We gloss over "cover crops" when we write about farmers, assuming everyone knows what they do. But every regenerative farmer we've talked to uses the technique when conventional farmers don't, so we realized they need a proper introduction.

COVER CROPS ARE PLANTS THAT ARE INTENTIONALLY SOWN TO IMPROVE SOIL

And they help in myriad ways. Not intended for a harvest, cover crops are there to boost food production and soil health.

Grasses like oats and barley are grown because they have long roots that pull nutrients up from the deepest soils to the surface where they can rot over winter and become accessible to future plants. Plus those leggy roots give the soil structure to prevent erosion and increase the soil's ability to suck in and retain moisture.

COVER CROPS BUILD NITROGEN INTO THE SOIL FOR FUTURE PLANTS

Legumes like clover and peas have an incredible ability to make nitrogen available to other plants. They partner with soil bacteria: the bacteria on their root system can capture air bubbles of nitrogen and feed it to the clover, while the clover gives the bacteria sugars.

When the clover decays in the winter, that nitrogen becomes accessible to future plants in a way they can absorb.

Cover crops can break up compacted earth, they out-compete weeds for sunlight, and they attract beneficial pollinators and predators. They hold in water and feed the entire fungal web that shares nutrients between plants - both the ones we eat and the ones that help.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE'S NO COVER CROPS

If it's just bare earth, then you get soil erosion because there are no roots giving the soil structure. The land dries out, causing future rainwater to simply run off the top.

That's when the weeds take over. Nature has an incredible power to adapt, and weeds that like impacted soil will soon sprout, outcompeting struggling vegetables, grains, or fruit.

But with healthy cover crops, the soil instead can behave like a sponge. The web of roots and nutrients can hold water and fertility for plants, teaming with microbes and life.