Little Forests Newsletter: The Cover Cropping Edition

Happy Mkwa Giizis (Bear Moon)! Bears typically have their cubs around this time of year, which is why the moon is called Bear Moon. When Mkwa Giizis appears in the sky, she reminds us of the importance of connections between generations and passing down knowledge. Mkwa Giizis is the name for this moon in the Eastern Ojibwe dialect, although it can also be called Naaban Giizis (Crust-on-the-Snow Moon).

Enriching Soil through Cover Cropping 

Finally! The long-awaited cover-cropping article is here :) I hope you’re as excited as I am to learn how it works.

What is Cover Cropping?

Cover cropping protects and improves the health of the soil, enriching it so that it can support Forests. The term is most often used in reference to agriculture, where farmers will plant a cover crop during the time of year that their “cash crop” (terrible name, I know) isn’t growing, although sometimes cover cropping can also use perennial plants. Conventional agricultural practices, those most common in North America, tend to be very resource-intensive; they leave the soil bare for large parts of the year when crops are not growing, leading to erosion, and they involve planting crops that need a lot of nutrients (such as nitrogen) to grow. Farmers try to address this by applying incomplete amendments like fertilisers, but this is a band-aid solution that is both harmful for the environment and doesn’t really solve the problem.

Enter cover cropping. The practice was originally used to prevent the erosion of the rich topsoil by “covering” it with plants - hence the name "cover crops”! But because plants are so amazingly good at what they do, cover cropping comes with a whole host of other benefits, including:

• Increasing the amount of nutrients in the soil

• Improving water retention

• Keeping weeds in check

• Reducing soil compaction

• Supporting biodiversity

Studies have also found that cover crops increase the diversity of their microbiomes. This means that more microorganisms live in cover cropped soil, performing their crucial roles in balancing ecosystems, such as cycling nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.

What Cover Crops are there?

We really ought to give them a better name. Maybe “Supporter Plants” or “Soil Guardians”. I like “Supporter Plants” so let’s go with that.

Farmers use a lot of different Supporter Plants. Many of them are cereals, such as ryes or wheats, or in the faboideae family, such as clovers and peas. The government of BC has a list of 23 species of plants and a description of what kinds of benefits they can provide for the soil - all tabulated for your convenience! It’s super interesting to read through, so I highly recommend taking a peek :)

How to Cover Crop

1. Plant a polyculture (mix) of seeds to promote functional biodiversity; each plant can play their own role in enriching the soil, providing lots of benefits at once.

2. Watch the supporter plants work their magic! 

3. The plants may die over the winter, but if they do not, mow them or find another way to “terminate” them, such as by using a roller-crimper, which flattens the plants and helps to break down the plants’ stems. Do NOT use herbicides. Consider collecting their seeds to express your gratitude for their help - you can use them for future cover cropping projects.

4. Plant a Little Forest, Pocket Forest, Food Forest, or Vegetable Garden. Cover cropping is mostly useful for “intensive” plants that need lots of nutrients to grow.

It’s as easy as that! Please show these amazing plants your appreciation for all their hard work. If you’d like a more detailed explanation of how to do your own cover cropping, check out this article from the 1000 Islands Master Gardeners.

Replicating Natural Ecosystem Progressions Through Cover Cropping 

Cover cropping follows the principles of syntropic agriculture, where plants are charged with managing the ecosystem’s health as a whole. Syntropic agriculture involves considering what our role is in our ecosystem. Dario Cortese, the author of this article on syntropic agriculture, writes that:

“By engaging in this strategy [of syntropic agriculture], humans reclaim their role as large mammals, whose function is mobilising and cycling organic matter by interacting with a multitude of trophic levels [(i.e. different stages of ecological succession)] within the ecosystem. This has two consequences. Firstly, the humble recognition that we are not the only intelligent component of a mechanical system, but we are part of a system that is itself intelligent. Secondly, the development of a series of techniques that leverage the spontaneous character of ecological processes.”

Cover cropping fits perfectly into this description; by planting supporter plants, we're effectively starting a new sequence of ecological succession, where an oligotrophic environment (one with relatively few nutrients) begins its progression towards a mesotrophic, and eventually, a eutrophic environment (one with lots of nutrients). Eutrophic land environments are those which we try to create with Little Forests - nutrient-dense, living, vibrant communities of Plants, Microbes, and all sorts of other Beings.

