Choosing the Right Cover Crop

Are you interested in using cover crops for your garden or farm? If so, not all cover crops serve the same purpose. It’s important to pick a cover crop that suits your individual needs.

If used properly, cover crops can help prevent weed incursion, loosen compacted soil, recharge groundwater, keep soil cool, and resupply soil nutrients. They are a very valuable tool and worth the effort. In fact, many farmers and gardeners can see an increase in productivity with a decrease in costs associated with fertilizer and herbicides.

Here are a few guidelines for choosing the correct cover crop for your land…

We can describe crops generally as warm season or cold season crops, and broadleaf or grasses. To pick the right cover crop, alternate between these categories. For example, if your cash crop is a warm season broadleaf, plant a cold season grass as your cover crop. If you’re unsure what category your crops are in, check out the chart below produced by the USDA. And to learn more details about maintaining your soil health and cover crop selection, check out this video series by the NRCS: Bringing the Science of Soil Home