What to plant for cover crop?

Fullers Farmalls · May 1, 2015

This year I plan to not plant corn. I want to put in something to help rebuild the soil and give the deer, turkeys, pheasants, doves, etc. something to eat. I need help on what to put in? Milo, cowpeas, oats? I have a JD 1240 to put in some stuff(beans and sorghum) and would have to broadcast anything else. It's plowed up but I need to disc it yet. I could put in a mix to meet both requirements.

old · May 1, 2015

Clover works very well and builds the soil. Or any other legume will help also

paul · May 1, 2015

For the soil they like something deep rooted to open up the soil pores and pull nutrients back up, like turnips or tillage radish or If you let it grow more than 12 months alfalfa.

For the soil they like a grass to balnce out of some sort, oats is often very cheap and easy to grow.

For n building a legume like a clover, sweet clover, or alfalfa is a good blend. Or a bean or pea somewhat. They take most of the year to grow and start actually adding N back.

Paul

Traditional Farmer · May 1, 2015

Its really too late for Crimson Clover a great soil builder as that needs to be planted in the Fall and Sweet Clover is a 2 year crop doesn't do much the 1st year.
Cowpeas and Sunn Hemp are two good legumes and Buckwheat will come up quick and produce seed quickly once its mature disk it back into the soil and a new crop of Buckwheat will come right back up you can do that over and over.This Fall plant some Crimson Clover and
disk it in next year before you plant a crop.I have Crimson Clover over a ft tall in my garden now as soon as it quits raining I'll chisel plow,roto till and plant.

Tim(nj) · May 1, 2015

Now, plant a mix of oats, millet, cowpeas, and sunn hemp. Maybe throw some lab-lab in there too. Late summer chop that down and plant a mix of turnips, daikon radish, annual ryegrass and maybe crimson clover if it will survive winter in your area.

tomNE · May 1, 2015

rapeseed is proly the best and cheapest. greencoverseed.com can advise you on a mixture for the area you live in. good people who know there stuff.

Brendon-KS · May 1, 2015

When you say you want to give the pheasants and doves something to eat it tells me you intend to let whatever you plant go to seed but not be harvested. If so, you might need to think of what will happen to the seed that isn't eaten by wildlife, which will be the majority of it. You might have quite a crop of volunteer come next spring. If you're planning on RR corn or beans next year and have access to a sprayer this might be a moot point but might be something to consider.

Bigbudsoda · May 1, 2015

I always do Iron Clay peas on off corn years.

coonie minnie · May 1, 2015

I like red clover, especially after winter wheat.

wolfman · May 1, 2015

Lydina Clover; maybe Penn State Mix; or Pasture mix, with oats as a cover crop works here in s.w. Pa. Easy on the oats so they don't go down from weather and smother the new seeding.

farmerwithmutt · May 2, 2015

Cousin put in food plot for a guy he simply went to the grain bin took some shelled corn dumped into the planter and planted it .Also look around bound to be some neighbors with a little tab of left over corn deer won't care about yield our looks .depending on size of plot get a small hand seeder and toss in some clover or like what one guy told me look around the area to be planted and see what's growing the best

wilson ind · May 2, 2015

what is lab lab?

El Toro · May 2, 2015

If you can find the seed I would plant Buckwheat. Hal

Tim(nj) · May 2, 2015

It's a type of bean.

wilson ind · May 2, 2015

thank you

What to plant for cover crop?

Fullers Farmalls

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old

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paul

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Traditional Farmer

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Tim(nj)

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tomNE

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Brendon-KS

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Bigbudsoda

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coonie minnie

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wolfman

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farmerwithmutt

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wilson ind

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El Toro

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Tim(nj)

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wilson ind

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