At this point, you might be asking yourself, “If eutrophic environments are full of nutrients, then why is river/lake eutrophication bad?” The problem isn't with the eutrophication itself - in fact, it’s a natural process that occurs over a long period of time. We’re concerned about eutrophication in water bodies because the process is being accelerated by human activities, such as the use of fertilisers; our Earthly Kin who are living in bodies of water aren’t given enough time to adapt to the eutrophication of their habitat, and as a result, either lose their homes or die from lack of oxygen.

Our Cover Cropping Project

If you read our Little Forest planting recap from last November, you may recall that we asked Supporter Plants for their help with the Firefly Garden and Forest, next to the KFPL Central Branch library. When we first visited the site, we found that the soil was very compacted, and it was also dominated by weeds. To deal with this, we planted two supporter plant species: red clover and annual ryegrass. Referring to the government of BC’s table, you’ll find that:

• Red clover is very effective at reducing soil compaction and restoring organic matter

• Annual ryegrass is a jack-of-all-trades, but is especially good at protecting nitrogen loss, restoring organic matter, and suppressing weeds

If you do a little more research, you’ll notice that neither of these species are native to Canada - something which we wouldn’t choose for a Little Forest or Pocket Forest. However, since these are Supporter Plants, they will only be around for a little while - once the forest starts growing, they will be replaced by native plants. Plus, neither is particularly aggressive or invasive, so we’re not worried that they will harm any of our native Earthly Kin.

Although we have yet to see the final product, we were really excited by what the Supporter Plants achieved! They were able to keep the weeds down very well, and hopefully the soil quality will have improved a lot as well. Many sites that could use a Little Forest or Pocket Forest are difficult to plant on due to the low quality of the soil or excessive compaction, so we hope that Supporter Plants will be able to help us handle these challenging cases!

On the other hand, there are lots of native species that thrive on tough soil conditions - especially native grasses and other low-growing plants. If you don’t have the space for a Pocket Forest, and your soil is nutrient-poor, consider planting a Pocket Meadow instead! You have the opportunity to kick off a new sequence of ecological succession, and support many of your Earthly Kin (insects, birds, small mammals, and so many more) in the process!

The City’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan

The City of Kingston is currently in the process of preparing its Climate Change Adaptation Plan, and we're one of the partner organisations! The plan aims to collect residents’ concerns about climate change and the impacts that it could have on our communities and our homes. The City wants to use this information to develop plans and strategies that will counter these negative effects and promote a healthy and happy city.

The project is currently in its second consultation phase, with open discussion threads on the website where you can give the city feedback on the proposed adaptation strategies. There are many actions listed on the website, but here are a few that we’d like to highlight:

• Develop an urban tree canopy strategy and policies to preserve and enhance Kingston's urban canopy.

• Monitor all local ecosystems and implement measures to preserve and enhance Kingston's natural assets and essential ecosystems.

• Support the agricultural community in adapting climate resilient practices, enhancing soil health and implementing regenerative farming methods where feasible.

• Develop a comprehensive 'Heat Plan' that outlines short and long term strategies.

• Incorporate nature-based solutions (e.g, green infrastructure and rain gardens) to enhance stormwater management in urban areas and reduce flood risks.

To contribute to the conversation, visit Get Involved Kingston and let them know what you think! 

Pocket Meadows for Insects and Birds

Pocket Meadows are similar to Pocket Forests, but have shorter plants like goldenrod, asters, sedges, and dogwoods. While we love Pocket Forests for all the benefits they bring, Pocket Meadows are just as important and provide a critical habitat for insects and birds alike. They are also significant food sources.

When designing a Pocket Meadow, select plants that occupy their own niches in time (plants that bloom at different times of the year) and in space (plants that grow to different heights, and therefore support different pollinators/birds). Joyce made a detailed blog post on this topic, so if you’d like to learn more, you can find it on our website! The 1000 Islands Master Gardeners are also planning to hold a webinar on February 27th, so subscribe to their newsletter if you’d like to find out more. In any case, if you like this newsletter you will definitely like theirs too :)