Cover crop experiment

The problem with starting cover crops is frequently there aren't any open beds until after the first frost. Then after the hurried last harvest and bed cleanup/preparation for cover crops it takes time for them to germinate. Next they need to get a certain amount of growth before the cold and the declining sunlight really kick in.

Last year I started my experiment by digging up topsoil and putting it in a 72 tray flat the started a variety of grasses. This worked out okay but I wanted better this year. This year I started the same way but used about 20 different types of seeds. Clover, grasses, vetches, radish, winter peas etc. I sowed heavily in the little one inch containers. This was about September 10 to 20th. Then I decided to use larger 2x2 inch containers and sowed heavily again. The plants definitely seemed happier in the bigger containers. As the summer crops  started coming out I transplanted the seedlings in. So far everything is looking good. I think going forward I'll use the bigger containers. Certainly not something to do with lots of large beds as it take some time but for my 5 smaller beds it was manageable.