Cover Crops

Cover cropping before planting native grasses and wildflowers provide numerous benefits that ultimately increase the success rate of native planting. These cover crops are excellent ways to build back soil health with organic matter, reduce soil compaction, and fix certain nutrients back into the soil (nitrogen). They are also utilized to choke out any unwanted and invasive species by growing a higher canopy and prohibiting sunlight from getting to them. WHF uses a combination of winter and summer cover crops that also provide food and cover for wildlife. Winter cover crops include wheat, oats, rye, turnips, vetch, and clovers. Summer cover crops consist of various species of millets, cowpeas, and Wildgame food milo.

WHF also utilizes radishes to aid in the enhancement of soil health prior to planting native grasses and forbs. Radishes push into hard-packed ground which increases the water-holding capacity of the soil.