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 ...

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 ...

An overarching goal for planting cover crops is to produce as much biomass as possible during the growing window. Higher levels of cover crop biomass will reduce soil erosion, inhibit weed growth ...

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, ...

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 ...

As the cool weather of autumn approaches, now is the time to start planning for cover crops in the garden. Depending on what’s growing in your garden, you may have ...

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