Basic Knowledge in Agriculture #89
Cover cropping, planting species like legumes, grasses or brassicas for soil health rather than harvesting, are sometimes referred to as “living mulches.” The idea behind planting and integrating a cover crop in your farming operation, during the winter or between your cash crop’s planting and harvesting season, is to help prevent a bare, uncovered soil surface. These are the types of crops you want in your fields year-round and are the cornerstones of regenerative agriculture.
Why Cover Cropping is an Essential Agricultural Practice:
Help prevent soil erosion. Heavy rains or strong winds can carry your soil away quickly if the fields are not covered. The complex root systems of cover crops keep your soil in place and protect the most valuable portion – your topsoil – while dense leafy covers can buffer the impact of raindrops.
Improve soil Fertility and Structure. Depending on the type, some cover crops such as legumes are able to take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into the form that can be utilized by your next crop. Other cover crops such as vetch or clover when winter-killed in place, add organic matter to your soil as they decompose, breaking up dense layers, improving your soil’s ability to drain, hold water, and provide nutrients for future crops.
Suppress weeds and pests. Cover crops can choke out pesky weeds by rapidly taking over areas that weeds would otherwise exploit, thus cutting down the need for weedicides. Specific types of cover crops have also been known to suppress pests or attract pests' natural predators, thereby minimizing insecticide requirements.
Conserve water. Due to the large amount of organic matter a cover crop adds to the soil over time, it’s better at absorbing and retaining moisture from the rain, helping your farm withstand periods of drought. Certain cover crops with deep roots have also been found to penetrate dense compacted layers in the soil which is crucial for proper drainage and water penetration.
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