One possibility is to buy black eye peas from the grocery store and plant them. That is cheap seed and cowpeas are a very good cover crop. They produce a lot of biomass, they fix nitrogen and, although they will go to seed, they will not overwinter. You can eat some if you wish, as shellies or dried.

Jim

I've thought of using some dried beans from the store, but wasn't sure they were not treated to ensure they wouldn't grow. I'll give them a shot and see what happens. Then I can just leave them on the plant to let them dry.

Thanks

I like to plant soybeans for a cover crop. Being a legume, they add nitrogen to the soil, and when they are planted fairly thick, they have a tremendous amount of foliage. In the spring I prepare the soil with my Troybilt tiller, then broadcast the beans and till them in. In the fall when I can see the leaves are just starting to die, I mow them down and till the mulch into the soil.