Fall Cover Crops FSF 8/26/22

Cover crops are grown with the intent to improve soil, not necessarily for harvest, and now is my favorite time to plant them - we added them to our high tunnels at work and I put a few rows in my home garden a few weeks ago. With all the cover crop types, success comes down to selecting the right variety(ies) for your needs, and planting and terminating at the right time. I personally like to use “winter kill” varieties (such as peas and oats) in beds that will be planted in early spring (e.g. cool season cut flowers, onion, greens) and winter-surviving, nitrogen-fixers in beds that will be planted later with warm-season crops (frost-sensitive cut flowers, tomatoes, peppers, squash). If you are looking for ways to reduce erosion and compaction, increase soil organic matter, cut fertilizer costs, suppress weeds, scavenge extra nutrients, or improve water infiltration and storage - all without flirting with elevated soil salinity (looking at you, compost!)…check out our fact sheet for an introduction to the magical world of cover crops.