Why and when to Cover crop
Green manures
Cover crops are also called “green manure” and sometimes, “living mulch.” They are plants that are grown to suppress weeds, help build and improve soil, and control diseases and pests. Cover crops add nitrogen to your soil and help build fertility in poor soils. They can be planted between rows of other crops to help suppress weeds, or between cash crops. They help control erosion, holding onto valuable, rich topsoil in between plantings. They help hold soil moisture. And they can even build disease resistance in other crops.
You might plant red clover between rows of vegetable crops to control weeds, but plant buckwheat in a field that is fallow for a season, to build fertility and improve structure. In the fall, you’ll want to plant winter rye or vetch, but in the spring, you might choose sorghum.
Crimson clover
Crimson clover is considered one of the best cover crops, it grows in the fall and winter and matures more rapidly than most other legumes. It also contributes a relatively large amount of nitrogen to the following crop. Because it is not very winter-hardy, crimson clover is not usually a good choice for the regions where significant frost occurs. In northern regions, crimson clover can be grown as a summer annual, but that prevents an economic crop from growing during that field season. Varieties like Chief, Dixie, and Kentucky Select are somewhat winter-hardy if established early enough before winter. Crimson clover does not grow well on high-pH (calcareous) or poorly drained soils.
Hairy Vetch
Allow me to introduce every organic farmer’s best friend: Hairy Vetch
Hairy vetch is widely used by organic growers as a winter cover crop and in no-till farming, as it is both winter hardy and can fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil helping build biomass. As you will see in the videos supplied below, these cover crops can be cut down and left on the ground to act as a mulch (and suppressing weeds) just before cash crop planting time.
Vicia villosa, known as the hairy vetch, fodder vetch or winter vetch can also be grown as a fodder crop. Now wouldn’t want a load of hairy vetch!
Winter Rye
Cereal rye is a great addition to your winter cover crop routine as it a excellent nitrogen fixer and rapily produces a ground cover holding in water and soil. As with most cover crops rye is also used as a weed suppressor.
Rye however is challenging to kill in spring and timing is of utter importance and should be done before the plant matures or at flowering.
Planting the correct covercrop for the next crop is important.
