Soil Health Tip Tuesday: Growing Varieties

Soil Health Champion Mike Phillips holds up beautiful sunflowers at his farm, Valley View Farms.

Growing varieties of plants can help build soil health. For example, planting a wide array of sunflowers can help maximize living roots in the soil, keep the soil covered, and energize the soil with diversity. Different sunflower varieties can be annual or perennial. From planting to mid-summer to enjoying mid-fall, they can make a great cover crop and do not require a lot of water.

Dig Deeper (But Minimize Disturbance)

How to grow sunflower from the Virginia Farm Bureau's In the Garden video

Purposeful cover crop planning with Virginia Cooperative Extension and USDA

Sunflowers could be an easy, water-saving cover crop by American Agriculturalist

Share this Soil Health Tip with a friend who loves sunflowers!