At the heart of organic farming!
Cover Crops & Green Manure
Cover crops are one of the cornerstones of sustainable agriculture. They are
low cost, easy to maintain, and earth friendly. In the end, cover crops benefit the soil, the crop, and the grower.
The Benefits:
• Increases organic matter and available nitrogen
• Increases earthworms and beneficial microorganisms
• Stabilizes soil to prevent erosion
• Brings deep-rooted minerals to the surface
• Provides habitat, nectar, and pollen for beneficial insects while
choking out weeds
• Improves water, root and air penetration of soil
• Increases the soil’s moisture-holding capacity
• Breaks up subsoil and plow-soles
• Provides aesthetic value and color
Knowing what you need
• Use the cover crop solution charts on the following pages to determine which of our cover crops suit your needs.
• Mix it up. Our mixes have been composed to provide the ideal solution across any number of scenarios.
No GMOs
We sell no genetically engineered seeds or inoculants. No fungicide-treated seed is sold unless specifically noted.
Not Food-Grade
Please don’t make soup with these beans. Our cover crop seed is not food grade. Seed for human consumption has special handling requirements which these seeds may not meet.
Farmers & Pros
Know what you need, but don’t see it? Want a better price on big orders?
No problem, give us a call. We have more specialty cover crop varieties available than are shown here. We also can do custom blends to your specifications. Ask about special pricing on large amounts. |
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Cover Crop Glossary
Annual Cool Weather Planted in fall, these cover crops will establish over winter and flush in the spring, ready to be tilled in.
Perennial These cover crops are not intended to be tilled and therefore are used in situations such as grazing, erosion control, or simply aesthetics.
Legume This is any plant in the Fabaceae family. These include: peas, beans, clovers, alfalfa, lentils, lupines, and even peanuts. Legumes fix nitrogen efficiently, making crop rotation viable without the extensive use of fertilizer.
Non-Legume Planted in conjunction with legumes (or alone) to provide various “specialty” fixes such as breaking up soil, providing roughage, or erosion control and scaffolding.
Inoculant Inoculants kickstart the nitrogen-fixing process for non-rhizocoated, or raw legumes. Different legumes need different bacteria so we offer several inoculants.
Rhizocoated Seeds that are rhizocoated are covered with the appropriate innoculant and protective coating. Rhizocoated seed is heavier than raw seed, resulting in less seed per pound.
Raw Means that the seeds are not rhizocoated.
Endophyte Enhanced Turfgrass enhanced with non-pathogenic fungal endophytes may meet demands for reduced pesticide use and lower inputs for maintenance of turf and production of sod. Do not use for grazing.
Green Manure Although we use “Cover Crop” to describe all non-food crops grown to benefit the soil, the term ‘Green Manure’ is applied specifically to crops grown for plowing under (or 'till in', or 'till under''). Green manure crops are typically annuals, such as the Soil Builder Mixes, Vetches, and Bell Beans. |
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