Table 1. Ground Cover Crops
| Species |
Seeding Rate |
Weight(pounds/bushel) |
Planting Date |
|---|
| Barley | 2.0 bu/A | 48.0 | Aug.-Oct. |
| Rye(annual) | 1.5 bu/A | 56.0 | Aug.-Oct. |
| Ryegrass(annual) | 2.0 bu/A | 24.0 | Aug.-Oct. |
| Oats | 1.5 bu/A | 32.0 | Aug.-Oct. |
| Buckwheat | 1.5 bu/A | 45.0 | Aug.-Oct. |
| Wheat | 25.0 lb/A | 60.0 | Aug.-Oct. |
| Crimson Clover | 20.0 lb/A | 60.0 | Aug.-Oct. |
| Sorghum-Sudan | 25.0 lb/A | 50.0 | April-May |
EXAMPLE COVER CROP PLAN
Suppose you sell one acre of hemlock per year, on a four year rotation. You
would require four acres over four years to grow the crops plus one acre for a
green manure crop. In a typical cycle, a field of plants would be sold by April.
The field should be plowed or rotavated, leveled, fertilized, and sown with a
sorghum-sudan hybrid as soon as possible after you harvest the hemlock. This
cover crop should be mowed at least once, then plowed under in September. Ideally,
you could then plant a winter cover of a small grain such as rye. For the rye
between the rows, you would either mow or suppress it by spraying with a grass
herbicide.
A variation on this would be to sow oats instead of rye, then plant directly into
the oats in the spring. In this case, the oats would be left in the row to provide
some shade and wind protection while the transplants become established in late
spring and early summer. A grass herbicide would then be used to suppress the
oats when they reach 6 to 12 inches tall. Oats can also provide protection the
first winter for crops that do not develop an extensive root system their first
year in the field. The oat roots help to prevent "heaving" due to freeze-thaw
cycles, and the oat foliage provides some protection from wind burn and windblown
soil.
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