Cover Crop Options after Small Grain Harvest

By Sjoerd Willem Duiker

Barley harvest is past, wheat harvest is underway, and oat harvest is going to take place within the next month. Instead of letting the field sit idle if you do not plan to double crop, it is recommended to plant a cover crop. Maintaining an actively growing root system in the soil year-round improves soil quality, while the growing (cover) crop keeps weeds down and can fix or recycle nitrogen for next year’s crop.

Some options are:

1. Hairy vetch mixed with oats, to be established by mid-late August. The oats will winterkill and the hairy vetch will survive the winter and take off in the spring.
2. Crimson clover mixed with annual ryegrass or triticale in mid-late August. Both species survive the winter and the mix can supply excellent forage as well.
3. Oats and triticale or rye established as soon as the small grain is harvested. The oats might be harvested in the fall making excellent forage, whereas the winter small grain will survive the winter.
4. Faba beans and tillage radish established immediately after small grain harvest. Faba beans have large seeds and need to be established with a planter, in alternating rows with the tillage radish, preferably on 15 inch row spacing. The tillage radish might be mixed in the box with another species such as rye to provide cover in the spring.
5. Tillage radish and Austrian pea. This mixture is likely to winterkill but they make for some excellent cover if established now as well as significant nitrogen fixation.

These are just some suggestions which can be expanded upon by using your imagination. It will be very important to make sure that the planter or drill is set up right to place the seed at the right depth and get good closure of the seed slot. If the soil is dry, high penetration resistance calls for extra weight on the drill or planter and heavy down-pressure springs. If the soil is moist, extra attention is needed to slot closure. Slugs are present and if we hit a wet period can do significant damage, even in the summer.  If seed slots are not closed properly, slugs will have the greatest potential to cause stand loss by destroying the germinating seeds.