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Boulder County Colorado USA planet Earth

I was wondering if you guys could help tell me all the different types of cover crops.

I know about
    radish, winter rye, pea, but what others are good cover crops for winter and for summer?

11/7/2013 4:23:12 PM

Waterville, Ohio

I've heard Sudan grass being used during the summer months. A type of sorghum that grows to heights up to 7ft, imagine the amount of organic matter you're incorporating into your soil after you till/mulch it. Certainly worth it if you're alternating patches or taking a year off.

11/7/2013 5:28:54 PM

Eurasia

In some states you could still seed triticale - a hybrid of wheat and rye now. But in many northerly states it´s too late for sowing any cover crop before the winter.
Earliest seed in February would be fava bean (besides the early peas). I personally prefer oat in March next year.
But I will also seed one row fava bean and later one row corn nearby around the greater AG patches as a natural fence.
Oil radish often grows as fodder radish and therefore is sown as a summer catch crop like mustard, sorghum bicolor or Sudan grass. These crops bring much more OM to till in fall.
But there are also many nematode resistant oil radish varieties to seed already in April, and that´s very interesting for pumpkin growers: cut the top where the vines have to be burried or want to make roots unburried (with knot pegs).
Many growers chose composites with different cover crops, so they don´t have to fear dead losses, if the weather makes problems or soil is not best suited for one of these mixed up crops.
On sandy soil you could seed Pratex (avena strigosa) from April to August.
In July or August you may sow Ramtill (Gruizotia abyssinica) from ethiopia: it grows up to 5´!
Pratex and Ramtill are like Phacelia (very nice blue flower) not frost-resistant and die earlier then mustard.
If you want to hold back cations in winter, you could sow Swiss chard in early September: chard provides best fodder for the blueworms and earthworms in spring.

11/7/2013 5:56:43 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Lets hear why you like the Triticale so much?

11/7/2013 7:15:57 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

I have good results with dwarf Essex rape. The seed is cheap, usually less than $3 per pound, and 6 pounds will cover an acre. It is easy to plant, just broadcast it on bare ground, no incorporation is needed. The first rain or even heavy dew will start germination. It grows fast and out-competes weeds. It is good for a summer crop, such as after an early sweet corn harvest. It is in the mustard family and has some benefits in fighting soil borne diseases. It will tolerate cold temperatures but will winter kill and it breaks down quickly. It is good at scavenging excess nitrogen in the soil and will release it for the next year's crop. It also makes a good deer food crop. Deer will go after it early in the bow hunting season, before they start feeding on turnips. It smells a lot like cabbage. If you plant it in July it will be knee high before October. I plant it as cover crop and to draw the deer away from the garden. This year I am mixing it with rye. You may get some hard seeds that won't germinate right away and they may take a year or more to grow. But it doesn't become a problem.

11/7/2013 8:52:02 PM

Eurasia

@ So.Cal.Grower
Triticale has the latest possible seed date for a cover crop here in southern Germany and comes faster in spring then rye. We have very nice new varieties for biogas now in Germany. Wintertriticale like this new AVEO from KWS is far more stable then rye but very long/high: not the problems with lodging.

11/8/2013 7:48:32 AM

Eurasia

@ Iowegian
http://www.smartgardener.com/plants/1500-kale-dwarf-essex-rape/overview
You could seed it in April too, but cover the seed with a little sand-loam-mix then (0.25"). You don´t have to fear frost saints, not even in Iowedgia.
Please look at this picture:
http://www.growbrutebucks.com/gallery/showimage.php?iid=165
I think, that the groundhog forrage radish is a very nice cover crop for the winter, cause it outcompetes weed like very well too and drains the soil: less erosion and more freeze up deep into the soil to kill diseases and vermin.

11/8/2013 8:23:12 AM

Mnt.pleasant ,tennessee

Pumplobster i think that groundhog radish is bout same as oilseed from my research.

11/8/2013 8:55:11 AM

Eurasia

yardman, what do you search for or try with oilseed?
Groundhog is a brand:
http://www.ampacseed.com/groundhog.htm

11/8/2013 11:47:58 AM

Eurasia

...http://www.ampacseed.com/bruiser.htm
Raygras we write in German, ´cause we do not want to confound it with rye. So when you read ryegrass, it has nothing to do with rye.
Ryegrass/Raygras can be seeded from April to August, and AGs can live together with it.

11/8/2013 12:01:10 PM

South Hero, VT

Groundhog radish(a type of forage radish) is hyped as having longer tap roots than oilseed with more roots coming off the tap root.

Nitro radish is supposed to have a tap root up to 36 inches long.

11/8/2013 12:23:53 PM

Mnt.pleasant ,tennessee

Pumplobster oilseed radish.but in searching that i kept running across groundhog.
steve thats what i thought just slapped a fancy name on it.the 1st light bulb is still burning that sats sumn bout industry&sales

11/8/2013 3:03:18 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

I did try the groundhog radish last year, both for cover crop and deer food. It works well, if you don't mind the smell after it has frozen and started to decompose. I even ate a few myself. They were planted mid summer after the pumpkins started to die in the extreme heat of 2012. The deer seem to go after it better once it starts to decompose, just like they do with purple top turnips. I think that the starches in the roots start to break down into sugars, improving the flavor for the deer.

I agree, they can be planted in the spring, and that covering with a little soil will help. But I have bad shoulder problems and anything that keeps me from having to work with a rake or hoe is beneficial to me. I will be experimenting with other seed species in the coming year. We have a great seed dealer in our county, Welter Seed and Honey. They have been working with cover crops in production agriculture for as long as I can remember, and I have been here over 30 years. I will be trying some of the products that they sell.

11/8/2013 3:31:46 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

A lot depends on what time of year it is as in Fall or say early summer. Now if you are setting some growing area to the side each year to give the soil a rest from growing pumpkins,then grow alfalfa. Get some Mycorrhiza and till it in deep and plant a good alfalfa seed for your area and you will have a great crop of Mycorrhiza for the next year

11/8/2013 4:54:34 PM

Eurasia

I love alfalfa, and I had it two years now between some AGs. AGs love alfalfa too...but leaf size of the AGs was a little bit smaller in the second year, ´cause alfalfa was too strong. Now I spade all alfalfa up very deep and hope that nothing comes back again. But alfalfa is a nice word and a very nice plant for insects and human eyes.

11/8/2013 5:10:44 PM