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Growing Home - Late Summer Cover Crops

If you have some unplanted space in your garden, late summer is prime time to sow a cover crop. Plants like clover, vetch, or rye are “green manure” that enriches the soil. As these cover crops grow, they prevent weeds and their roots break up hard ground. Nitrogen-fixing legumes (like clover) pull nutrients from thin air to feed your future veggies. The payoff comes when you dig them under: as the plants decompose, the cover crops release nutrients and add to the soil’s organic matter.