A vegetable bed that has been cleared for the season looks finished, but bare soil in November is also an opportunity, and plenty of gardeners wonder what, if anything, can go in the ground now and still be there come spring. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach answers part of that in a table of home-garden cover crops, last reviewed in August 2026.
The table marks four species as surviving winter: cereal rye, red clover, white clover and hairy vetch. Two more, winter wheat and crimson clover, are listed as sometimes surviving, and the rest of the list is marked as winter-killed. The details that follow come from the Iowa State Extension page, which also gives planting windows and seeding rates for each of the four.
Cereal Rye Is the Only One With a Fall Planting Window
Of the four winter survivors, cereal rye is the one whose planting time includes fall. Iowa State lists late summer and fall for rye, with a minimum germination temperature of 34 degrees F and a seeding rate of 2 to 3 ounces per 100 square feet. It is a grass, and Wikipedia’s rye entry describes it as far more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than other cereals. The page also lists tilling, herbicide, crimping and smothering as ways to end the crop in spring, and it warns that rye should be terminated two to three weeks before planting. Rye must be terminated in flower for a complete kill, and it easily becomes a weed if not completely terminated.
The attribute table rates rye excellent for weed control, erosion control, loosening topsoil and fast growth, and it lists biomass of 0.5 to 11.5 pounds per 100 square feet per year. By the table’s planting windows, rye is the one that fits a bed sitting empty in mid-November. The other three are listed for spring or late summer. Anyone who plans to freeze the rest of the harvest could pair that bed work with Frenz Hub’s guide to freezing fresh green beans.
Red Clover Establishes Easily
Red clover is listed for spring and late summer planting at 0.4 to 0.6 ounces per 100 square feet, with a germination minimum of 42 degrees F. Iowa State describes it as easy to establish and adaptable to a wide range of conditions. The attribute table rates it excellent as a nitrogen source, and it can be ended with tilling, herbicide or smothering. As a legume, it belongs to the bean family, a group that Wikipedia’s cover crop entry says forms partnerships with soil bacteria in its root nodules. Its biomass range is 0.5 to 9.2 pounds per 100 square feet per year, wider than white clover’s. For gardeners trying to keep up with the rest of the property, Frenz Hub covers 7 xeriscaping ideas for the yard as well.
White Clover Struggles Against Weeds as a Seedling
White clover shares red clover’s spring and late summer planting times and its 42 degree germination minimum, but it is sown a little thinner, at 0.3 to 0.4 ounces per 100 square feet. Iowa State adds a caution: it is not very competitive with weeds when it is a seedling. That means a bed with a weed problem gives it a rough start. Its biomass range is 0.5 to 4.6 pounds per 100 square feet per year, and termination methods match red clover’s: tilling, herbicide or smothering. Frenz Hub’s list of the 13 worst garden pests covers other things that crowd a bed. Gardeners who heat with wood may also want the craftingyourhome.com rundowns of 5 things never to do with fireplace ashes and 5 things never to do with a winter firewood pile.
Hairy Vetch Is Hard to End and Easy to Overdo
Hairy vetch is planted in spring or late summer at 0.5 to 1 ounce per 100 square feet. Its germination minimum is 60 degrees F, the warmest of the four. Iowa State says termination can be difficult because of the extensive, intertangled stems, and that it should not be allowed to go to seed, because the seed stays viable in the soil for many years. The page suggests considering a Rhizovia inoculum to improve growth, and it lists tilling, mowing, herbicide and crimping as termination methods. According to Wikipedia’s hairy vetch entry, the plant is native to parts of Europe and western Asia, occurs in all U.S. states and is considered invasive by some of them.
The Crops That Did Not Make the List
Winter wheat and crimson clover fall into a middle category, marked as sometimes surviving. Winter wheat is planted in late summer or fall, so it also fits a late planting window, but the table does not call it a reliable survivor. Oats, buckwheat, field peas and annual rye are marked as not surviving winter. That does not make them poor choices. Iowa State lists oats and buckwheat among its short-term crops, and the page says both work well as short-term cover crops of 45 to 60 days.
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, known as SARE, offers a broader overview of cover crops and their role in crop rotations. Iowa State’s page is narrower and sticks to what home gardeners can manage in a vegetable bed. Its example mixtures include cereal rye with hairy vetch and cereal rye with Austrian winter peas, which pair a winter survivor with a legume, and its beginner recommendations for late summer or fall planting are oats, field peas, oilseed radish and buckwheat.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Cassiville – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
