Cover Crop Suggestions

• With tall crops - sweet clover, vetch, red clover, or alsike clover
• For sodlike cover - dwarf white clover
• For resistance to foot traffic in picking - dwarf white clover or vetch
• Before potatoes - soybeans or sweet clover
• Under corn - soybeans, sweet clover, or red clover
• Between rows of root crops - sweet clover or dwarf white clover
• Soil protection that will winter-kill - spring oats, spring barley, or, in warmer climates, a winter legume that will complete its growth in spring and can then be mowed off
• For the latest fall planting in cold climates - rye or winter wheat

The above suggestions are taken from Eliot Coleman in his book - The New Organic Grower p. 76. Eliot Coleman has had over 40 years of growing experience and if you are interested in digging deeper into this subject I would highly encourage an invest in his book.

Cover crops can also be grown in mixtures. Good cover crop mixtures will include a grain and a legume together. Here are a few good examples:

• Rye and vetch
• Rye and crimson clover
• Oats and Austrian winter peas

More Resources

Another list of cover crops including detailed information on their individual plant families, sowing times, growing period, soil types, and benefits can be found here - Choosing the Right Green Manure