This year, I hope that I can cover crop not just my soul, but the soil as well. The soil on the new farm has really fantastic texture. It is very sandy and has very little clay which is great for veggies. On the other hand the organic matter is very low at 1% and the pH is extraordinarily low at 5.2. This is due to years of conventional farming. Applying chemical fertilizers has two major unwanted side effects. It "burns up" the organic matter in the soil and also drives the pH down. The organic matter is what supports healthy soil microorganisms and regulates moisture levels, and a proper pH (should be 6.5 or so) allows complete nutrient availability for the crops.
Raising the pH is the first priority. All that requires is ground limestone and time. I called my local lime company (Root Lime) and had them bring a spreader truck with 15 tons of lime to spread on 10 acres of the farm. The lime will react chemically with the soil over the next year to bring the pH up to around 6.5.
I decided that Cowpeas would be the best choice for my first round of cover crops. They grow very well in Oklahoma in all kinds of weather conditions, they establish quickly, and compete well with weeds. Most importantly, they are legumes and will fix nitrogen into the soil for the next crop. They are a very beneficial cover crop. I wasn't sure if I would be able to find the seed in significant quantity but the mill in Stillwater fortunately had them in 50# sacks and they weren't too expensive either. I had some old wheat seed around and mixed that in too. Hopefully it will come up and not try to set seed before the cowpeas are ready.
-Don
