Cover Crops- The Ultimate Multiuse Plants!

Loving this article from Sustainable Farming Magazine (a free online resource), https://agreenerworld.org/resources/sustainablefarmingmagazine/

Cover Crops are used to cover the soil in between crop harvests, and they have a lot of benefits to not only the soil, but environment, and sometimes other multiple uses.  Here are a few examples:

Spring Oats- mobilizes phosphorus and provides forage for livestock.

Forage Rape- soaks up nitrogen left over from previous crop, high protein feed.

Tillage Radish- breaks through compaction layers in soil

Vetch- nitrogen fixer for next crop and protein source

Phacelia- scavenges excess phosphorus, conditions top 2-3 inches of soil Below are the specific benefits are detailed.

Cover Crops:

🐍 Feed Soil Organisms

💚Increase Earthworms

🍃Build soil carbon & OM

🌱Contribute to better management of soil nutrients

🙌 Keep soil covered

🐯Improve biodiversity

🌿Aerate, and help rain get into- soil

🏔Reduce compaction and improve structure and strength of soil

🐐 Make it easier to integrate livestock

🌊 Greatly reduce soil erosion and loss.

#regenerativeagriculture #covercrops #multiuse #sustainable #sustainableagriculture

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