Compost Crops or Green Manure

Bare earth is never a good thing so compost crops can be used to fill those gaps. Especially over winter so soil is prepared for spring's onslaught of growth.

Compost crops give back nutrients to the soil, provide ground cover to inhibit weed growth, and protect soil structure. Although very effective their contribution is seen as a supplement to mulching and other feeding methods.

This is an advanced topic so I've collated a number of links below to start off more research into the subject.

Types of compost crop
Rye grass is recommended as an overwinter crop. After winter it is cut, with cuttings added to the compost heap or left to rot. The remnants can be dug over or if no dig is implemented then a mulch can be added to stop regrowth and rot down the remains.


Sources and Info
Good intro and method of using cover crops
Overview of using organic compost crops
UK based company with an extensive list and details of compost crops
A US based list of compost crops which would be good for UK aswell
RHS article about green manure
gardenorganic.org.uk for rye grass as a compost crop