Best Cover Crops For Home Gardens

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Planting cover crops in home gardens has become increasingly popular, and for good reason. The benefits of using cover crops in a home garden far outweigh any disadvantages. 

Cover crops can be used in any home garden type, such as raised beds or in-ground gardens. I will clarify some questions about using cover crops in home gardens. 

For a long time, I thought cover crops were only for large farms, but I’m so glad I learned otherwise. Cover crops are fabulous for home gardeners, no matter the size.  

Updated March 2024.

Many seed catalogs now carry cover crop seeds as well along with heirloom seeds and more for your garden.

What are Cover Crops? 

Some profound definitions are available for the question: What are covered crops? There are lots of confusing ones, in fact.

Fortunately, I came across this one, and it was like what I call a “light bulb” moment – it just made sense.

Essentially, they are defined as easy, ready-to-sow, fast-growing crops. They are often planted in late fall as a beneficial green manure cover over bare soil, amending and building the soil naturally without using chemicals or fertilizers.

How to Choose the Right Crop For You

If you research online, you will quickly become overwhelmed by all the information you find. Many websites, such as SARE.org or other .edu sites, are geared toward large-crop commercial farming. Therefore, there are some precautions to take when choosing the right cover crops for your garden.

First, you have to know what you want to accomplish with them. How do you want to build your soil? What does it need? 

Crops such as legumes add nitrogen to the soil, while others help break up compacted soil. Another kind is a broad leaf that acts strictly as a weed suppressant by shading the soil. But if you need to add a lot of organic matter to your beds, I’d suggest grasses, as they help build biomass on the soil surface. 

Also, note that cover crops can be purchased as annuals or perennials. Some will survive your winter and flower in spring, and others will not. Some are easily killed, and you must make some decisions before purchasing seeds.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Seeds

• What does the crop need to accomplish? 
• Do you want it to survive your winter, or must it be easy to kill?

RELATED: Even if you’ve never gardened, this Ultimate Garden Guide for Beginners is for you! Learn everything you need to know from over 60 resources, all in one place, to be a successful gardener, including improving soil, cover crops, warm and cool season crops, organic amendments, fertilizing, watering, and so much more.

Three Common Types of Annuals

There are three basic or standard families of cover crops. Each provides its own benefits to garden soil. I’ll share only annuals in this article since they are recommended when planting cover crops in home vegetable gardens or raised beds. 

1. Annual Legumes

Examples are peas, alfalfa, cowpea, clover, and hairy vetch—all of these build nitrogen in your soil.

2. Annual Broadleaf

Examples are field peas, buckwheat, alyssum, and annual brassica species such as mustard, radish, and turnips. These germinate and spring up quickly to shade out weeds and are easily turned under in the spring to add additional nutrients. 

3. Annual Grasses

Examples are ryegrass, oats, and wheat, all of which build biomass to add organic matter over the soil, which breaks down. They also help water retention by slowing down rain runoff from bare naked soil. 

Benefits Of Cover Crops

Though the primary purpose is to reduce soil erosion, cover cropping has several additional benefits for home gardens. 

• Adds Organic Matter & Soil Structure –  Cover crops are broken down by living microorganisms in the soil. They form tiny clumps that help to bind soil particles together, which are called aggregates.  These “clumps” create space in your garden soil to store air and water.  

So essentially, water doesn’t run off the top when you water your garden.  The organic matter helps to absorb water so it can penetrate the soil. So, unhealthy compacted soil will drain faster than porous soil filled with rich organic matter.

