Cover Crops!

Cover crops make a great blanket for your empty garden beds during the winter.





Benefits of cover crops include:

• Replacing soil organic matter
• Recycling nutrients
• Supplying nitrogen (only provided by legumes)
• Protecting soil from raindrop impact
• Reducing runoff and erosion
• Protecting water quality
• Suppressing weeds

Common cover crops belong to one of three groups:

• Grains and grass
• Legumes
• Other broad-leaved plants

A few commonly used cover crops are clover, barley, rye, fava beans, winter peas, and buckwheat. Legumes are an especially great cover crop because they supply nitrogen to the soil rather than extracting it.

To learn even more about planting cover crops check out this website.