2020 Fall Cover Crop Sale
The pre-order period for the 2020 Fall Cover Crop Sale is over!
Thank you to everyone who ordered this Fall!
Your cover crop mixes will be available for pick-up on or
after October 9th at our office in Maumee.
Why Cover Crops?
Cover crops are beneficial for both large-scale farmers and home gardeners alike! Cover crops help reduce erosion and compaction, and increase water permeation in soil. They also hold on to minerals normally leached from your soil over winter. Densely planted cover crops will also suppress annual weed growth, and add organic matter to the soil. The cover crop’s root system also opens passageways that help improve air and water movement, and supports microbial life. This microbial life works synergistically with the roots, bacteria and fungi to improve soil health.
At the end of the garden season you may be ready to rest, but your soil is not! All gardens benefit from the use of cover crops, or “green manures” planted at the end of the season. Tilling, weeding, harvesting and foot traffic tends to destroy soil structure. Planting cover crops is an easy way to revitalize the soil. Cover crops are planted in vacant space and can be worked into the soil. Traditionally, cover crops are plowed under, crushed, cut, or pulled and used for mulch or compost. Cutting dense residue may help to avoid the potential negative reactions between rotting residues and new plantings and composting cuttings may produce a more balanced soil amendment compared to chopping raw-crop residue directly into the soil. |