Post 46. What are cover crops?
Cover crops are not planted to be eaten, they are planted by the farmer to make their farming practices more sustainable. The crop planted in the photograph from our farm is fodder radish and phacelia.
Fodder radish is used for increasing organic matter and breaking through layers of compaction in the soil.[1] It is also used to provide seeds for wild birds in the autmn and winter.[1] Phacelia is a nitrogen holder and weed suppressor and the purple flowers attracting and support bees and other beneficial insects providing pollen and nectar. [2]
Bare soil is more liable to water or wind erosion so farmers will plant cover crops to reduce the risk of soil erosion, capture more water in the soil, improve soil quality, suppress weeds and also capture carbon. The cover crops also can support insects too
Wild carrot is a strong tall plant with long tap roots that helps to reduce soil compaction that attracts a wide range of insects including bees, beetles and hoverflies. [3] The picture is from our farm some years ago as a cover crop, but we still have lots of wild carrot in field margins and close to hedgerows.
Farmers across the world are looking at how they can include cover crops in their farming practice and if they are mown and incorporated in the soil they can act as green manures, reducing the need for fossil fuel based artificial fertiliser.
[2] https://www.cotswoldseeds.com/species/44/phacelia
[3] https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/daucus-carota/
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