Cover Crops

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Cover Crops are an essential addition to any home gardener’s toolkit, offering a natural and effective way to protect the soil and improve soil health, manage pests and weeds and e nhance biodiversity. Cover crops—sometimes called “green manure”—are sown not for harvest but to protect and enrich the soil between growing seasons, and for the many benefits they bring to the garden ecosystem. Our Cover Crops Seed Collection gives home gardeners the opportunity to sample a range of cover crops all which have their own benefits for your garden. One of the main benefits of cover cropping is soil fertility. Leguminous plants like clover and lupin fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it in their roots, making it available for the next round of crops. When these plants are cut down and turned into the soil, they decompose and release nutrients, feeding soil microbes and improving structure. Cover crops also play a vital role in weed suppression. Fast-growing species like buckwheat and mustard outcompete weeds by shading them out, reducing the need for manual weeding or chemical herbicides. Additionally, cover crops help prevent soil erosion, retain moisture and improve drainage by breaking up compacted ground with their root systems. Many varieties like clover, phacelia and lupin also produce flowers that attract pollinators and beneficial insects, supporting overall garden health. Some like mustard act as a natural biofumigant, helping to reduce soil-borne pests and diseases when chopped in and incorporated into the soil. It grows quickly and is particularly valuable in rotation with vegetable crops. For home gardeners, using a cover crop between growing seasons or in resting beds is a simple, low-maintenance way to regenerate the soil, reduce reliance on synthetic inputs, and create a more resilient and productive garden over time. Our Seed Collections have been created to contain some of our most well-loved varieties and to take the guesswork out of making seed selections yourself. Also fabulous as a gift for the gardeners in your life or those new to growing. For individual growing requirements for each of the varieties that make up this Seed Collection, please refer to the specific product information given for that variety. Show more