Green Mulch

Lot's of systems use cover crops to enhance soil, but in the Soil Food Web system, it seems like you don't terminate the crop, but keep it going.

In a normal cover crop system, you would plow the crops under and add the nutrients to the soil.

In the Soil food web system, it's the relationship between the bacteria and other animals in the soil, and the plants themselves that create the fertility.

Planting low growing cover crops, then leaving them year to year allows them to reseed themselves. Planting a variety of cover crops means if one crop doesn't do well in a season, another can take it's place, coming up from the soils 'seed bank'.

Cover crops need to be chosen with care. Because this system never terminates the cover crops, and the bacteria and microfauna give all the nutrition needed, plants can grow much larger than normal.

The one crop I am beginning with is White clover. It is available everywhere, and cheap.