What types of cover crops are good for beginners?

Here’s a great article that explains cover crops for beginners. Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff considers oats and radishes a fool-proof combination: “cover crops with training wheels.” Purdue University agronomist Eileen Kladivko recommends grasses such as cereal rye, wheat, or barley since they produce benefits quickly. And, personally, we’re big fans of using black oats as cover crops. 

I think this reminder is always helpful: “The ‘best’ cover crop depends on a number of things: your soils, your climate, your planting window (the time between cash crops), what benefit you want, and the equipment you have to plant the cover crop and manage the residue.” This guide gives an overview of some common fall/winter options--including black oats, cereal rye, and wheat--and some spring/summer options--including sorghum, cowpeas, and sunflower.