Cover Crop

Every year I add a few more rows of cover crop in the vineyard. A few years ago I chose tepary beans because they are native to southern Arizona as they have been grown for food by the Tohono O'odham nation for generations. They usually need very little water and sprout as soon as the monsoon rains begin. This year the beans came up about 6 weeks late because of the lack of rainfall. I think I will just let them go and see if by disking the seeds back into the ground they will sprout again next year. I will also add a few more rows and hope there is enough rain to grow a proper cover crop. That means letting them grow until they flower. At that time the plants are disked in because it is the time that the nitrogen content is the highest and replenishes the soil. When I have the whole vineyard under cover crop I will be one step closer to my goal of having an organic vineyard.