• Reduces Nematodes –  Nematodes are a worm fungus that attacks the roots of plants, causing them to be unhealthy and often die.  Nematodes have a hard time surviving in healthy soils. Brassicas and Mustards are best for reducing nematodes. 
• Helps to Suppress Disease – Cover crops reduce rain splash and soil-born pathogens on plant leaves and stems. Preventing splashing aids in controlling diseases.   
• Reduces Compaction – The roots of cover crops open up soil pathways for rain to penetrate deep into the soil, resulting in minimal runoff and soil holding moisture. Water retention helps plants have a healthier root system and grow stronger. Radishes, brassicas, and mustards are best for increasing aeration. 
• Increased Soil Nutrients – Cover crops add nitrogen (N) to the soil and recycle phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) in the soil.  As it breaks down, the nutrients are released, helping to reduce the need for additional fertilizers. Healthy Soil, What Is It and How to Build It? Will help you to understand more about soil nutrients.
• Controls Weeds – Mother Nature does not like being naked! Bare soil will always cover itself with weeds and trees. Keeping a cover crop in your garden when not planted helps prevent weeds. 
• Feeds Pollinators – When cover crops are allowed to flower, pollinators can feed later into fall. 
• Acts as a blanket – They will protect the soil from extreme temperatures, winds, rains, and snow, all of which compact the soil. 

When garden soil is left bare to the elements and allowed to erode, it reduces its production ability, drastically reducing crop yields.

Disadvantages of Cover Crops

• Seed Cost Upfront – Establishing cover crops can be costly, but their benefits outweigh this.
• Possible Hard to Kill—Some cover crops can quickly become weeds if not maintained and controlled. If left, they will flower, which is excellent, attracting pollinators to your garden. But if left to go to seed, they can quickly get out of control in your garden space in a season. Once they seed, they spread prolifically, which leads us to another disadvantage. 
• Reseeding and Competition—If cover crops are left to seed in the spring, they will compete with vegetable crops. It’s essential to turn or mow these back into the soil before they go to seed in early spring. Or choose winter-kill varieties.
• May require Watering—As with any seeds, you’ll need to keep cover crop seeds moist until fall rains begin. It’s best to water lightly every other day until they sprout and begin to grow, keeping the top inch or so of soil consistently moist. 

Cover Crop Examples I Use and Why

I prefer using annual crops that die over winter in my garden. As mentioned, grasses and legumes can be purchased as annuals or perennials.  

Annuals that will die over the winter are much easier to turn under and control in the spring. And if you have a no-till garden, they make it much more manageable. 

Whether you use annuals or perennials, the roots of your cover crops add nutrients to the soil food web, improving soil quality and increasing yields.  

1. Crimson Clover

Clover makes an excellent ground cover, so erosion is not a problem; it adds organic matter and nitrogen to the soil and flowers early, attracting pollinators. I’d even recommend a lot of clovers be allowed to grow in your yard in addition to the garden.

2. Hairy Vetch

Vetch is not only a weed suppressant but also builds organic matter and fixes nitrogen in the soil. It grows like a mat, so it’s terrific for shading when planting early spring crops that need shade. 

3. daikon Radish

As they grow, the radishes pull nutrients from the soil to break up soil compaction, allowing vegetables to develop better the following spring. These were great when we started the new gardens here on the farm. Our soil was hard, compacted clay that was lifeless. 

It’s been only three years on this farm, and there is already a difference in compaction—it’s much less. As seasons pass, I’ll continue to plant these over the winter months, and they will continue to help amend the compacted soil.

4. Barley

I use this more often than not. Barley is a beautiful weed suppressant and adds nitrogen to depleted soil. I grow more in the spring and summer than fall, so I plant barley in the beds that will not be planted for fall.

It grows well but then is winter-killed, adding biomass to the soil for winter and protecting it from snow and hard rains. The roots continue to help with nitrogen. 

Barley grows like really large blades of grass. It’s a joy to look at until it is winter-killed. 

5. Buckwheat

Buckwheat is a warm-weather broadleaf crop that provides natural shade for cool-season crops. I use it when I have an empty bed between summer crops and am waiting to plant fall crops. It grows fast, and pollinators love it. I keep buckwheat seeds on hand just for these times.  

As a side note, daikon radishes are great treats for chickens, pigs, and cows. They are even edible for us. When harvested, they don’t have to go to waste. 

