Using Cover Crops in the Home Garden

I first learned about how to use cover crops in a workshop I attended on organic gardening. As I listened to the instructor, it made perfect sense that cover crops were a good option for my home garden because they provide care and feeding to the soil. Cover crops are one of the tools that organic gardeners can use to build healthy soil. Crop rotation is another practice that when used in conjunction with cover crops can result in superior vegetable production.

In the first half of the 20^th century, cover crops were used extensively by farmers  With the introduction of herbicides, farmers started moving away from cover crops in the 1950s. Today, there is increased focus on soil health and this has led to a renewed interest in the benefits of cover cropping.