Types of Cover Crops for Use in Home Vegetable Gardens

Utilizing cover crops in the home vegetable garden and other fallow garden areas takes special consideration.

Many different cover crop species can be used. Each has its own unique attributes. Below is information about many of the cover crops you may use in a home garden.

vareity of cover crops interplanted by Margaret Burlingham AdobeStock — Many different types of cover crops can be used in the home vegetable garden ⁽¹⁾

Cover Crop Information

Species	Scientific Name	Type	Growth Habit
Oats	Avena sativa	Grass	Upright
Teff	Eragrostis tef	Grass	Upright
Winter Barley	Hordeum vulgare	Grass	Upright
Annual Rye	Lolium multiflorum	Grass	Upright
Sorghum-Sudangrass	Sorghum bicolor ×Sorghum bicolor var. Sudane	Grass	Upright
Winter Wheat	Triticum aestivum	Grass	Upright
Cereal Rye	Secale cereale	Grass	Upright
Sunn Hemp	Crotalaria junce	Legume	Upright
Field Peas	Pisum sativum subsp. arvense	Legume	Vining
Cowpea	Vigna unguiculata	Legume	Semi-Upright to Vining
Crimson Clover	Trifolium incarnatum	Legume	Upright to Semi-Upright
Red Clover	Trifolium pratense	Legume	Upright
White Clover	Trifolium repens	Legume	Upright
Hairy Vetch	Vicia villosa	Legume	Vining
Sunflower	Helianthus annus	Broadleaf	Upright
Buckwheat	Fagopyrum esculentum	Broadleaf	Upright to Semi-Upright
Yellow Mustard	Brassica juncea	Brassica	Upright
Rapeseed	Brassica napus	Brassica	Upright
Field Turnip	Brassica rapa	Brassica	Upright
Oilseed Radish	Raphanus sativus	Brassica	Upright

Planting Times & Seeding Rates

Species	Planting Times	Minimum Germination Temp (°F)	Seeding Rates (oz/100ft²)	Notes
Oats	Spring, Late Summer	38	2-3	Works well in a mix with a legume. Works well as a short-term cover crop (45-60 days).
Teff	Summer, Late Summer	65	0.2-0.4	Quickly forms a dense canopy, suppressing weeds.
Winter Barley	Late Summer	35	2-3	Several passes with a tiller or mower are usually needed to fully terminate.
Annual Rye	Spring, Summer, Late Summer	40	0.5-1	Winter hardiness varies with variety. Difficult to terminate if allowed to develop flowers.
Sorghum-Sudangrass	Late Spring, Summer	65	1-1.5	Easily terminated. Works well as a short-term cover crop (45-60 days).
Winter Wheat	Late Summer, Fall	38	2-3	Terminate at soft-dough stage or later, 2-3 weeks before planting. Easily becomes a weed if not completely terminated.
Cereal Rye	Late Summer, Fall	34	2-3	Due to allelopathic qualities, terminate 2-3 weeks before planting. Must be terminated in flower to ensure a complete kill. Easily becomes a weed if not completely terminated.
Sunn Hemp	Late Spring, Summer	68	0.5-0.7	Can be highly variable in the amount of biomass it produces.
Field Peas	Spring, Late Summer	41	2-3	May survive winter with heavy snow cover mild temperatures.
Cowpea	Late Spring, Summer	58	1-3	Likes warm temperatures. Some cultivars are bushy and others are viney. Works well as a short-term cover crop (45-60 days).
Crimson Clover	Spring, Late Summer	42	0.4-0.6	May survive winter with heavy snow cover or mild temperatures.
Red Clover	Spring, Late Summer	42	0.4-0.6	Establishes easily. Adaptable to a wide range of conditions.
White Clover	Spring, Late Summer	42	0.3-0.4	Not very competitive with weeds when a seedling.
Hairy Vetch	Spring, Late Summer	60	0.5-1	Termination can be difficult due to extensive intertangled stems. Do not allow it to go to seed as the seed remains viable in the soil for many years. Consider using a Rhizovia inoculum to improve growth.
Sunflower	Late Spring, Summer	65	0.1-0.2	Great for attracting pollinators and other wildlife.
Buckwheat	Summer, Late Summer	50	2-3	Flowers can start with 3 weeks of seeding. Seeds can overwinter so terminate before seed set. Works well as a short-term cover crop (45-60 days).
Yellow Mustard	Spring, Late Summer	40	0.1-0.2	Till biomass into the soil to enhance bio-fumigant properties. Works well as a short-term cover crop (45-60 days).
Rapeseed	Spring, Summer, Late Summer	41	0.1-0.3	Till biomass in soil to enhance bio-fumigant properties.
Field Turnip	Spring, Summer, Late Summer	45	0.2-0.3	May not winter kill in mild winters. If it survives, terminate before flowering.
Oilseed Radish	Spring, Summer, Late Summer	45	0.2-0.4	Till biomass into the soil to enhance bio-fumigant properties. Works well as a short-term cover crop (45-60 days).

Termination Information

Species	Winter Survival	Termination Method	Typical Amount of Biomass Produced (lbs/100ft²/yr)
Oats	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Mowing, Herbicide, Crimping, Smothering	0.5-6.9
Teff	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide	0.4-9.2
Winter Barley	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Mowing, Herbicide, Crimping, Smothering	0.5-6.9
Annual Rye	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide, Smothering	0.5-5.7
Sorghum-Sudangrass	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide, Smothering	1.1-13.8
Winter Wheat	Sometimes	Tilling, Mowing, Herbicide, Crimping, Smothering	0.5-10.3
Cereal Rye	Yes	Tilling, Herbicide, Crimping, Smothering	0.5-11.5
Sunn Hemp	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Mowing, Herbicide, Crimping	0.5-1.1
Field Peas	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide	0.5-4.6
Cowpea	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Mowing, Herbicide, Smothering	1.1-5.7
Crimson Clover	Sometimes	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide, Smothering	0.5-4.6
Red Clover	Yes	Tilling, Herbicide, Smothering	0.5-9.2
White Clover	Yes	Tilling, Herbicide, Smothering	0.5-4.6
Hairy Vetch	Yes	Tilling, Mowing, Herbicide, Crimping	0.5-4.6
Sunflower	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Mowing, Herbicide	0.5-11.5
Buckwheat	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Mowing, Herbicide	1.1-5.7
Yellow Mustard	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide	0.5-4.6
Rapeseed	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide	0.5-4.6
Field Turnip	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide	0.5-4.6
Oilseed Radish	No	Winter Kill, Tilling, Herbicide	0.5-4.6

Cover Crop Attributes

Key: P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; VG= Very Good; E=Excellent

Species	Nitrogen Source	Nitrogen Scavenger	Loosens Topsoil	Soil Builder	Erosion	Weed Control	Fast Growth	Heat Tolerance	Drought Tolerance
Oats	P	VG	VG	VG	VG	G	E	G	G
Teff	P	G	VG	G	G	G	G	E	E
Winter Barley	P	VG	VG	VG	VG	G	E	G	G
Annual Rye	P	G	VG	VG	G	G	VG	F	G
Sorghum-Sudangrass	P	E	E	E	VG	E	E	E	E
Winter Wheat	P	E	VG	E	E	E	E	G	VG
Cereal Rye	P	E	E	E	E	E	E	G	VG
Sunn Hemp	VG	F	G	VG	G	F	VG	E	VG
Field Peas	G	F	G	G	F	P	G	F	G
Cowpea	VG	G	G	G	G	F	VG	E	E
Crimson Clover	VG	F	G	G	F	F	G	G	G
Red Clover	E	G	G	VG	G	G	G	VG	G
White Clover	G	F	G	F	F	F	F	VG	VG
Hairy Vetch	VG	F	G	G	G	G	F	G	G
Sunflower	P	VG	F	G	F	F	VG	E	E
Buckwheat	P	G	G	G	F	VG	E	E	F
Yellow Mustard	P	G	G	G	F	F	VG	F	G
Rapeseed	P	G	G	G	F	F	VG	F	G
Field Turnip	P	G	VG	G	F	F	G	F	F
Oilseed Radish	P	G	VG	G	F	G	E	F	G

Key: P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; VG= Very Good; E=Excellent

Cover Crop Mixtures

oats and vetch in onion bed by AlienCat AdobeStock — Cover crop mixtures, like this mix of oats and vetch, are often more effective than planting a single species. ⁽²⁾

Cover crop mixtures are often more effective than planting a single species. Combining the benefits of grasses, broadleaves, legumes, and brassicas can help achieve optimal biomass and nitrogen production, as well as weed control. Seeding rates of species within mixtures must be adjusted to ensure adequate establishment and growth of the companion species.

Many seed sources provide cover crop mixtures blended at the right ratios to ensure adequate growth with instructions on appropriate seeding rates. Using these mixtures is the best place for the home gardener to start.

Examples of good cover crop mixtures include:

Cereal rye and hairy vetch
Cereal rye, hairy vetch, and oilseed radish
Cereal rye and Austrian winter peas
Oats and hairy vetch
Oats and oilseed radish
Sorghum-sudangrass and sunn hemp
Buckwheat and sunn hemp
Buckwheat and cowpea

More Information

Photo credit: 1: Margaret Burlingham/AdobeStock; 2: AlienCat/AdobeStock

Authors:

Aaron Steil

Ajay Nair

Last reviewed:

April 2025