Cover crops are used to build soil organic matter, break up hard pans, provide a ground cover to reduce erosion and offer competition to weeds.
Which cover crop species you grow depends on:
Purpose to grow the crop
Erosion mangement
Weed Competion
Nitrogen contribution
Deep root penetration
Adding organic matter and carbon to the soil
Provide a living multch for your next crop
What time of year are you growing the cover
Frost seeded (Feb or March)
Spring/Early Summer
Fall
How you want to manage it to incorporate into soil
Frost Killed
Cultivate and incorporate
Crimping to break stems to begin break down (no-till)
How long do you want it to grow
Good cover over the winter
Quick cover for early spring
Short-term coverage in the summer
Cover with opportunity to harvest for animals and organic matter
Click on Links for Cover Crop Resources
Highlights from the 2008 Vegetable Cover Crop Workshop (June 12, KBS)
Anne Verhallen from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, gave a great overview of cover crops' attributes in vegetable systems.
Mathieu Ngouajio, an Associate Professor of Horticulture here at M.S.U., taught us about biofumigant cover crops in his talk.
Darryl Warncke, a professor and extension specialist in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences here at M.S.U., gave a talk about nutrient management using cover crops.
George Abawi, a professor of Plant Pathology at Cornell University's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, gave a presentation on cover crops' role in soil health and root disease management.
Daniel Brainard, an assistant professor of Horticulture here at M.S.U., spoke to us about cover crop mixtures for integrated weed and nitrogen managment.
The Cover Crops Program at the W.K. Kellog Biological State/Michigan State. The program focuses on integrating cover crops into Michigans feild crop systems. The goal for the site is to make information for reasearch avilable to farmers so they can make better crop cover dicisions on their farms. The link on the site contains information such as Michigan cover crop species, cover crops in cropying systems, organic field crop research, and other informational links.