Cover Crop Growing Guide

This printable Cover Crop Growing Guide is a field reference for selecting, planting, managing, and terminating cover crops. For a complete on-page introduction, begin with How to Grow Cover Crops.

Choosing for a home garden? Use the Cover Crop Selector for Home Gardens to answer a few quick questions and get recommendations based on your growing space, season, and garden goals—plus estimated seed and inoculant needs.

Download the Cover Crop Growing Guide PDF.

Choose a cover crop by season and purpose

Select seed according to the available growing window, expected temperatures, water availability, soil conditions, and what you want the crop to accomplish. Common objectives include erosion protection, nitrogen fixation, biomass production, weed competition, soil coverage, and improved rooting through compacted layers.

• Legumes: Clover, vetch, peas, fava beans, cowpeas, and related crops can fix nitrogen when compatible Rhizobium bacteria form effective root nodules.
• Grasses and cereal grains: Rye, oats, barley, triticale, millet, and sorghum-sudangrass can provide fibrous roots, ground cover, and carbon-rich biomass.
• Broadleaf crops: Buckwheat, mustard, and daikon radish can fill short planting windows or provide species-specific rooting and canopy benefits.
• Mixtures: Blends can combine faster establishment, different rooting habits, nitrogen-fixing legumes, and carbon-rich grasses.

Compare options with the Cover Crop Solution Chart. Shop by season through Warm Weather Cover Crops or Fall Planted Cover Crops.

Prepare the seedbed

Remove or manage existing vegetation and create enough seed-to-soil contact for the planting method. A fine, firm seedbed can help small seeds establish, while large seeds can generally be placed deeper. Correct nutrient limitations according to a soil test rather than applying phosphorus, lime, gypsum, or other amendments universally.

Check whether legume seed needs inoculant

Before planting clover, vetch, peas, beans, or another legume, review the current product description. Some seed is already inoculated or Nitrocoated. Raw legume seed may need a compatible seed inoculant if the appropriate Rhizobium is not reliably present. Match the inoculant group to the legume; one inoculant does not serve every species.

Plant at the correct depth and rate

Use the product page’s species- and application-specific seeding rate. Small seeds generally require shallow placement, while larger seeds tolerate greater depth. Planting too deeply can reduce emergence; leaving seed exposed can increase drying and losses to birds or runoff.

• Drilling: Places seed at a more consistent depth and spacing.
• Broadcasting: Requires even distribution followed by light incorporation, rolling, or another method that improves seed contact.
• Dryland planting: Should be timed to dependable precipitation and local conditions. Establishment is less predictable without irrigation.

Use conditions rather than one national planting date

Cool-season planting time varies by region, elevation, first-frost timing, and species. Plant early enough for adequate establishment before cold weather. Warm-season crops are generally planted after frost risk and once the soil is warm enough for the selected species. Product instructions and local extension guidance should take precedence over a universal calendar date.

Manage establishment

Maintain adequate moisture during germination when irrigation is available. Inspect the stand for crusting, uneven emergence, weed pressure, and animal damage. Sparse areas may reflect poor seed contact, incorrect depth, inadequate moisture, old seed, or unsuitable temperature.

Plan termination before the crop sets seed

Termination timing depends on the species, growth stage, desired biomass or nitrogen contribution, available equipment, and the crop that follows. Mowing, cutting, crimping, tilling, winterkill, and surface-mulch approaches have different limitations. Avoid allowing an annual cover crop to produce mature seed unless reseeding is intentional.

Read Turning Cover Crops into Green Manure for termination methods and guidance on preparing for the next planting.

Store unused seed carefully

Keep seed cool, dry, dark, and protected from insects and rodents. Avoid moisture and large temperature fluctuations. Inoculated seed and opened packages may have more specific storage and viability limits, so retain the lot information and follow the supplier’s directions.

Continue planning

• Shop All Cover Crop Seeds
• Shop Organic Cover Crop Seeds
• Shop Soil Building Cover Crops
• Shop Green Manure Seeds

Use the product page to select the appropriate seeding-rate range, then enter that rate and your measured area in the Cover Crop Application Rate Calculator.

Planting a legume? If the seed is raw rather than pre-inoculated or Nitrocoated, use the Legume Inoculant Compatibility Chart to match clover, vetch, peas, beans, and other legumes with a compatible rhizobia group before planting.