Cover crops, also sometimes referred to as green manures, are planted in the fall and winter in order to improve soil structure and fertility. Farmers have commonly planted cover crops over ground that is not in use. After growing during cold weather, the cover crop is then plowed under while still green in the spring. By plowing or rototilling the cover crops back into your soil, you're adding organic matter and microorganisms.
Besides improving soil, cover crops can control erosion, attract pollinating insects and reduce weeds. Depending on what you use as a cover crop, you can also increase nitrogen in the soil. Hardy legumes, such as fava beans, clovers, vetch or field peas, all return nitrogen naturally to the soil. Other common cover crops include inexpensive annual rye grass, buckwheat, mustard, oats and barley. Most can be purchased at farm supply stores or some retail garden centers. Usually 1 to 2 pounds will cover 1,000 square feet.
For the average home gardener, your unused summer vegetable plot is an ideal choice for a cover crop -- so long as you're not planting fall/winter vegetables. Rather than let your summer vegetable garden plot sit collecting mud in the winter, why not sow a cover crop? Also, if you have a hilly area that is in danger of eroding, a cover crop can help naturally stabilize that slope and prevent a mudslide. Finally, rather than letting a large area go to weeds, cover crops make good weed blockers, preventing weeds from germinating.
One of the other blessings with cover crops is that they're easy. While you should prepare the soil as you would for any other crop, planting this time of year means Mother Nature will take care of watering them. One of the disadvantages with them is that in order to gain the most benefits, cover crops should be cut down and then rototilled under.
If you're like me, you may build your soil with applications of compost, manure, leaves and grass clippings. However, cover crops are an easy way to accomplish this over a much larger area. I like to plant Italian fava beans as a cover crop. Not only do I get edible fava beans out of it, but when the cover crop is tilled under, the nitrogen is released to improve the soil for a future crop.
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