Everyone needs a vacation to recover from all the work of the previous season. Students get the summer to enjoy some R & R (rest and relaxation), so it is only fair to start planning a period of inactivity during the coming months.
In commercial agriculture farmers will leave fields vacant or fallow for a season. This allows for some natural regeneration of the soil’s nutrients, along with time to plan future activities. Even the vegetable garden needs a renewing break which can refresh its attributes.
The autumn is a good opportunity to accomplish this. One can use the accumulating yard waste to improve the performance profile of the home garden. Leaves tilled into the garden plot improve the water holding capacity through the addition of organic matter.
The leaves also attract earthworms by providing them an inviting environment from two perspectives. The first is ample moisture and the second is organic matter to consume for growth and reproduction.
Crimson clover is simple to grow in the home garden, and the seeds are inexpensive. Turning the plant into the soil improves water holding capacity and reduces the need for supplemental fertilizer.
The earthworms and bacteria which break down the leaves add nutrients to the soil. The decay and waste materials all make major and minor elements available for the vegetables which will be planted in spring.
A “winter cover crop” is another means of revitalizing and improving the uncultivated garden spot. Alas, the tried-and-true summer cover crops will not grow long enough this time of year, even in panhandle Florida’s relatively mild winters.
However, for a minority of plants, the lower temperatures and short days create the ideal environment to sprout, bloom and produce foliage.
Crimson clover is a cold season annual commonly seen during wintertime in north Florida. The delicate appearing leaves remain viable even under a coat of sparkling frost and never wilt.
Crimson clover is usually recognized by its bright red blooms in the spring. The slow growing annual legume is usually planted in mid-September to mid-October.
Three clover leaves per stem is the most common structure on this dense growing legume. Persistent searching will reveal the infrequent four-leaf clover for the lucky individual.
This European native is sown now and germinates in autumn. It has a slow, steady growth pattern which lets it escape notice until after Christmas. The plants will appear as clumps of green leaves in gardens, pastures and road shoulders.
The distinctive red blooms appear in spring and are an early season nectar source for European honeybees. The scientific name, Trifolium incarnatum, references the “blood red” bloom color which produces a striking vista when mass plantings occur.
Crimson clover is commonly seeded on roadsides to stabilize the soil and add organic matter. This annual legume will reseed itself when conditions are right.
A generation or two ago, crimson clover was referred to as green manure in agricultural circles. This common legume was tilled in before it reached bloom stage to add organic matter and nutrients, including nitrogen, to the soil.
Commercial fertilizers have mostly replaced this practice for adding nutrients, but they do nothing for the organic content of soils. This “old school” soil improvement technique is still valid today, and the clover seeds are usually inexpensive, even by today’s standards.
Once rested and refreshed, the garden is ready for renewed production when the weather warms in the spring of 2023, and hopefully, so is the gardener.
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