Has anyone here ever planted a cover crop such as rye?

[dmosh42]

13. I do buckwheat fairly regularly.

I only plant in the rows after I have finished growing some veggie crop, or grow into the winter, when it will die-off from frost. I find that after it composes into the soil, it leaves a nice texture, making the soil have a more soft feel. Mostly I turn my soil with my hoe, so makes it easier. My soil had been a mostly heavy red clay, but seems to be less heavy. I tried two types of carrots this summer, which was never on my list previously, thinking the clay too dense to penetrate. I grew a shallow type,(chantenay) which did well. But I also planted a type that grows 6" or more, and they also produced well. I also grew alfalfa as a cover crop, but found it harder to turn by hand as it roots pretty deeply and will winter over. The alfalfa leaves a nitrogen fix in the soil, where the buckwheat doesn't.