The Leafy Vegetable You Should Plant In The Fall To Prep Your Spring Garden

After the hustle and bustle of spring and summer, it can be easy to lapse on garden care in the fall. Your perennials have turned, and your summer crops have been harvested, leaving you with a whole load of empty space. But instead of forgetting about it until the springtime, you can grow vegetables that will thrive in your winter garden. Opting for cover crops in the winter months allows you to keep your soil healthy and prep it for spring. Plus, you get edible greens that you can add to your favorite salads! One great vegetable to plant in the fall is mustard (Brassica juncea). 

Quick to grow, mustard has many benefits for the health of your garden. Its large root mass helps your soil avoid compaction, meaning your spring crops will find it easier to settle in once they get started. Mustard is also fantastic for nitrogen scavenging, which improves the overall health of your soil. The roots trap nitrogen that is in the soil and then release it later on. As nitrogen can leak out of the soil over time, this process can be extremely beneficial to later crops you plant in the area.

Another area of soil health that mustard may assist with is pest management. Although investigation into this is fairly new, researchers have explored mustard's biofumigant characteristics. This refers to the high amount of glucosinolate it contains being released into the soil. This glucosinolate can suppress soil-borne pests and work as a natural pest control in your yard. 

To grow mustard in the fall, ensure that the soil is free from any weeds that may have cropped up in the warmer months. You may find plant matter residue from your summer crop, such as dried stalks or plants. You can mix these into the soil to return the organic matter into the ground, leave them on the surface, or place them in your compost. Testing your soil and amending it with compost will also help your mustard plants thrive in the fall. 

Once you have prepared your soil for successful planting, directly sow your mustard seeds into the garden bed. This should be done at the right time so that your mustard reaches maturity two or three weeks after the first fall frost. So check the mustard cultivar you have, and plan accordingly. Sow them in rows with 3 inches of space between each seed, and push them half an inch into the soil. Water your mustard seeds regularly, and soon you will see seedlings crop up. You may wish to place some mulch around them to help with moisture retention. 

Your mustard plants will grow rapidly when they get going, promoting good soil health and keeping weeds at bay. However, make sure you don't let them go to seed, as this may mean they become weeds in your spring and summer crops. Once temperatures go below 25 degrees Fahrenheit, your mustard will die, break down, and enrich your soil with organic matter. When spring comes around, your soil will be ready for a great growing season.