10/24/2026
Let's attempt to talk about COVER CROPS! The science of it, the terminology you may hear but don't necessarily understand, and the cost. Bear with me 😅 I am not science-y, so I'm going to explain as best I can and will be reading off my notes. I'll list below the different plants in this seed mix, what they're good for, and also the terminology with their descriptions.
Winter wheat: soil erosion control, w**d suppression, biomass and mulch, nutrient cycling, nurse crop
Oats: soil erosion control, w**d suppression, biomass and mulch, nutrient cycling, nurse crop
Austrian winter peas: nitrogen fixation, erosion control, w**d suppression
Rapeseed: compaction control (deep taproots), nutrient scavenging, w**d suppression, pollinator forage
Clover: nitrogen fixation, w**d suppression, erosion control, pollinator forage
Rye: erosion control, nutrient scavenging, w**d suppression, compaction control, winter hardy
Nutrient cycling: continuous movement and transformation of nutrients through the soil (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) between living organisms, organic matter, and the mineral ground; exchange of nutrients and energy
Biomass: organic material of the plant itself
Nurse crop: planted to help establish a slower growing cover crop
Nitrogen fixation: process that converts atmospheric nitrogen gas into bioavailable nitrogen compounds like ammonia and nitrates that plants can use; plants like legumes have nodules on their roots that house rhizobium bacteria that take the nitrogen gas from the air in the soil and transforms it into ammonium and nitrates that can be used as fertilizer (a symbiotic relationship)
Nutrient scavenging: process by which living plant roots absorb leftover or mobile nutrients (like nitrates and phosphorous) from the soil to prevent them from leaching into groundwater or running off into waterways; when scavenger crops are terminated and decompose, they release those stored nutrients back into the soil for the next crops to use
Deep taproots: improve soil health by breaking through compacted soil layers, increase water filtration, and cycle deep subsoil nutrients back up to the tops of the plant to be used later... (continued in comments)