Cover Crops

What cover crops are commonly planted on California farms?

Cover Crop Chart- Common Cover Crops for California (PDF) - Provides cultivation considerations and information about advantages and disadvantages of various cover crops commonly used on California farms.

What are best practices for using cover crops in organic cropping systems?

Cover Crops in Organic Systems (PDF) - Document from Western Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (WSARE) detailing best practices for using cover crops in organic cropping systems.

How much nitrogen can cover crops contribute to my soil?

Estimating plant-available nitrogen release from cover crops (PDF) - Explains the importance of plant available nitrogen (PAN) and details methods for estimating the amount of PAN provided by a cover crop in a given area.
Winter cover crop seeing rate and variety effects during 8 yrs of organic vegetables III-Cover crop residue quality and nitrogen mineralization (PDF) - Study looking at the differences in soil carbon and nitrogen due to different cover crops and cover crop seeding rates.

What cover crops are suitable to plant if I'm managing for verticilium wilt?

Selecting Legume Cover Crops When Managing Verticillum Wilt (PDF) - Results of a study looking at which types of leguminous (nitrogen-providing) cover crops are best to plant when your field is infected with the fungus that causes verticillium wilt, a common disease in strawberry production.