Easy Cover Crop Mixes For Nitrogen Weeds And Pollinators In Home Gardens

Cover crop mixtures should include species that provide desired services (such as weed suppression, soil erosion control and nitrogen sequestration). It is also crucial that growth periods, forms and strategies for nutrient acquisition be balanced to optimize the entire mix as a whole.

Winter grains such as winter rye, barley, oats and wheat (emmert, spelt or triticale) provide an effective ground cover that reduces erosion while providing a dense blanket to subdue weeds and suppress erosion before being worked into place in preparation for planting edible crops in spring.

1. Winter Peas

Cool-season annual that tolerates frost and provides an added nitrogen source for subsequent cash crops, while also suppressing weeds and decreasing soil compaction.

Plant your vine-growing variety using a dibber or your finger in the fall when soil conditions have warmed up, using either tall vining varieties that require trellises for support, or bush varieties which can be spaced out evenly along rows.

Each cover crop species excels at specific services, yet all have some drawbacks. Selecting mixtures that provide desired services while avoiding basic pitfalls can help your farm meet goals while keeping costs in check. Start with a core set of species that excel in these services before filling in gaps with species with complementary functions or different flower morphologies as needed.

2. Austrian Winter Peas

When selecting species for a cover crop mixture, it is crucial that each one fits harmoniously together in terms of its growth periods, growth forms, nitrogen acquisition strategies, and resources for pollinators. For instance, legumes such as Austrian winter peas (Pisum sativum) work in collaboration with soil bacteria called rhizobia to fix nitrogen from the air into their roots for storage.

Legumes are great tools for preventing nitrogen leaching, suppressing weeds, and supporting pollinators. Nonlegumes such as cereal rye (Secale cereale) may also be seeded early to suppress weeds and reduce compaction while providing residue for the following cash crop; however if seeded too early they could compete with it for available nitrogen and reduce its nitrogen-fixing ability.

3. White Dutch Clover

Cover crop species such as Clover are known to produce allelochemicals derived from plants which provide natural weed-suppressing chemicals as they grow and decay – making it easy and simple for home gardeners! These plant-derived chemicals help prevent the germination and spread of weeds during their lifespan and decomposition process, and these effects are even stronger in larger fields with multiple cover crops!

Legumes absorb nitrogen from both soil and air sources, so they provide a steady source of organic matter to the soil. Clover is ideal for planting ahead of a crop that needs additional nitrogen such as tomatoes or sweet corn, making the ground fertile.

An effective mix combines desired cover crop services such as weed suppression and erosion control with species that excel in various growth periods, forms, and nutrient acquisition strategies for optimal performance. If highly competitive species dominates, their performance could suffer significantly.

4. Field Peas

Field peas are vine-growing legumes that need support from trellises for cultivation. Not only do these legumes fix nitrogen, but their flowers attract pollinators-attracting bees as well.

An interesting mix can provide both weed suppression and other desired services, like nitrogen fixation and flower density, while still meeting desired criteria such as overproduction from certain species that interfere with other’s ability to perform these duties. Therefore, it is critical that biomass production among cover crop species in an interesting mix be balanced; this requires choosing complementary species, adjusting seeding rates accordingly, and limiting production from highly competitive ones that might otherwise overshadow others in terms of function.

5. Fava Beans

Fava beans thrive in full to partial sunlight and tolerate various soil types, making them an excellent addition to any home garden. Fava beans provide protein-rich harvests with nitrogen fixing roots while their pods contain high levels of folic acid, B vitamins, and essential dietary minerals.

Designing a cover crop mixture takes into account the goals of each field. From breaking up a plow pan, building soil organic matter or preventing leaching of nutrients, to selecting species suited to local conditions based on farmer objectives and farmer objectives (for instance legumes that reach flowering can maximize nitrogen accumulation while nonlegumes with aggressive nitrogen-scavenging strategies can better prevent leaching of nutrients). For optimal results when selecting cover crop species to fit farmer objectives and local conditions (e.g. legumes that reach flowering can maximize nitrogen accumulation while nonlegumes with aggressive nitrogen-scavenging strategies can better prevent leaching of nutrients).

6. Hard Red Winter Wheat

Winter wheat is another straightforward crop to cultivate in your own garden, with seeds available from local farmers, online retailers, and some garden centers. Simply spread out over an adequately prepared seedbed, keeping moist until germination occurs.

Once the heads appear, it’s time to scythe! A lightweight model makes this task simpler, and soon you will develop an effortless rhythm with it, letting the blade follow your body as you move.

Wheat can tolerate drought conditions well; however, as with most crops it’s wise not to overwater during its vegetative stage as too much water may promote fusarium diseases like wheat scab and lead to vomiting toxin production.