Cover Crops 101

Cover crops are incredibly useful little plants and you should utilize them whenever you have empty space in your gardens and don't plan on planting anything new. They help maintain ideal helpful levels of organic matter and Nitrogen.

Benefits of Cover Crops

• Cover crops reduce erosion of your soil. Having plants in the ground anchors and protects the dirt from rain and wind!
   
• They help combat pesky weeds by already occupying that space.
   
• They keep your soil healthy, encouraging healthy mycorrhizae, critters, and help the soil retain water! If you plant a legume they'll even add nitrogen!

How to decide on a cover crop? Winter rye (Secale cereale) is one of the most hardy cover crops and can be seeded now and worked into the soil in early spring. Hairy vetch,(Vicia villosa) is another very common cover crop which can withstand snowcover!

• Here is a great source of general information about cover crops. 
• Here's a good list of ground cover plants for Colorado. 

Lastly, be sure to pull your cover crop before it seeds! Don't want all these plants popping up where you don't want them!

There are a ton of Fall Events going on around Colorado. Don't forget u-pick farms and orchards for your own harvest!