Cover crops
Planting a garden cover crop in fall can reap real payoffs in spring. By covering fallow ground, cover crops suppress the growth of bothersome annual weeds like chickweed and henbit, reduce erosion and prevent soil compaction. Cover crops are often called green manure because they enrich the soil like compost. When cover crops are tilled or spaded under, their decomposition improves the soil by adding organic matter. Plants in the legume family offer the extra benefit of adding nitrogen to the soil. Some gardeners grow cover crops as a “living mulch,” meaning they leave some of the cover crop in place during the growing season and interplant food plants among it (similar to farmers’ no-till method). Beneficial legume cover crops include crimson clover, vetch, fava beans and field peas. Other suitable plants include annual ryegrass, oats and winter wheat. Clemson Extension has a helpful guide to cover crops that may be viewed at the following site: www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic
/plants/pdf/hgic1252.pdf.