A field planted with cereal rye, one of the most common cover crops in Iowa. Photo by Ally Larson/Iowa State University. AMES, Iowa – Planting ground cover in fields between cash crop growing seasons ...

When the Southern Cover Crops Council held its annual conference recently in Baton Rouge, I was fortunate to sit in on panel discussions with farmers and specialty crops (vegetables, fruits, nuts and ...

For an Earth-friendly garden, keep a succession of plants in the soil by planting cover crops. These are plants grown to improve the soil rather than for harvest. I prepare the soil for the next year ...

A field planted with cereal rye, which is one of the most common cover crops in Iowa. Planting ground cover in fields between cash crop growing seasons is an effective way to prevent farmland from ...

Farmers see a variety of benefits when using cover crops in their fields and home gardeners can do the same. “Having living tissue, living plants on the garden the whole year increases soil health, ...

What are cover crops and why would I want to use them in my home garden? We all know that the foundation of a great garden is healthy, nutrient-rich soil. There are many ways to improve the ...

As climate change threatens farmers’ ability to produce the world ’ s food, researchers and environmental advocates think they have a solution: playing in the dirt. How farming could become the ...

In the fall, you might be tempted to remove the dead plant material, till your garden soil a bit, and put your garden to bed for the winter without another thought. However, you can also grow cover ...

LAKEFIELD, Minn. — Cover crops present opportunities to build soil health and maybe even get a secondary crop off a field. They also canbe challenging, considering they leave behind residue and ideal ...

Right now, it seems like vegetable garden season will go on forever. But we know that eventually the cold weather will show up and put an end to our garden. Since we know it’s going to happen, let’s ...

Although I have some crops in the high tunnel, my outside gardening is done. Today, I got my garlic put in and I planted hairy vetch and rye cover crop in the last section of the garden. Speaking of ...

While farmers plant millions acres of plants like rye and clover to boost soil health and crowd out weeds, a cover crop does the same thing in the smallest home garden. With cover crops, a vegetable ...