Cover Crop Basics

By Kymisha Montgomery, CGC Urban Agriculture Coordinator

One of the most important foundations for plant growth is good, healthy soil. We can’t forget that just like the complex network of interconnected food chains that make up the food web, there is also an interconnected community of organisms in soil called the soil food web. These organisms live in the soil and interact with each other, the environment, plants and animals.

There are many ways to achieve good soil health, like adding some organic matter like compost, leaf mold or finished manure to give your soil a bit of a boost from beneficial organisms. But there is also another way to amend your soil, and that’s to use cover crops. These plants are intentionally grown in a garden bed for the purpose of enriching the soil.

 Here are four equally beneficial ways cover crops can contribute to maintaining good soil health.

1.     Minimize Soil Disturbance: Cover crops provide continuous living ground cover and stabilizing soil particles to help reduce erosion.

2.     Maintain Living Roots: Cover crops can be used to maintain a thriving ecosystem by supplying it with a continuous food source after harvests or during non-production periods.

3.     Increase Biodiversity: Cover crops feed the soil web and promote the activity of beneficial organisms like microbes and earthworms that, in turn, contribute to nutrient cycling and improved soil structure.

4.     Reduce Soil Compaction: Some cover crops such as radishes, rye and clover penetrate compacted soil layers to help create channels for water and air movement.

Different cover crops offer different benefits. Here are some of the common ones used in agricultural spaces. Legumes like cloves, peas and beans add additional nitrogen to the soil for the next year’s crop. Brassicas like mustards, radish and turnips help fight soil compaction—especially the larger varieties. If you want to build organic matter in your soil, try grass cover crops like barley, oats, wheat and cereal rye.

If you’re not planning on growing crops in your garden this fall or winter, try replenishing your soil with a cover crop or cover crop mix. Timing is crucial in making sure the cover crops are established before the onset of colder temperatures that can kill them or slow their growth. Intercropping your cover crop by sowing seeds between crops that are already in your garden is another way to help your soil get more nutrients while you’re still growing and enjoying a bountiful harvest.