Vegalogue is a podcast from Australian vegetable peak industry body AUSVEG. Each episode we take a look at issues affecting the Australian vegetable, potato and onion sectors, unpacking levy-funded research and meeting some of the incredible people who make up the vegetable industry.

This episode, we look at the benefits of cover cropping, which are many and varied. Vegetable growers are increasingly working cover crops into their rotations, but getting a good return on the investment can get a little complex.

It’s important to be clear on what you want to get out of a cover crop, according to Dr Kelvin Montagu, a research scientist with Applied Horticultural Research.

Dr Montagu has done quite a bit of work in cover cropping, including a levy-funded project a few years ago called Optimising cover cropping for the Australian vegetable industry, which helped veg growers use cover cropping to boost soil health and improve productivity.