Cover Crops
Planting and Field Management
Sowing: Seeding Cover Crops Effectively
To ensure optimal growth and benefit, timing is key. Ideally, sow cover crops right before or immediately after harvesting your main crops to give them enough time to establish before the harsh weather sets in. The seeding method can vary; you can either drill or broadcast (use the patented SAS FLY technology in some of our mixes). Drilling is the most widely used method as it ensures good seed-to-soil contact and uniform growth, but broadcasting can be effective and can reduce costs significantly.
Maintenance: Nurturing Your Cover Crops
Once sown, cover crops require minimal maintenance. Regularly monitor for pests and diseases and manage them using integrated pest management practices. We normally won't recommend, but irrigation may be applied during dry periods to help the establishment.
Termination: Ending the Cover Crop Cycle
We only offer winter-killed species. Cold weather will terminate the crop and it will not grow back.
When following our planting schedule cover crops will mostly not set seed (preventing our mixes becoming weed issues). In any case, make sure the cover crops are terminated at least 40 days before planting; you’ll want to ensure that it decomposes in time to plant your next crop without interference.
Remember, the goal of cover crop management is not just to grow another crop, but to improve the health of your soil and the sustainability of your farming practice. With careful planning and management, cover crops can be a valuable addition to your agricultural system.
