Cereal rye mixed with resident vegetation is used as a cover crop in this eastern Washington vineyard. Cover crops are grown for different purposes and there are different management styles, said Dr. Robert Stevens, Washington State University Extension soil specialist. “It will all be different for each of you.” Cover crops reduce weed pressure, help prevent soil erosion, use excess soil moisture, improve biodiversity, and in the long term, can increase organic matter. “But for the most part, we live in a desert. If you want to raise your soil organic matter by two percent, move to Iowa,” Stevens said. […]