The winter cover crops in our fields look like beautiful lush green carpets. They are important to improve our soils by building organic matter, suppressing weeds, resurface and supply plant nutrients to our crops, reduce erosion and improve water quality. In a few weeks they will be mowed and tilled back into the earth.
Our cover crop is made up of rye (cereal) and a mix of several legumes (nitrogen fixers) bell beans, vetch, and peas. The pink nodules on the roots of the bell beans are characteristic of legumes, it’s where bacteria fix nitrogen, which later are released into the soil to serve as nutrients for our crops.
