and helps us out a little. Until the day we can bring chickens into the system, I’ll be grateful for whatever natural assistance arrives.
A Long-Term Experiment
This hillside will not be transformed by one round of cover crops. It will probably take years of adding organic matter, keeping living roots in the soil, protecting the surface, and slowly building fertility. My husband has given me another full year to see what I can do and if the cover crops are worth it before he starts adding trees, so we will see what we can accomplish in that low amount of time.
The biggest challenge is that everything depends on growth. If the seeds do not germinate, there will not be much biomass to return to the soil. If the plants grow well, we may see better soil protection, improved structure, and a small increase in organic matter.
Either way, this is part of the process.
We are learning what works, what does not, and what this particular piece of land needs. The first round was sparse, but it still taught us something. This time, we improved our seed mixture, added straw, and irrigated.
If the crops establish well, we will cut them down in the spring and allow the plant material to remain on the soil. Then, later in the year, we can plant a third round of cover crops and continue building from there. We will do the third planting around any fruit trees that my husband choses to plant. We will just row plant perennial cover crops instead to do the work year round.
I’m hopeful, excited, and trying to be patient.
This future orchard is going to be a long-term project, but every root, leaf, and handful of organic matter is one small step toward healthier soil.
As always, thank you for following along!
The Chronically Tired Gardener
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