Learning the Land: Cover Cropping with Vince Caruso
/Farmer Vince Caruso standing in one of his fields.
What does six-foot tall rye mean to you? For Vince Caruso of Caruso Farms, it means experimenting with cover crops.
Caruso Farms is a 12-acre family farm outside of Snohomish where Vince and his team successfully grow a variety of vegetables—such as zucchini, peppers, broccoli, garlic, and potatoes—as well as melons and berries, all without the use of pesticides. To achieve bountiful and tasty results, Vince focuses on taking care of the land he farms, using tried and true methods to improve soil fertility and health with practices such as crop rotation, soil amendments (compost, manure, and biochar), reduced tillage, water conservation, and cover cropping.
“I love figuring out the mechanical part of [soil health],” Vince shared with us.
What does healthy soil look like, you ask? Essential elements of healthy soil include good drainage, robust nutrients, and beneficial bugs.
Resource Planner Chase O'Neil stands beside tall rye and vetch.
Cover cropping is a great tool for building and maintaining healthy soil, and reducing reliance on pesticides and fertilizers. Cover crops are plants grown in between cycles of cash crops, and have multiple benefits and uses. They can be tilled into soil, adding organic matter and nutrients, or simply cut down before planting the next crop. Cover crops can also improve soil structure, break up pest and disease cycles, act as a weed suppressant, and reduce topsoil erosion. There are a variety of plants that can serve as cover crops and their selection depends on your growing plans and soil needs. A few examples of cover crops are clover, peas, vetch, and rye.
It usually takes some experimentation to figure out how cover crops work in your rotation, which brings us back to the Case of the Six-Foot Tall Rye. It was co-seeded with vetch around a patch of garlic. Vetch adds nitrogen to soil and Vince intended for the rye to act as a weed-deterrent, which it effectively did. However, the rye grew a little taller than intended, which causes issues for soil health and the viability of the primary cash crop. Because rye decomposes slowly, it’s important to manage it so that it doesn’t go to seed and take over your carefully tended veggie bed.
Vince continues to experiment and figure out how to get cover crops to best work on his farm.
When we asked Vince, “Is farming more of an art or a science,” he replied: “I’m more of an artist because I don’t use a control.” Vince mentioned time and resources as challenges to dialing in his soil’s health. However, even when presented with various limitations, Vince uses creativity to keep his soil productive, and fruits and vegetables thriving.
We’d like to thank Vince for showing us around his farm and sharing his soil health insights!
Questions about cover cropping and other soil health practices? Looking for support while you experiment with a new practice? Reach out to have one of our farm planners come visit your farm and provide insights and information about programs available to help! Ways to reach us: Our Assistance Request Form, outreach@snohomishcd.org, and 425-335-5634.
Vince and chase look at the cover crops.
Garlic surrounded by vetch and tall rye.
Interested in cost-share opportunities? Learn more at this year’s Focus on Farming Conference in a session on “How to Fund Your Soil Health Practices.” For more information, check out:
This project (WQC-2022-SnohCD-00101 Nutrient Runoff Reduction From Agricultural Lands in Snohomish County) was made possible with a Washington Department of Ecology Centennial Clean Water Fund grant.
