Choosing A Cover Crop Species

By: Jodi Henke

The whole job of a cover crop is to get living roots in the soil for more of the year. They add fertility, retain nutrients needed to grow your crops, and hold the soil in place. However, there is no such thing as a “perfect” cover crop. All species have their pros and cons.

Jean Eells is a natural resource specialist and consultant. She says the three major categories of cover crops are grasses, brassicas, and legumes. Make the choice based on your goal for its use.

“The grasses are really super at getting a network of roots out quickly and holding onto the nitrogen. Brassicas are things like the turnips and radishes. Those are really good at sending out a taproot, and that little taproot is going way down in there and helping to break up compaction,” says Eells. “The legumes, we kind of know what legumes do. They help fix nitrogen, take it from the air and fix it.”