Hey all,
I've done a lot of moving around in the last ten years, and this will be the first year I will have a garden in the same spot for two consecutive seasons. I have a pretty big space now (for me!)- it's 20' x 70'. I would like to do some winter gardening, but would like to cover the other 1/3 or so of the garden with a cover crop. I would love a nitrogen fixer, and one that matures fairly quickly as I would like to begin working that soil around the first of March. Also, I am in zone 8.

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi, I'm also in zone 8. Check out this bulletin from Clemson Extension: http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1252.htm

Hope it helps!

I planted vetch last fall with great success! It was ready to till under in March.

Hmm, very interesting- thanks! I was going to plant some fava beans anyway, so maybe I'll try some extra. And thanks for the vetch suggestion.
I appreciate it!

To get the full benefit of the vetch's nitrogen fixing capacities you will need an innoculant.

By the way, I interplanted hairy vetch among my tomatoes. Wow, what a good deal. Very little fertilizer needed for my tomatoes and no weeding and all I have to do is chop it down and mulch this fall. Too easy.

Good Luck

You can also do a mixture of vetch and rye or alfalfa.

Here's a couple of links about that:

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:6ZD3K6canB8J:www.ppi...plant+nutrient&hl=en

Sustainable farming connection:

http://www.ibiblio.org/farming-connection/covercro/groff/coverman.htm

At this site search for clover (any category) or vetch and there are good descriptions about height and growth habits. Some are very tall and create a lot of shade, which is fine, but you need to pull the tops off, usually by hand.

http://www.groworganic.com/search.html

I particularly like purple vetch, the deer don't eat it, and it has a lovely flower.

Also, if you want a nice, very low clover cover, birdsfoot trefoil is nice. It stays at about 4" and as long as it gets rain or sprinkler every 4 days or so, mine is still blooming into August without signs of stopping.

If you don't mix the cover crop with a non legume you may not get any extra nitrogen. If there is already enough nitrogen in the soil the rhizobia bacteria wont work.