Fall is a magical time of year on farms such as the UW Farm – the work of summer (primarily harvest) crescendoes and then finally begins to wane. With our final storage crops making their way onto our shelves and our hardy greens slowing down for limited winter growth, our work shifts towards preparing our fields for winter. This time of year has held great depth of meaning in agricultural societies for millennia. In my own Irish heritage, my pre-Christian ancestors marked the end of the year through the festival of Samhain – a celebration marking the end of the harvest season when all crops had been stored for winter. This festival also marked the beginning of the dark half of the new year. It was believed that the dark months, when the underworld lapped at our plane of reality, was an essential precursor for the lighter months of growth and abundance. Samhain, celebrated on October 31st, is the ancient root of our modern day celebration of Halloween.
It just so happens that Halloween was an important marker for us at the UW Farm, and likely many farms in our growing region, for another reason. We set ourselves the goal of flipping as many of our empty beds into cover crop as possible by the end of October. This timing is important as to allow cover crops time to establish before frost conditions make germination and early growth difficult.
Planting cover crops is one of the primary ways we prepare our annual vegetable fields for winter. It is quite a herculean effort – taking out the summer crop, clearing weeds, removing irrigation & weed barrier fabrics, cleaning and storing these materials for the winter, reshaping the beds & finally seeding cover crop and incorporating it into the soil. In September, as my mind started to shift towards the coming work of preparing for winter, I felt the work ahead of us was insurmountable. However, I had neglected to account for the beginning of a new academic year and the hordes of students who would be interacting with the farm through their course work this autumn!
Thanks to these groups of hardworking and eager students, we’re well on our way to putting the farm to bed for the winter. One such student, after completing not one, but two, 5-credit on-farm courses over the summer (ENVIR 240, the Urban Farm & ENVIR 295, Farm Practicum) has taken the initiative to further pursue work on the farm through an internship this quarter. This student chose to make cover-cropping the focus of his internship experience. Oh joy! I eagerly volunteered to be his mentor and together we are reading texts on cover cropping, leading the charge to seed the farm for the winter and thinking through how the UW Farm might improve its cover cropping system. This article is an initial look at cover cropping. Look forward to hearing reflections from our cover crop intern later in the quarter!
We are reading selections from “Green Manuring, Principles and Practice” by Adrian J. Pieters (1927), recommended by Dr. Eli Wheat, farmer and professor in the Program on the Environment here at UW. Though written nearly a century ago, I am struck by the book’s relevance. Writing in a pre-green revolution era, Pieters and his peers express a respect and reverence for the laws of nature that fell near completely to the way-side in conventional agriculture during the era of synthetically derived nitrogen fertilizers and increasingly large-scale fossil fuel powered machinery. Pieters wrote,
"While man is powerless to affect in any way the laws of nature, he can, by taking thought of the processes going on, so adapt his own practices as to benefit by those natural processes that are useful and avoid in a measure those that are harmful to his crop plants." P.6
This book is dedicated to detailing the practice of "green manuring" as a means to naturally increase the fertility of the soil by feeding soil microorganisms more organic matter. These ideas did not originated with Pieters, as is expressed in his “History of Green Manuring” chapter, yet this mainstream focus on soil health from a century ago is pretty remarkable given how far we strayed from this wisdom throughout the green revolution era and in the decades since. For hundreds of years there have consistently been farmers and agricultural researches focused on soil health and uplifting the wisdom of practices such as cover cropping, yet as recently as 2018, cover cropping was utilized on less than 5% of cropland in the United States (NRDC, 2018)
‘Cover cropping’ and ‘green manuring’ are two mostly synonymous terms which don’t fully express their own purpose. According to Pieters, green manuring can be specifically defined as “the turning under of a green crop, for the enrichment of the soil” (p. 4). Whereas, the term cover crop, “was first used by Prof. L. H. Bailey to designate a crop especially planted to cover the ground in winter and to serve as a protection to the roots of trees. When such a cover crop is rye, or clover, and is turned under in spring, it becomes a green-manure crop” (p. 4).
