in the dirt, tools, urban plot

Backyard update

Posted on by annabel
01
Aug

In early July we plowed a portion of our back lawn and planted a cover crop of buckwheat. It grew magnificently, making a nice canopy over the ground crowding out most of the weeds (with the exception of persistent purslane…argh). Last weekend it started to flower, so we tilled it under. In another week we will plant another stand of buckwheat. Learn more about the benefits of this cover crop here.

The buckwheat was at least a foot tall by the time we tilled it in.
The buckwheat was at least a foot tall by the time we tilled it in. You can see the nice canopy even in this area that wasn’t thickly seeded.
Half of it tilled under.
Half of it tilled under.
Final product. The soil looks awesome!
Final product. The soil looks awesome!