Crimson Clover
Popular nitrogen-fixing cover crop, with beautiful flowers and a fairly low size. This makes it ideal for homeowners as well as farmers. Plant 4-6 wks before frost for winter cover. In cool-summer areas, may be used as summer cover as well. It is used in Michigan for under blueberries, and in California under fruit or nut trees. Has been successful in no-till systems, because the flowering plant is easy to kill with a crimper and leave in place as mulch.
A beautiful and popular way to enrich and anchor the soil through the winter in zones 7-9, and as a spring/summer cover elsewhere. Used in orchards, fields, and gardens. Often mixed with vetch and wheat for overwintering or used with oats for a winter mulch in the north. (They winter kill at the same temp range--about 5 degrees. The idea is to cover the soil well and then die during winter cold, providing a mulch that is easy to rake aside or till in for spring planting.)