We see here that the crop is providing a much greater function than to simply ‘cover’ the ground. During parts of the year when farmers are not growing production crops in a particular field, leaving the field entirely unplanted leaves the soil susceptible to erosion and leaching of nutrients. In this way, cover crops are soil holders, sending out their root systems to stabilize our precious growing substrate through the winter months. In the springtime, after cover crops have grown tall and produced much biomass, farmers will mow down this vegetation and either leave it to decompose under a silage tarp or till it into the soil, thus adding a great deal of precious organic matter to the soil.
'Cover crop’ might be better referred to as ‘soil crop’. After growing one crop for our own human purposes, cover crops are entirely left for the soil ecosystem, brimming with billions of life forms ready to devour such organic materials. This decomposition of organic materials by microorganisms is one process through which essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are made available to plant roots. Soil microorganisms actually pass along essential nutrients to plant roots in exchange for the carbon exudates that roots send into the soil.
So, how does one choose what crops are best for the soil? Like everything relating to life, diversity is important. Having a cover crop mixture will add more benefit to the soil than growing any one plant in particular. In our cover crop mix this season we have over ten species including cereal ryegrass, annual ryegrass, barley, Dutch white clover, crimson clover, hairy vetch, Austrian winter pea, Diana fava bean, Windsor fava bean, phacelia & daikon radish. Each of these plants will form distinctive rooting structures, allowing for biological soil aeration and root/microorganism interactions at varying soil depths. Daikon radish has a long deep tap root that will help prevent soil compaction. Rye grasses are particularly strong biomass generators and form strong lateral rooting structures. Several species in our mix are members of the Fabaceae plant family (clovers, peas, vetches & beans) which share a special relationship with soil bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen into a plant available form in the soil. Phacelia is a native pollinator-attracting flower that may bloom in the spring before mowing. As with a healthy human diet, soil life thrives on diversity.
As we were mixing our cover crop seed blend a few weeks ago, I lifted a heaping plate of seeds up to closely examine the concoction. I was struck by what a hearty and delicious meal the plate of seed appeared to be – grains, beans, peas and seeds. I felt I could cook it all up and nourish myself on it happily. Reading Pieters later, I learned:
"Almost without exception, the first recorded use of such crops is as forage or as human food. Only secondarily did they become soil improving crops. For the most part, the history of our agricultural crops is lost in obscurity; but when alfalfa, clover, cowpeas, soybeans, peas, rye, and other forage and food crops are first heard of, it is in respect to their use as food for man or beast." (p. 13)
In some way, this knowledge has made the practice of seeding these crops for the soil ever more meaningful to me. Like my Irish pagan ancestors who made sacrifices of food to their gods as part of the seasonal festival of Samhain, I feel we are duly respecting the powerful yet invisible beings in our soil by feeding them a hearty blend of crops which could be food to our bodies if we chose to take it. There is wisdom held in my ancestral lore, and that wisdom is upheld by western science – humans would be destitute without the ecosystems we’re embedded in, so we had better pay respect to the unseen forces which feed us.
8 ounces of tofu, vegan chicken/sausage, or protein of choice (Optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
Steps:
Pie Crust
Make sure your vegan butter and shortening are very cold before starting. Refrigerate along with the shortening for at least 30 minutes.
Add flour, sugar and salt to food processor with the "S" blade. Pulse a few times to combine.
Add cold vegan butter and shortening. Process for about 10 seconds, until it looks like a coarse meal (see photos above for reference).
Now while the food processor is running, drizzle in 3 tablespoons of ice cold water. When it begins to clump together, stop. You may need to add 1 more tablespoon ice water for it to come together.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Avoid using your hands too much or it will warm the dough, which will make your pie crust less flaky and light.
