In a first for me, a friend has spotted Japanese blood grass being used as a cover crop in the UK. As we do get winters colder than -5 C still (usually), this will likely not persist more than one mild winter (I hear it can be very persistent in milder climates).
This is a field in the west of the midlands of England where the soil seems badly damaged (see closeup) by flooding from the nearby River Severn over recent years.
Presumably, the
root structure will help to re-aerate the soil, and there will be a decent biomass from the top growth when it dies back.
I'd love to know more from people who may have
experience of Japanese blood grass as a soil restoring green manure cover?
Lots of great material on green manures in climates like England from experts such as Iain 'Tolly' Tolhurst & the late, great Dave of Darlington on the Vegan Organic Network and their Stockfree Organic Standard sites e.g.:
https://veganorganic.net/2023/06/how-to-be-stockfree-organic-relay-green-manures/