Tips & Information about Cover Crops

Best Late Summer And Early Fall Cover Crops

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Planting cover crops is a gift you can give to your garden’s soil. Read on to learn about planting cover crops in late summer.

Sunn Hemp Plant Info – Learn Sunn Hemp Uses And Care

By Mary H. Dyer, Credentialed Garden Writer

Sunn hemp grass is a warm weather grass. Click to learn more about Sunn hemp uses as well as helpful tips on growing Sunn hemp as a cover crop.

Native Cover Crops: Vegetable Cover Cropping With Native Plants

By Laura Miller

Are there any benefits to using native plants as cover crops? Click here to learn more about vegetable cover cropping with native plants.

What Is Field Brome – Information About Field Brome Grass

By Laura Miller

Field brome grass can be used as a cover crop to control erosion and enrich the soil. For more information, click the following article.

What Is Western Wheatgrass – How To Grow Western Wheatgrass

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Wheatgrass is native to North America and graces the Southwest, Great Plains and mountainous regions of the western U.S. It has some erosion control benefits but using western wheatgrass for grazing is the primary purpose. Learn more about it here.

What Is Chickling Vetch – Growing Chickling Vetch For Nitrogen Fixing

By Mary H. Dyer, Credentialed Garden Writer

What is chickling vetch? Also known by various names such as grass pea, white vetch, blue sweet pea, Indian vetch, or Indian pea, chickling vetch is a nutritious legume grown to feed livestock and humans in countries around the world. Learn more about the plant here.

Establishing Kura Clover: Learn How To Grow Kura Clover Plants

By Teo Spengler

You no doubt have heard about the four-leaf clover, but few gardeners are familiar with kura clover plants. Kura is a forage legume and if you are interested in growing kura as a groundcover or establishing kura clover for some other use, this article will help.

What Are Austrian Winter Peas: A Guide To Growing Austrian Winter Peas

By Mary H. Dyer, Credentialed Garden Writer

What are Austrian winter peas? Also known as field peas, Austrian winter peas have been grown around the world for centuries, primarily as a valuable source of nutrition for humans and livestock. Click this article for info on growing Austrian winter peas.

Berseem Clover Plants: Growing Berseem Clover As A Cover Crop

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Berseem clover cover crops provide excellent nitrogen in soil. The plants are also quite attractive in bloom when used as an annual groundcover. Learn how to grow berseem clover and harness all its benefits in your garden by clicking the following article.

White Sweetclover Information – Learn How To Grow White Sweetclover Plants

By Mary Ellen Ellis

Growing white sweetclover is not difficult. This weedy legume grows readily in a lot of conditions, and while some may see it as a weed, others use it for its benefits. Find out what those are in the article that follows. Click here for more information.

What Is Woollypod Vetch – Learn About Growing Woollypod Vetch

By Teo Spengler

Woollypod vetch plants are cool-season annual legumes. This plant is usually grown as a woollypod vetch cover crop. For more information about woollypod vetch plants and tips on how to grow woollypod vetch, this article will help.

What Is Subterranean Clover : How To Grow Subterranean Clover Cover Crops

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Soil building crops are nothing new. Cover crops and green manure are common in large and small gardens. Subterranean clover plants are legumes and, as such, have the capacity to fix nitrogen in soil. It is useful in many different cropping applications. Learn more here.

Crimson Clover Plants – Tips For Growing Crimson Clover As A Cover Crop

By Darcy Larum, Landscape Designer

Very few nitrogen fixing cover crops are as breathtaking as crimson clover. With their bright crimson red, conical blooms and tall fleecy stems, one might think a field of crimson clover was planted purely for aesthetic appeal. Click here for more information.

What Is Alsike Clover: Learn How To Grow Alsike Clover Plants

By Mary H. Dyer, Credentialed Garden Writer

Alsike clover is an extremely adaptable plant that grows along roadsides and in moist pastures and fields. If you've never considered growing hybridum alsike clover, perhaps you should. Click on the article that follows to learn more.

What Is Triticale – Learn How To Grow Triticale Cover Crops

By Mary Ellen Ellis

Cover crops are not just for farmers. Home gardeners can also use this winter cover to improve soil nutrients, prevent weeds, and stop erosion. Legumes and grains are popular cover crops, and triticale as a cover crop is great too. Learn more about it here.

Why Grow Perennial Legumes – Learn About Planting Perennial Legumes

By Mary H. Dyer, Credentialed Garden Writer

Most legumes grown in the home garden, including beans and peas, are annual plants, which means they complete a life cycle in a single year. Perennial legumes, on the other hand, are those that live for more than two years. Learn more about these in this article.

Velvet Bean Information: Learn About Growing Velvet Bean Plants

By Liz Baessler

Velvet beans are very long climbing vines that produce white or purple flowers and deep purple bean pods. They?re popular as medicine, cover crops, and occasionally as food. Learn more about planting and growing velvet beans in this article.

