(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

planting cover crop in fall

Y

YooperJD60

Member
Had an old hay field which grew up in trees and brush over the past 25 years. I spent most of this summer clearing trees,burning brush piles and now just finished root raking and dozing stumps out. What's a good cover crop to plant now that it's cleared...I'm in northern Michigan where we get the first frost usually in Sept.
 
Oats....no need to burn down in the spring. Lots of plant matter to protect the soil over the winter, cheap and easy to establish.

Ben
 
Crimson Clover is a great cover crop here in Virginia don't know how it does in your area,it grows in the fall goes dormant in the Winter and comes back in the Springs with lush growth and beautiful blooms that Honey Bees love. Pus as a Legume it'll add N to your soil,great for soil improvement.
 
Thanks,,My plan is to get something growing there before winter... then keep it mowed next summer.I plan to wait a couple summers before plowing it...I'm still finding some tree roots!
 
Oats is cheap, dies off in winter.

Rye over winters.

Radish or turnip seen deeper roots and can break up some hard pan, not sure you need that or have time. Die off in winter.

Clovers and alfalfa?s make N if you let them grow most of a year or longer, deep roots on alfalfa, most overwinter, typically slow growing want them growing longer.

Might be harder to find this year, with the miserable planting season in a big area a lot of cover crop seed being used up!

Paul
 
How big is it, you planning on mowing hay, or what? Pretty hard to leave any size of field sit empty, what with taxes and all seems a waste to just mow it like a lawn?

So, do you want to plant a hay crop, fall is a good time. Then you would want alfalfa or grasses that will come on strong next spring.

You want to notill corn into it next spring, plant the cover clovers and alfalfa?s.....

Paul
 
I grow winter rye every year in Mo. I think the root mass does more good than radishes, but that after only doing radish one year. It is said you can keep harvesting winter rye into the next year as long as you cut it before it starts to head out. Standard practice to kill it is to cut it after it heads. Again, have not tried that. I am growing Sunn Hemp this year for a cover. Too late to start in Michigan, though it is supposed to grow to 6' in sixty days under good conditions. It is a legume so it ads lots of organic matter and ads nitrogen to the soil like beans. Any little bit of frost will kill it as it is a tropical plant. It does not produce the stuff that gets you high. I am going to start a seperate discussion about it.
 
fyi, I planted a new batch last tuesday afternoon and it was an inch or so tall when we returned home sunday night.
 
I?ve heard of sunhemp, probably seen it in demonstration plots. It has sounded interesting for the reasons you mention, both green manure and fixing N.

Here in Minnesota and other northern locations, it is so hard to fit a cover in. Growing season so short only time for a main crop. We don?t have the extra 30 days before or after some places get. It often just comes down to rye, if anything.

Paul
 
Rye is the fastest, easiest to sprout here bar none and is very weather tolerant. Dies out in the late spring spring when ambient temp gets hot. Perfect match for Bermuda in a double cropping operation...it dies out when the Bermuda starts coming on.
 
I have planted rye as a cover crop for several years and it does not die out in the spring. Always used Roundup to kill it.
 
(quoted from post at 19:31:08 10/04/19) I have planted rye as a cover crop for several years and it does not die out in the spring. Always used Roundup to kill it.
Click to expand...

wgm
May I ask where you reside? Are you referring to Rye or Rye grass?

Rye which is cereal grain & a cool season plant will die where I reside when temperatures get very high
 
Maybe you don't get hot enough. Being a cool season crop, heat is what kills it.....referenced all over the place, not my words but does happen to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Planting hay in Spring
Replies
11
Views
650
fixerupper
F
C
Almost done planting crops for the year
Replies
12
Views
565
JK-NY
J
K
anyone using Sunn Hemp for garden cover crop?
Replies
5
Views
531
kenbob
K
J
Soybeans, silage corn and 1st crop hay done this week.
Replies
7
Views
546
Philip d
Philip d
B
New garden, looking for feedback
Replies
12
Views
3K
ss55
S
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top