Cover Crops

Last Wednesday, we (the apprentices and I) were given an assignment to work on. We were each assigned a cover crop and had to give a mini presentation. Cover crops are utilized in between normal growing seasons. Examples include rye, oat, clovers, and legumes. These are planted in order to protect and improve soil quality. A few advantages of growing cover crops are that they:

• prevent weeds
• increase organic matter
• fix nitrogen
• decrease soil erosion, disease, and pests

 Doing so allows for the availability of fertile soil which can be used for crop production with a high yield.  The cover crop I did research on was the crimson clover.