For an Earth-friendly garden, keep a succession of plants in the soil by planting cover crops. These are plants grown to improve the soil rather than for harvest. I prepare the soil for the next year ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – No one wants to think of harvest’s end as the vegetable garden reaches peak, but now’s the time to plant over-winter cover crops to improve your soil for next season. If you’re not ...

Cover crops are non-harvested crops that add organic matter to the soil, transfer nitrogen to plants, and break up heavy clay or compacted soil. They are commonly used in agriculture, but also have a ...

If you know your soil is full of all the nutrients you need, find a quick-growing crop to hold the soil in place. Grains, ...

What are cover crops and why would I want to use them in my home garden? We all know that the foundation of a great garden is healthy, nutrient-rich soil. There are many ways to improve the ...

DES MOINES, Iowa — Called cover crops, they top the list of tasks U.S. farmers are told will build healthy soil, help the environment and fight climate change. Yet after years of incentives and ...

AMES, Iowa – As vegetable growers and commodity farmers reach the end of the growing season and harvest their crops, faculty at Iowa State University are pushing for greater awareness of cover crops ...

While most crops shut down for winter, this tough cold-season cover crop keeps digging deep and improving the ground until ...

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 ...

A proposed $25-per-acre incentive for cover crops failed to survive the final version of a newly enacted climate law, but some lawmakers are pushing to add a more modest program to the next farm bill.