What plants do you use to enrich your soil?

I know legumes add nitrogen to the soil and I also read that the wild white shasta dasies tend to grow in more acidic soils slowing adding lime back into the soil and then they die once the soil has been restored.

I've heard winter wheat is a good choice as a winter cover crop. Some refer to it as green manure.

Not plants, but i knew an old guy who would till in sawdust in the fall. He had the fluffiest blackest soil, in an area of Virginia that had heavy red clay soil. His veg patch could be seen from the road, and it was always gorgeous.

Hairy vetch is supposed to be a great cover crop and also good to grow with your tomatoes. I've never tried it, but have seen pics somewhere online showing growth in a patch after the vetch was grown and turned in and without. It was pretty amazing.

clovers are also supposed to be a good choice. they are known to be a good choice for planting with cauliflower. I've never grown cauliflower

I have LOTS of clover growing in my yard. It's not so great for the grass.

Yeah, grass is over-rated, don't you think? hahaha I guess you can tell by the picture of my house, I think it is!

Yesterday we spent the day digging up mint from the yard... it was taking over!

I'm sure it's not the last I have seen of it either.

I will NEVER plant mint in the ground again!

I've heard the best way to grow mint is in a hanging basket. I'm going to try that this year. DH babied some mint that he brought back from his mom's in TN last spring all summer. It's now growing out the bottom of the container! (It spent last summer on the concrete patio!)

I have a friend you put some mint in her front garden and it pushed up through the ashphalt driveway!
I have some chocolate mint in a pot and it has come back. I keep it on the patio too........don't want it coming through the drainage hole....

wildflowers said:Yeah, grass is over-rated, don't you think? hahaha I guess you can tell by the picture

I sow clover in the bare patches and weed patches of my lawn. As far as I've learned with my reading of things, the only good thing my zoysia grass does for me is make the yard "pretty." I'd rather have a yard that helps the native critters.

Dandelions, lambs quarters, comfrey and borage are all dynamic accumulators. Chop them down and leave them on your beds or put them in your compost. They take up many nutrients from the soil and release them when they decompose.

I knew Dandelion and Comfrey were good mineral accumulators.but did not know lambs quarters and borage were also.
Thanks.
I am going to start some comfrey seeds soon.

In my recent podcast at permaculturevoices.com I talked about many of these plants. Lamb's Quarters is one of our favorites. It has so many uses!!

I haven't looked into perfmaculture very much but it seems like a new approach to the old fashioned way of doing things. All good.

Dave, I'm looking forward to checking out your podcast on that website you mentioned above.

On another note, I think I'm in the minority when I say that I wish I could find some Lamb's Quarters and common dandelions growing around here! haven't seen any! It will be good in the compost but also good in my belly. LOL! I plan to grow some but just haven't gotten around to it yet. I also plan to grow Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioeca), which is also supposed to be very good added to compost.

I do grow comfrey. Comfrey breaks down fast and seems to help the compost heap decompose more quickly.

Winter Wheat is a great choice! It's super cheap seed you can get from your local universities and ours sells a 50 lbs bag for next to nothing, let me know if you are interested and I can get you some!

My son wants to plant stinging nettle. I was concerned, but maybe I shouldn't be? Isn't it invasive?

I'm not sure about whether or not stinging nettle is invasive. It's probably considered a weed to many and one plant found might be considered invasive. As the name implies, the plant will sting you when touched.

BUT it has lots of useful qualities. The nutritious young leaves can be steamed to deactivate the sting. I've never tried it but have heard its' delicious. It also has a long history of effective medicinal uses.

I would love to grow the plant for any one of its benefits.

wildflowers said:I'm not sure about whether or not stinging nettle is invasive. It's probably considered a weed to many and one plant found might be considered invasive. As the name implies, the plant will sting you when touched.

BUT it has lots of useful qualities. The nutritious young leaves can be steamed to deactivate the sting. I've never tried it but have heard its' delicious. It also has a long history of effective medicinal uses.

I would love to grow the plant for any one of its benefits.

PM your address and I'll pop a package to you. Mine were purchased from Johnny's Selected Seeds. Claud

Oh what a nice surprise, Claud!
Thank you.