What Is Teff Grass – Learn About Teff Grass Cover Crop Planting

By Amy Grant

Agronomy is the science of soil management, land cultivation, and crop production. People who practice agronomy are finding great benefits in planting teff grass as cover crops. What is teff grass? Click here to find out how to grow teff grass cover crops.

Sudangrass Cover Crops: Growing Sorghum Sudangrass In Gardens

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Sudangrass is a fast-growing cover crop that has a broad root system and can grow in many areas. This makes the plant excellent at rejuvenating areas that have been over-cropped and compacted or low in nutrients. Learn more about growing it in this article.

What Is Winter Rye Grass: Growing Winter Rye As A Cover Crop

By Amy Grant

Cover crops are planted to minimize soil erosion, increase beneficial microbiological activity and generally improve soil tilth. Considering growing a cover crop? There are many to choose from but winter rye is a standout. Learn more in this article.

Winter Cover Crops With Canola: Tips On Planting Canola Cover Crops

By Amy Grant

You've probably heard of canola oil but did you ever stop to think about where it comes from? In this article, we focus on canola as a cover crop. Planting canola cover crops for home gardeners can be quite beneficial. Learn more here.

Cons To Cover Crop Planting: What Are Some Disadvantages Of Cover Crops

By Amy Grant

A solution to surface erosion and other issues is to plant cover crops. There are many advantages to cover cropping but are there cons to cover crop planting? What are some disadvantages of cover crops? Find out in this article.

Best Cover Crops For Clay Soil: Fixing Clay Soil With Cover Crops

By Teo Spengler

Cover crops can be tilled back into the soil to improve its nutrients or organic content. This is useful for fixing clay soil with cover crops. Click this article for more information about cover crop plants for clay soil.

What Is Sorghum – Information About Sorghum Plants

By Amy Grant

Have you ever heard of sorghum plants? At one time, sorghum was an important crop and served as a sugar substitute for many people. What is sorghum and what other interesting sorghum grass information can we dig up? Find out here.

Orchardgrass Information: Orchardgrass Uses In The Landscape

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Orchardgrass is native to western and central Europe but was introduced to North America in the late 1700's as pasture hay and forage. What is orchardgrass? Learn more about this plant in the article that follows.

Several heads of Timothy grass that have gone to seed

Timothy Grass Care: Information About Timothy Grass Growing

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Timothy grass is a cool season perennial grass with rapid growth. Click here to see if this grass is suited to growing in your landscape.

Cover Crops For Weed Control: When To Plant Cover Crops To Suppress Weeds

By Kristi Waterworth

Nobody likes a weed and so many are difficult to defeat with plastic, straw and cardboard alone. Thankfully, there are cover crops! Find out how to use these powerful garden tools in this article. Click here for more info.

Cover Crops Chickens Eat: Using Cover Crops For Chicken Feed

By Amy Grant

There are many options for providing the necessities your chickens need, but an environmentally friendly, sustainable, low impact method is by growing cover crops for chickens. So what are the best cover crops for chickens to eat? Click this article to learn more.

What Is Living Mulch: How To Use Living Mulch As A Groundcover

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Living mulch provides numerous benefits to the garden and soil. What is living mulch? Any plant that is used to cover an area of soil and adds nutrients, enhances soil porosity, decreases weeds and prevents soil erosion, among other attributes. This article will help.

Birdsfoot Trefoil Uses: Planting Birdsfoot Trefoil As Cover Crop

By Jackie Carroll

If you're looking for a cover crop for difficult soil, the birdsfoot trefoil plant may be just what you need. This article discusses the pros and cons of using birdsfoot trefoil as a cover crop, as well as basic growing techniques. Click here to learn more.

How To Grow Buckwheat: Learn About Buckwheat Uses In Gardens

By Amy Grant

Buckwheat uses extend to those in gardens where buckwheat can be used as a cover crop. How then, to grow buckwheat in the home garden? Read this article to learn more about the growth and care of buckwheat plants.

Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Info: Hairy Vetch Planting Benefits In The Garden

By Mary H. Dyer, Credentialed Garden Writer

Growing hairy vetch in gardens provides a number of benefits to home gardeners; vetch and other cover crops prevent runoff and erosion, and add organic matter and important nutrients to the soil. Click here for more info.

Using Cover Crops In The Garden: Best Cover Crops For Vegetable Gardens

By Amy Grant

Many gardeners add compost, manure and other organic materials to enrich the soil, but another method is by planting veggie garden cover crops. So what is it and why is cover cropping for increased vegetable production a good idea? Click here to find out.

Cover Crop Rotation: How To Rotate Cover Crop Plants

By Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist

Rotating cover crops has been recognized as an important part of gardening. Why rotate cover crops? It promotes better soil texture and drainage, better nutrient content, and reduces pest and disease issues. Click this article for more information.

Cover Crop Planting Guide: When To Plant Cover Crops

By Jackie Carroll

Cover crops serve a number of functions in the garden. They add organic matter, improve the soil's texture and structure, improve the fertility, help prevent erosion and attract pollinating insects. Find out about cover crop planting times in this article.