Green manure my way.

At this time of the year I start to think about filling in the increasing amounts of bare spots in the garden with a green manure. This not only protects the bare soil, but is a good way of helping the fertility.
Given where I live in Canada, I have trouble finding green manures to sow in my garden. I could be organised and order some from a seed company, but I usually don't think of it til I want to sow the green manure.
My solution is to go to the local grocery store, and buy a bag of dry peas-the ones sold for making soups.

 

I fill about a 1/3rd of a jar with the dry peas, and soak over night. I then plant the soaked pea seeds in any bare areas that have opened up in the garden. I dig shallow trenches about 1" deep and plant the seeds about 1"-2" apart, then cover the seeds with soil. I make these trenches about 2" apart until a particular bare spot has a dense planting of seeds.

If I do this after a heavy rainfall, I don't have to bother with additional watering. In about a week or 10 days the pea shoots will start to appear. I'll repeat this process with any new bare spots over the next month.

By the time the first killer cold weather occurs, the peas have made quite a bit of growth. They then break down over the winter,so by next spring they have become part of the soil, adding humus and nitrogen to the soil in the process.