Maybe after you finish your vegetable harvest, you mentally say, “I’m done this year,” and wait to start again next year. But a cover crop could benefit you in several ways. By researching now, you ...

While farmers plant millions acres of plants like rye and clover to boost soil health and crowd out weeds, a cover crop does the same thing in the smallest home garden. With cover crops, a vegetable ...

Vegetable gardening in 95-degree heat and unrelenting humidity all summer is not for the faint of heart. To top off the sweltering conditions, here in the Panhandle we have intense pest pressure on ...

For an Earth-friendly garden, keep a succession of plants in the soil by planting cover crops. These are plants grown to improve the soil rather than for harvest. I prepare the soil for the next year ...

It's common for home gardeners to give their vegetable patches a spell before planting the next crop. But having the soil sitting bare can cause problems you may not be aware of. If your area ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – No one wants to think of harvest’s end as the vegetable garden reaches peak, but now’s the time to plant over-winter cover crops to improve your soil for next season. If you’re not ...

In the fall, you might be tempted to remove the dead plant material, till your garden soil a bit, and put your garden to bed for the winter without another thought. However, you can also grow cover ...

Cover crops, also called green manure, are an excellent tool for vegetable gardeners. They are grown not for harvest, but instead to improve the soil's physical structure and fertility. Some are even ...

"Fall is not the end of the gardening year; it is the start of next year's growing season. The mulch you lay down will protect your perennial plants during the winter and feed the soil as it decays, ...

Every fall after the growing season is over, I continue my soil-building regime by planting a winter cover crop. You’ll sometimes hear cover crops used in this type of application referred to as a ...

Dear Garden Coach: I took a compost class with you this summer. After that class I started finding ways to take better care of my soil (including starting my first compost pile). I also began ...