Roll the dough with a rolling pin to about a 12 inch circle, and transfer to a pie plate. I usually wrap it gently around my rolling pin and then carefully transfer it. Don't panic if it's not perfect, you can fix it in the pie plate!
Gently push the pie crust all around the dish, trimming off any excess and replacing any spots that need repair.
It's now ready to use immediately, or refrigerate until you are ready to use. Simply double the recipe for 2 pie crusts (top and bottom).
Pot Pie Filling:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and saute until onion is translucent, 1-2 minutes.
Whisk in the flour, vegetable broth and unsweetened almond milk. Then add the mixed vegetables, potato and vegan chicken or tofu, if using. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Pour the filling into the pie crust lined pan. Roll out the other pie crust on a lightly floured surface, and carefully cover the pie with it. Trim any overhang, and seal the edges with a fork or your fingers. Cut a few slits in the middle of the top crust.
Bake for 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cut, serve and enjoy!
The UW Farm donates regularly to the UW Food Pantry. During peak season we also donate to nearby food banks. The links below are resources to help you or someone you know with food access.
Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm online
The Weekly Dirt is produced once a week by the University of Washington Farm, a program of the UW Botanic Gardens, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment. It is published nearly year-round for educational purposes and the majority of the content is written or contributed by students and farm staff.
This issue's contributors:
Managing Editor: Althea Ericksen, UW Farm Intern, Communications Coordinator
Around the Farm: Aisling Doyle Wade, UW Farm Production Manager Contributing Editors: Perry Acworth, Farm Manager; Siffre Tooth, UW Farm Food Security Lead '23-24 Photo Credits: Siffre Tooth. Other photos retrieved from the internet and noted in sections
We are reading selections from “Green Manuring, Principles and Practice” by Adrian J. Pieters (1927), recommended by Dr. Eli Wheat, farmer and professor in the Program on the Environment here at UW. Though written nearly a century ago, I am struck by the book’s relevance. Writing in a pre-green revolution era, Pieters and his peers express a respect and reverence for the laws of nature that fell near completely to the way-side in conventional agriculture during the era of synthetically derived nitrogen fertilizers and increasingly large-scale fossil fuel powered machinery. Pieters wrote,
We see here that the crop is providing a much greater function than to simply ‘cover’ the ground. During parts of the year when farmers are not growing production crops in a particular field, leaving the field entirely unplanted leaves the soil susceptible to erosion and leaching of nutrients. In this way, cover crops are soil holders, sending out their root systems to stabilize our precious growing substrate through the winter months. In the springtime, after cover crops have grown tall and produced much biomass, farmers will mow down this vegetation and either leave it to decompose under a silage tarp or till it into the soil, thus adding a great deal of precious organic matter to the soil. 
So, how does one choose what crops are best for the soil? Like everything relating to life, diversity is important. Having a cover crop mixture will add more benefit to the soil than growing any one plant in particular. In our cover crop mix this season we have over ten species including cereal ryegrass, annual ryegrass, barley, Dutch white clover, crimson clover, hairy vetch, Austrian winter pea, Diana fava bean, Windsor fava bean, phacelia & daikon radish. Each of these plants will form distinctive rooting structures, allowing for biological soil aeration and root/microorganism interactions at varying soil depths. Daikon radish has a long deep tap root that will help prevent soil compaction. Rye grasses are particularly strong biomass generators and form strong lateral rooting structures. Several species in our mix are members of the Fabaceae plant family (clovers, peas, vetches & beans) which share a special relationship with soil bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen into a plant available form in the soil. Phacelia is a native pollinator-attracting flower that may bloom in the spring before mowing. As with a healthy human diet, soil life thrives on diversity. 
As we were mixing our cover crop seed blend a few weeks ago, I lifted a heaping plate of seeds up to closely examine the concoction. I was struck by what a hearty and delicious meal the plate of seed appeared to be – grains, beans, peas and seeds. I felt I could cook it all up and nourish myself on it happily. Reading Pieters later, I learned:
