Cover crops for off-season soil protection

Cover crops (also called green manure) protect and improve raised bed soil during off-seasons when beds would otherwise sit bare. Bare soil erodes, loses nutrients to leaching, develops a crust that repels water, and loses the biological activity that keeps it healthy. Plant cover crops 4-8 weeks before your first fall frost. Top choices for raised beds: crimson clover (legume, fixes 70-150 lbs nitrogen per acre, beautiful red flowers attract pollinators in spring), winter rye (grass, extremely cold-hardy to zone 3, dense roots prevent erosion and suppress weeds, adds substantial organic matter), field peas and oats mix (classic combination providing both nitrogen fixation and biomass), buckwheat (fast-growing summer cover, attracts pollinators, kills with first frost). Scatter seeds evenly over the soil surface, rake lightly to cover, and water. Cut cover crops at the base 4 weeks before spring planting. Either leave clippings on the soil surface as mulch (no-dig method), or lightly incorporate into the top few inches. Important caution: winter rye is allelopathic and can inhibit seed germination for 2-3 weeks after cutting; plan accordingly for spring planting timing. Cover crops are arguably the highest-leverage maintenance practice because they simultaneously protect structure, add nutrients, feed microbes, and suppress weeds.