I recently dug up a 25x20' plot in my backyard where I made 4 beds that are 4'x20' long, adding compost and amendments for my terrible backyard soil. I decided to start them off with cover crops to build the soil biome. Let me know what you all think and if there are any crops you find to work best in this south Texas soil. I currently have tried the following. Buckwheat/Sunhemp combo, Tillage Radish, Field Pea, and recently just put in Winter Wheat in the last bed. I have a few videos but since im a new user, they won't let me post those. After that restriction gets lifted I can post here if you all are interested. It shows the process and what I did with each. Would love feedback as Im still learning all of this.

It sounds like an interesting experiment. I hope you do post the results

Sun hemp isn't going to survive being frosted...
Good for summer cover... grows tall!
I'm not sure about "field pea" either. DO you mean cow pea / summer pea?
Really doubt winter planting is appropriate. Fava beans / broad beans are the correct autumn plant...
Suggest turnip / collards / kale...
Wheat should be fine... I often plant annual poppies as cover...

Looking forward to pictures...

How about clover?

stone said: Sun hemp isn't going to survive being frosted...
Good for summer cover... grows tall!
I'm not sure about "field pea" either. DO you mean cow pea / summer pea?
Really doubt winter planting is appropriate. Fava beans / broad beans are the correct autumn plant...
Suggest turnip / collards / kale...
Wheat should be fine... I often plant annual poppies as cover...

Looking forward to pictures...

Oh, the sun hemp was in the summer. I already finished that bed. I chopped and dropped that around September I believe.

The tillage reddish just recently was chopped and dropped.

the southern peas were harvested, and then chopped and dropped about 2 weeks ago.

Time for a winter cover - like clover.

porkpal said: Time for a winter cover - like clover.

Yes I plan on putting clover in at one point for sure! I have a few lbs of crimson clover seed already. Thank you!

I did some vetch once, that was cool. As I recall, it died naturally with frost and so mulched the area nicely against winter weeds (henbit, lamium, chickweed) But check me about that, I don't take notes. Easy to chop up too.
I tried winter wheat and if I didn't chop it soon enough, it got pretty tough to cut or dig.

Vetch can be a real plague here...

Around here... vetch is a winter annual...
Sets a ton of seed in the Spring and dies...

Not a problem if you are only trying to grow a hot weather garden...

I try to encourage nitrogen fixing plants... so... having a bunch of vetch seedlings? not something I'd complain about.

sallyg said: I did some vetch once, that was cool. As I recall, it died naturally with frost and so mulched the area nicely against winter weeds (henbit, lamium, chickweed) But check me about that, I don't take notes. Easy to chop up too.
I tried winter wheat and if I didn't chop it soon enough, it got pretty tough to cut or dig.

Im honestly not sure we get hard enough freezes to kill off Vetch here. Im in South Texas, some years it does get below freezing, but many years it hovers in that 32 range...

stone said: Around here... vetch is a winter annual...
Sets a ton of seed in the Spring and dies...

Not a problem if you are only trying to grow a hot weather garden...

I try to encourage nitrogen fixing plants... so... having a bunch of vetch seedlings? not something I'd complain about.

So you let it go to seed in the Spring? Do you have a problem with them popping up in the summer while you're trying to grow your plants?

@shawnstve Where are you located? Here in S.E. Texas, it only comes up in winter and dies in the spring as soon as it gets hot.

shawnstve said: So you let it go to seed in the Spring? Do you have a problem with them popping up in the summer while you're trying to grow your plants?

Winter annual means that it grows in the winter.
You might find a more commonly used term to be "cool season annual".
Too hot around here for vetch in the summer.
Cool season plants don't grow in the heat.
For example... Irish taters and snow peas...

stone said: Winter annual means that it grows in the winter.
You might find a more commonly used term to be "cool season annual".
Too hot around here for vetch in the summer.
Cool season plants don't grow in the heat.
For example... Irish taters and snow peas...

Ok great, thanks for the info! so do you have trouble with it popping back up the following winter at all? I do like growing some winter veggies also, like carrots, onions and cabbage...

Winter annuals do tend to pop back up each winter.

shawnstve said: Ok great, thanks for the info! so do you have trouble with it popping back up the following winter at all?

No trouble, vetch comes back fine.
As for growing winter veggies, vetch is fine leaved enough and sparsely growing enough that it isn't a real problem...

Now... the time that I grew winter rye... allowing that stuff to set seed... makes growing anything else difficult...

Winter rye has such thick growth, thick roots... just try pulling it without also dislodging the other stuff!