Cover Crops for Vegetable Growers

Why cover crops?
Soil Health

Decision Tool

Newsletter articles

Early summer
Mid and late summer
Late summer legumes
Early fall
Fall
Early spring

Cover crop information

Annual ryegrass
Buckwheat
Sudangrass
Mustard, spring
Mustard, fall (includes radish, rape, kale)
Red clover
Hairy vetch

Oats
Wheat (includes spelt, triticale)
Rye

Photos

Seed sources

Research

Buckwheat planting date
Buckwheat field preparation

Fertility

Cover crops for early fall

In September, small grain cover crops can be sown for good winter cover, protection from erosion and spring weed control.

Oats provide quick cover, and the opportunity to plant the next crop early in the spring. Oats winterkill, leaving a dead mulch that decomposes quickly when incorporated.

Wheat is an excellent choice for winter cover crop. As a cover crop, it can be seeded before the Hessian Fly-free date. Early seeding improves winter survival and biomass production. 

Rye will establish in difficult conditions and provide abundant biomass. It has strong weed-suppressive properties, but often suppresses crop yield as well. For a longer cover crop sequence to clean up a field and build fertility, rye can be frost seeded with medium red clover, then harvested early for straw. Clover then grows through the following spring.