6. Mixed Seed Mixes

Another option is if you are unsure what your soil needs, I’d recommend using a pre-mix variety that will help with several soil issues all at once. One of my favorites is this No-Till Pollinator-Friendly Cover Crop Mix. 

When to Plant Cover Crops

The best time to plant cover crops is in the fall, once summer vegetables are harvested and you prepare your garden for winter. When soil is left bare over winter, rain and snow compact it, making it hard for earthworms, nutrients, and water to penetrate. Or the sun bakes it, making it dry and cracked.

With compaction and dry, cracked soil, soil life moves further down in the ground, making the surface existing organic matter lifeless, resulting in less yield the following spring season.

Here in zone 7b, our first frost is mid-October, and I usually harvest the last of the garden vegetables from late September to early October.

As I clean up each bed, I stir the soil about 2 inches deep, rake it smooth, and then sow cover crop seeds. Then, I use the rake to cover the seeds with soil and water them lightly. 

How to Plant Cover Crops

Cover crops are easy to plant and grow. Before you plant, harvest any last vegetables and clean up debris, weeds, etc., that can harbor garden pests over the winter. Doing so helps leave behind a clean area while preparing the garden for winter. 

Next, loosen the first inch or so of soil with a hoe or other garden tool and rake it back over to smooth it out. 

Then, broadcast or scatter seeds over the area according to package directions. Use a rake to cover seeds lightly, about 1/8 inch, with soil, then water thoroughly with the fine mist sprayer on your hose or drip irrigation (*affiliate link).

The timing for planting cover crops varies. They can be planted anytime a tired, old bed needs nutrients. However, the more common time to plant is in the fall, September-October, after harvesting summer vegetables. 

How Late Can Cover Crops Be Planted?

If you run late cleaning up the garden debris and November arrives, cover crop seeds will not have time to establish before the winter cold.

Therefore, if it’s too late in the season, an excellent alternative to cover crops is to spread 2-4 inches of straw or leaf mulch over your beds for the winter. As this breaks down over winter, it will incorporate nutrients into the soil.  

These are not as beneficial but better than leaving the soil naked. 

The bottom line is to “keep the soil covered.” When microbes are fed over winter, your vegetable yields are higher the following spring. 

What to Do With Cover Crops in the Spring

Do cover crops have to be tilled? When discussing growing cover crops with beginning gardeners, this is my most frequently asked question.  Thankfully, it doesn’t have a cut-and-dry yes or no answer. Growing cover crops can accommodate you no matter the type of vegetable garden you grow. 

If you have a no-till garden, cover crops can simply be weed-eated down, “chopped and dropped,” as the term goes, and left to decay or break down on the surface. The roots will begin to die since the cover no longer has leaves to absorb the sun’s rays. If you plan to chop and drop, do so at least 4-6 weeks before spring planting. So, it dies off before planting. 

Otherwise, if you till your garden soil, you can turn cover crops under. This will help aerate the soil before spring planting. You’ll only need to till the top 2-3 inches to prevent further soil structure disturbance. 

Tilling chops and breaks up the crop, digs up the roots, and turns them over to die. 

I recommend not tilling any deeper than 2-3 inches so that you don’t break up the fungi and soil health. You can use a roto-tiller or even a hoe.  I use a hoe to chop mine. Find some of my favorite garden tools in this article.

Final Thoughts for You

Don’t let all the information you find about cover crops intimidate you. I’m fully aware that there is a lot. I remember when I first started looking at them. 

Cover crops are excellent for your garden. They build biomass and nutrients, lessen the need for additional outside fertilizers and compost, and help to control weeds. 

As with gardening, learning anything new takes time. Always start slow and learn as you go. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. Your questions will come straight to my inbox. 

Even More Garden Articles

• Best Garden Tools for Home Gardeners
• Garden Mapping: Planning Your Vegetable Garden
• How to Plant a Fall Garden
• How to Prepare Your Garden Beds for Winter

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