Farmers know the importance of cover crops for preserving fertility, soil structure, and moisture levels. Backyard gardeners can apply this same principle to their land.

Cover crops also conserve water by improving the soil’s ability to retain water. Certain cover crops can help control pests, such as the mustard plant, which controls harmful nematodes.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – No one wants to think of harvest’s end as the vegetable garden reaches peak, but now’s the time to plant over-winter cover crops to improve your soil for next season. If ...

There are other reasons to plant cover crops. Winter rains can cause erosion problems for farmers and gardeners, so it’s important to maintain vegetative cover once the crops have been harvested for ...

The plant material beneath the ground may be more important in cover crops than the plant above the ground, Miller says. The extensive root systems will break down and feed the soil as well as ...

Purdue Extension Elkhart County is offering free cover crop seed while supplies last. Small packets have been made up to seed roughly a 100 square foot area (10 feet by 10 feet, for example, or 5 feet ...

Prevent plant cover crop performance Flown by Austin Pearson, Agriculture & Natural Resource Educator, Purdue Extension – Tipton County In 2019, this producer took preventative planting due to wet ...

Traditionally, farmers assumed they must kill their cover crop before planting cash crops. But the longer you let a cover crop grow, the more benefits you can harvest. Enter the ‘planting green ...

As loathe as I am to start talking about putting the gardens to bed, especially when it’s 80 degrees as I write this column, ...

As summer winds down, you may be wondering how many more edible tomatoes you can expect to get this year. Any tomatoes ...

Opportunities to incorporate winter cover crops, forages and perennials into various cropping systems will be the focus of a ...