Living mulch systems provide varying benefits to soils and are influenced by the mulch plant species’ lifespan (i.e. perennial vs. annual) and life cycle (i.e., time until perennial crop maturation)

• Perennial White Clover: White clover provided continuous living cover throughout the study, which resulted in relatively higher levels of soil nutrients and soil organic matter (SOM) compared to other mulching treatments.
• Crimson Clover & Buckwheat-Pea Mulch: Both of these mulching systems decomposed in the second year of the study, and subsequently provided fewer benefits. The crimson clover naturally aged/died off, owing to its properties as an annual crop, while the buckwheat-pea mulch broke down quickly following artichoke planting.
• Perennial Kurapia: Kurapia is a novel, low-growing, perennial broadleaf groundcover species developed as an eco-friendly alternative to turfgrass. In this study, Kurapia was established via plug transplants in spring 2022. After Kurapia became better-established in the second year of the study, it became more competitive, both with weeds and the artichoke crop itself.

Plastic mulch retained the most soil moisture, but did not seem to provide other benefits to soil health

• All three of the living mulch treatments (annual crimson clover, perennial white clover, & perennial Kurapia) resulted in lower soil moisture compared to the plastic mulch treatment throughout the experiment. The buckwheat-pea mulch resulted in intermediate soil moisture values.
  • • Plastic mulch reduced water infiltration rates and increased soil temperature compared to other treatments, suggesting that, while mulching with plastic may increase irrigation efficiency, it may not contribute to other measures of soil health.

Across the two years of this experiment, both of the living clover mulches (annual crimson clover and perennial white clover) resulted in lower artichoke yield than other treatments

• Perennial white clover and annual crimson clover both significantly reduced artichoke yield, highlighting potential tradeoffs between soil health and short-term crop yield.
• As Kurapia become more established in the second year of the study, it marginally reduced artichoke yields, resulting in a yield between the lower yields of the clover treatments and the higher yields from both the plastic mulch and the rolled buckwheat-pea mulch treatments.
• Both of the clover treatments resulted in slightly increased artichoke yield in year 2 compared to year 1, while the other three treatments (plastic, Kurapia, and buckwheat-pea mulch) had significant year-over-year yield reductions.