7 Winter Cover Crops to Improve Your Soil This Winter

Cover crops, also known as green manures, are excellent for vegetable gardeners and farmers. They are grown to improve soil fertility, reduce weeds, add organic material to the soil, and lessen soil compaction. Moreover, your plants will thrive, and yields will also increase.

In recent years, gardeners have realized the importance of cover crops and their benefits for crops. They grow winter cover crops to protect and nourish their fields that would otherwise be left bare over winter. Winter cover crops are usually grown in late summer to early fall so they can be established before winter. They will stay in the ground till spring, covering the soil as rain and frost occur.

Here, we share the list of 7 winter cover crops you can sow to recharge your soil this winter.

Why Sow Cover Crops

Cover crops can be grown in any garden, including raised bed gardens. Their seeds germinate and grow quickly. The main goal of sowing cover crops is to cover your garden with a blanket of plant matter in winter to maintain soil quality and protect the ground for future crops. Covering soil during freezing winters protects it from erosion and gives weeds less chance to grow. So, it makes your garden beds cleaner for spring planting. Some significant benefits of cover crops include:

• Prevents soil erosion
• Reduces weeds
• Prepares soil for spring sowing
• Reduces soil compaction
• Feed pollinators
• Provides a healthy habitat for beneficial insects

How to Choose the Right Cover Crops for Your Garden

The choice of cover crop is determined by the reason you are planting it and your growing zone. The factors behind choosing the right cover cop include:

Breaking Heavy Soil

Cover crops with deep roots like cereal rye, annual ryegrass, and crimson clover improve soil structure by breaking it. Oats and barley also help improve heavy or clay soil. In addition, mustard grows quickly to produce lush foliage that can be added to soil to increase organic matter. Mustard is also a great cover crop for clay soil, where it can be dug into soil before winter.

Addressing Nitrogen Levels

Legumes are the best option for adding nitrogen to your soil. Legumes such as soybeans and clover can fix nitrogen in the soil. As a farmer, you can plant corn and soybeans in your fields. Corn is a high nitrogen feeder when it grows large, leafy cornstalk, while soybean is a nitrogen fixer that replenishes nitrogen for the upcoming year.

Suppressing Weeds

Phacelia is a good crop for suppressing weeds and improving soil structure. In milder areas, it can be grown in late summer. If your region has cold winters, wait until spring to grow it. Buckwheat is also a good choice, as it offers soil enrichment, weed suppression, and nectar for beneficial insects.

7 Best Cover Crops to Recharge Your Soil

1. Crimson Clover

Crimson clover is a member of the legume family that forms deep, fibrous roots with nodules at the end. These nodules act with beneficial soil bacteria to take nitrogen from the atmosphere and transform it into a usable form for other crops. It also reduces groundwater leaching by scavenging for mineralized nitrogen.

Sow crimson clover seeds in summer or early fall to ensure they grow enough height to sustain approaching cold temperatures. This cover crop is hardy to zone 6, meaning it can survive harsh winters. If not, it will die when temperatures drop below 0°F, and the plant debris will protect the soil's surface. Clover's resilient taproot will reduce erosion, improve soil drainage, and reduce soil compaction. It thrives in all soil types, including heavy clay and sandy soil.

2. Hairy Vetch

This is the hardest legume, and it is hardy to -15 degrees. It is proficient in building nitrogen in the soil and providing organic matter when it breaks down. Hairy vetch can grow two feet tall and be difficult to turn over by hand due to its top growth. To sow this crop, spread out four ounces of seeds per 100 square feet in the garden bed. Water the seeds and add fertilizer to boost growth and nitrogen fixation. Cover the plant with netting or a row cover during germination to keep hungry feeders away.

3. Ryegrass

This is the best grass for your yard if you live in the north and your area experiences strong winds, severe winters, and heavy rainfall. The term 'rye' is often used for both winter rye and ryegrass. Both have the same nutrient benefits. It rapidly produces strong roots to reduce soil compaction while improving soil structure with its intense root systems.

Sow ryegrass in summer in zones 1-5 and in fall in zones 6+. Its seeds germinate well in well-draining soil and full to partial sunlight. If your area is dry, use a deep watering system like drip irrigation to help it establish strong roots. Like other grasses, ryegrass becomes dominant in fall and covers your soil. It will refresh in spring again. You need to terminate ryegrass before seed heads develop and start to drop.

4. Field Peas

Field peas are a type of bean and belong to a large species of Southern peas or cowpeas. They are an excellent nitrogen fixer and can germinate in cold, moist soils. These peas have the extra benefit of being harvested and fed to cattle or kept for seeds after they have dried. They will continue producing vines and tendrils even after harvest.

Field peas are long-season bloomers, provide a lot of biomasses, and add organic mulch to your garden beds. They like well-draining, neutral soil, which is moderately fertile. Spread large seeds at any time of the year and rake them in the soil to ensure good coverage and protect them from hungry birds and critters. These crops thrive in zone 6 because they're sensitive to heat and humidity.

5. Mustards

Mustards (white, black, and brown) with large leaves also make an excellent cover crop for garden beds. Their leaves gather and store nitrogen from the soil, converting it into a usable form for soil and other plants. Like radishes, mustards have tough taproots, but they dig deep, which is great for improving soil structure. Mustard plants are frost tolerant, so you can get leaves to fill your salad bowl before frost hits.

6. Radishes

Daikon radishes and oilseed radishes are the two popular cover crops. Daikon radishes have thicker roots than oilseed and grow a bit slower. Oilseed radishes are not usually grown for root harvests. However, they make excellent cover crops because their leaves protect the soil surface, and their taproots break up heavy soil.

However, if you want to harvest roots at the end of the season, grow daikon radishes. Their supersized roots are effective at aerating soil. You can also enjoy the edible radish greens in your dishes.

7. Buckwheat

Buckwheat also makes a powerful cover crop. This broadleaf cover crop quickly grows in warm weather, smothers weeds, and breaks into organic matter. Buckwheat plants grow 1-3 feet tall and can tolerate temperatures as low as 32 degrees. However, it has no frost tolerance.

Its flowers are a favorite among bees for nectar. If you allow it to flower and set seed, this species will produce hundreds of plants next year. It is sown in spring through summer to cover and improve bare soil. The plant will die after the first frost, but you can leave it in your garden as a mulch.

Wrapping Up

Grow these winter cover crops in your garden to build nutrient-rich soil your vegetables will love in spring. Choose the crops depending on your priorities for game-changing results. You can either grow a single type of cover crop in your garden beds or combine different crop varieties to maximize the benefits of each crop and provide you with greater value. Let this be the year you use cover crops to protect your soil.