Maybe clover or another green manure? I'm not sure how well they would do at preventing weeds from establishing themselves, but I would think that they would help!

I second CLOVER.

Alfalfa is another.

A red clover or sweetclover seems good. Often these are sown in a nurse crop like wheat or oats. If oats, the clover would be sown with the oats. If wheat, the wheat would be sown in the fall in zones 5 and up and the clover broadcast in the wheat in March.

Clover and alfalfa will leave behind a fair amount of seed. Maybe not enough to become a major weed problem though I agree that there are good choices and I've been growing both in my pathways for numerous years.

Thanks everyone!
Would clover would have to wait until spring?
If so can it be planted in early spring?
Would oats/wheat help suppress weeds?
How long can I leave it before turning it in?
To clarify-garden is raised rows with landscaping fabric in the walkways.

If you live in northern areas, I would wait until spring to plant clover or sweet clover. I would sow it in early April if you can with a light oats nurse crop. The oats will die down and the clover will come on stronger. You can leave the clover over winter and mow and till it in the following spring. Remember that you will have some turf and straw to deal with when you kill it off. Clover can be planted in March if you choose to go with clover alone. The main trouble is weeds in the clover if sown alone. If you have few weeds, the clover can go it alone.

The clover will seed and die down the second summer. Clover seed can be broadcast on top of the snow. With oats, it needs some tilling to cover the oats. The clover seed would not want to be covered up like the oats...broadcast the seed after covering the oats.

This post was edited by wayne_5 on Sat, Sep 21, 13 at 15:43

Oats can be raked into the soil if you want to plant it now.

In my zone 7 Red Russian Kale, Corn Salad (mache lettuce), and flat leaf parsley do a good job of covering until I can plant again in spring. All reseed, but are easily smothered with mulch. I don't know if they'll reseed in your area.

Sheet mulch with a layer of newspaper topped with your choice of veg garden mulch. I like dried grass clippings or partially composted shredded leaves. Both are lightweight & make a nice carpet. Mixed with coffee grounds they become nearly invisible from a distance if that matters.

So I got a very late start on my fall lettuce last year...so my cover crop ended up being black seeded Simpson. In early spring I tilled that bed heavily and racked out the dead lettuce and thoroeghly cleaned the bed... Three weeks later I am harvesting volunteer lettuce...very early, a welcomed surprise and oh so good.