Well, I did it. I actually paid money for some weed seeds, then planted them in my garden...on purpose.
I have to admit, this makes me nervous.
But "the experts" say cover crops can be a great way to help improve your soil. Some of them are nitrogen fixers, helping replace nitrogen that's been depleted by heavy feeders like corn. Some have roots that help break up compacted soil, and the tops of all of them add organic matter as they decompose.
For the first planting, using a hoe, I just loosened up the dirt a bit in the rows where the potatoes and late corn were planted, then scattered some vetch seeds on top. I didn't even try covering them up or anything. I did put the water hose on them that evening and later that night we got a good rain. Hopefully the seeds didn't wash away. I should know in a few days.
But in the really bad part of the garden, I had put down cardboard and straw in a strip about four feet wide. I guess I'll need to move that out of the way first because there really aren't any "rows" there. Maybe all of that can be relocated to the rows where the purple hull peas were planted this year. Grow and learn, right?
I still have some Bermuda grass at the south end of that part of the garden too, so I'll need to take the hoe to that before I plant. After that, I guess I'll just scatter a mix of the two kinds of seeds of that entire area, and use the rake to "settle it in."
I told RAF he isn't going to like cover crops one bit. He's almost obsessive compulsive about keeping the yard neat, and it always bothers him in the spring when the red deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) and henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) start popping up making the yard look uneven and raggedy. I always beg, "Please leave them just a bit longer...they're an important nectar source for insects early in the year and they're not hurting anything...." He growls at me, but he leaves them. He's now been warned that the garden may start to look pretty rough next spring, but he will just have to not look at it until time to kill the cover crops!
I think so long as we cut these down before they set seed, we'll be Ok. But here's hoping I don't regret this decision next summer!
More about cover crops, and specifically vetch and rye:
9/25/2021 Update: While a few of the seeds came up, I guess it was still too dry. So I'll be starting over. This time, though, I'm going to plant the seeds in raised rows. following the method described in this article, How to Create a Simple, Weed-Free, Low-Maintenance Vegetable Garden.