Winter Peas

I've planted Austrian winter peas as a cover crop to improve the soil condition for planting next year. Most growers are trying to attract turkey or deer with winter crops like this, but my purpose is nitrogen fixation.

Rhizobia bacteria in the soil infect the pea root system, which supplies carbohydrates and oxygen. The pea (and whatever I plant in the spring) in turn benefits from the ammonia that the bacteria produces. The symbiotic relationship between the two leads the pea roots to invite infection by the bacteria.