Monthly Tip

After feeding your family all summer long, perhaps you feel it's time to feed your soil. Cover crops are ideal for putting nutrients back into your soil and keeping weed growth to a minimum. Examples of these are fava beans, vetch, or clover. These will keep the soil from becoming barren and will add vital nutrients. Beans and other members of the legume family fix nitrogen from the air and make it available in the soil and to plants. The roots also break up heavy clay soil and improve its structure. Before they go to seed, you can chop up the plants and dig them into the soil or you can put them into the compost bin. Here is a short video on planting a cover crop.

More Information: Cover Cropping in Home Vegetable Gardens