Best Cover Crop for Clay Soil

[Music] cover crops are basically grown for the advantages of the soil rather than Crop Production they protect your uncultivated land from erosion and weeds they can also improve soil nutrients and structure cover crops the idea behind the cover crop is to plant in your garden during the off season cover crop prepares the soil and breaks up the compaction of clay soil and it helps maximize your soil fertility when cover crops are tilled back into the soil it enhances the organic composition of the soil the best cover crops for clay soil Improvement clay soils are heavy and difficult to work with as it does not allow water to pass through easily the easiest way to work with clay soil is to combine it with organic materials the key to going about this is to start with making use of cover crops to enhance clay soil and add organic matter afterward there are different types of plants used to cover crops the best and most commonly used are legumes and grasses cereals included also some other good varieties are the brassicas mustard rape and forage radish as well as Buckwheat the best cover crops for clay soil include buckwheat Clover Alfalfa fava beans and winter wheat 1. clover Clover acts as a living Mulch and one of the best is white Clover Clover is a legume and it helps absorbs nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it into the soil the Clover has an extensive root system that helps breaks up soil compaction of clay soil Clover acts as weed suppression and serves as protection against adverse conditions 2. buckwheat buckwheat grain is one of the best cover crops to grow for clay soil it grows rapidly and provides an excellent turnover for green manure it is also a good method of weed suppression it is easy to terminate with no regrowth and IT Supplies good mulch 3. alfalfa alfalfas are good cover crops with a deep Taproot system Alfalfa breaks up the compaction of clay soil and it also helps reduce erosion and build organic materials they also provide good forage 4. winter wheat winter wheat is grown as cash grain and it is good to cover crops for clay soil it has a good root system and it increases topsoil tilth fixing clay soil with cover crops means you are preparing your garden soil for future planting the best time to plant your cover crop is anywhere around 15 to 45 days till your first Frost if you liked this video don't forget to like And subscribe foreign

Channel: Gardening Dream

Views: 1,255

Keywords: cover crops, cover crops for gardens, cover crop, cover crops for clay soil, cover crops for the garden, cover crops for beginners, cover crops no till, best cover crops for clay soil, growing cover crops, cover crops for soil, how to grow cover crops, home garden cover crops, cover cropping, cover crops for shade, cover crops for grazing, using cover crops, cover crops for raised beds, clover, terminating cover crops, radishes for cover crop, rye cover crop for garden

Id: xUUFOXYvf_s

Length: 2min 56sec (176 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 25 2023