If you plan to or are already utilizing natural solutions in your vegetable garden, you should know about companion planting, trap crops, and cover crops. Each one is an organic way to help boost ...

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 ...

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 ...

Establishing winter cover crops after or between harvests can be a great way to preserve soil structure, protect against erosion and produce biomass that feeds the soil ecology. However, if you’re in ...

No matter the type of farm, there’s an advantage to planting soil-feeding cover crops ahead of fall and winter. The assistance provided depends on the crops you plant. But there is definitely one out ...

Hello Mid-Ohio Valley farmers and gardeners! Fall is a great time to apply soil amendments to the garden, the lawn and our crop fields. Compost, composted or aged manure, fertilizers and lime can all ...

Pacific Northwest farmers can feel paralyzed choosing cover crops, since there are dozens of viable options in some regions and significant costs for seed. “It can be overwhelming,” said Nick Andrews, ...

Cover crops are important in areas cultivated year after year. They reduce soil erosion and improve its overall health. As spring heats the soil, cover crops suppress weeds, and as they grow, they ...

While there are several good options for terminating cover crops, it’s important to understand which cover crop termination methods work best for your specific cover cropping system and overall ...

Cover crops play an important role in protecting the soil and water when cash crops like corn or soybean are not actively growing. The National Conservation Service promoted the use of cover crops ...

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 ...

Human activities such as intensive farming and overgrazing are degrading soil nearly 1,000 times faster than natural processes. If this trend continues, global food production could drop by 10% by ...