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Farmers around the world grow cover crops to increase crop yields. Cover crops, also known as green manures, are an excellent tool for vegetable gardeners, especially where manures and compost are unavailable. They lessen soil erosion during the winter, add organic material when turned under in the spring, improve soil quality, and add valuable nutrients.
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Popular fall-planted cover crops include oats, winter rye, winter wheat, crimson clover and hairy vetch (see the chart at the end of this fact sheet). The latter two crops are legumes- plants that can add a lot of nitrogen to your soil after they decompose. These crops are typically planted as early as August 15, but no later than October 10. They should make some growth before the first hard frost. Some cover crops (oats and daikon radish) are killed by cold winter temperature, but most go dormant and resume growth in the spring. Cover crop roots grow deeply into the soil pulling up nutrients that might otherwise leach out of the soil. The crops are turned into the soil before going to seed, usually sometime in late April or early May. Other cover crops, like buckwheat and Dutch white clover, are sown in the spring or summer to cover and improve bare soil.
These are some suggested steps for experimenting with cover crops this fall:
Be a good steward of the earth by planting a cover crop this fall.
PHOTO GALLERY
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*Will winter-kill in most years, leaving a “mat” of dead vegetation which can be planted through in spring or turned under.
**Sow late summer/fall crops from August 15- October 1, depending on location, species, and weather forecast.
*** Legumes, like crimson clover and hairy vetch take nitrogen from air and convert it into a form used by the plants. You can aid this natural process by purchasing an innoculant with your seed - Rhizobia spp. bacteria. You coat the cover crop seeds with the innoclant by mixing them together in a bag.
(PDF) Maryland Department of Agriculture - Plant Cover Crops
Maryland Grows Blog Posts on Cover Crops
No-till spring vegetables after forage radish cover crop
UM Ag Nutrient Management Program- Cover Crop Presentations
Reviewer: Raymond Weil, Ph.D., Dept. of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland.
Author: Jon Traunfeld, University of Maryland Extension, Home and Garden Information Center
Revised/2020