A few weeks ago a reader and a friend from the pool who lives near Loudonville asked me if a person could leave his cereal rye in the field this season. I said I’m not sure, but I’ll find out if that ...

Maybe after you finish your vegetable harvest, you mentally say, “I’m done this year,” and wait to start again next year. But a cover crop could benefit you in several ways. By researching now, you ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – No one wants to think of harvest’s end as the vegetable garden reaches peak, but now’s the time to plant over-winter cover crops to improve your soil for next season. If you’re not ...

When the Southern Cover Crops Council held its annual conference recently in Baton Rouge, I was fortunate to sit in on panel discussions with farmers and specialty crops (vegetables, fruits, nuts and ...

For an Earth-friendly garden, keep a succession of plants in the soil by planting cover crops. These are plants grown to improve the soil rather than for harvest. I prepare the soil for the next year ...

In the fall, you might be tempted to remove the dead plant material, till your garden soil a bit, and put your garden to bed for the winter without another thought. However, you can also grow cover ...

Establishing winter cover crops after or between harvests can be a great way to preserve soil structure, protect against erosion and produce biomass that feeds the soil ecology. However, if you’re in ...

I've heard about something called a cover crop for the vegetable garden. I don't know what that is. Could you tell me about them? Cover crops are an old, well-known way of building up the soil of your ...

With milder temperatures and increased rain, fall is a wonderful time for planting and readying next year’s garden. But did you know there are crops you can plant now that will improve the soil for ...

More Midwestern farmers are planting off-season crops that help protect the soil and reduce fertilizer use. The next farm bill could make it easier to adopt this practice. Farmers usually plant in the ...

"Fall is not the end of the gardening year; it is the start of next year's growing season. The mulch you lay down will protect your perennial plants during the winter and feed the soil as it decays, ...