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Oklahoma Gardening

Winter cover crop

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Hello all,

We have 4 1/2 acres in Winter cover crop: rye, hairy vetch, daikon radish and Austrian winter peas. Now THAT is what I call a Winter cover crop. We will plow it all under the last week of January. We will plant potatoes and cool season crops a couple of weeks later.

Our corn crib is started. We expect to fill it in two weeks. Our chickens will be spoiled rotten soon.

You can see the Austrian winter peas coming up 2nd photo.

Featured Answer

Okiedawn OK Zone 7

7 years ago

It sounds like you are off to a great start for winter, Johnny.

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Comments (12)

mulberryknob
7 years ago
I see radishes in the second photo.
johnnycoleman
Original Author
7 years ago
NOT my first mistake. NOT my last.

Thanks...
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winter cover crop-never again
Q
Comments (18)
DigDirt/Dave - Can I use cover crops between my perenials? (I don't have a veggie bed.) How 'bout "on top of" my spring-blooming bulbs (or will the c/c make the N unavail for bulbs?)? Tree, you could but it isn't recommended. You would have trouble tilling/turning them into the soil without disturbing the roots of the perennials - and that is the goal - to till them into the soil. ;) Cover crops are nitrogen so they don't "use" or make unavailable N from anything else. Your better bet would be to use a low growing ground cover between your perennials or to simply mulch well between them. All organic mulches including compost, chipped straw, grass clippings, shredded leaves, even wood fines, are eventually incorporated into the soil by nature and so improve it without the need for tilling/turning. And N tie-up is only a concern if you till high carbon materials in. On the surface they pose no problems. Should I make the time for cover crops by rotating which beds I plant them in? If so which ones? Is there another way I can give back to the soil? What would you recommend? Hi blancspons, if you have the room to rotate beds then yes a cover crop can be very beneficial. But if you need all your beds in almost continuous production then the best way to give back to the soil is again - mulch. Many claim that the only purpose of mulch is to control weeds. Not true. Mulch has many purposes - moisture stabilization, keeping roots cooler, plant nutrients, and soil improvement. As I said above, any organic material used as a thick mulch during your growing seasons is gradually incorporated into the soil and great soil improvement is the end result. Hope this helps. ;) Dave
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how do i survive this winter cover crop?
Q
Comments (12)
Did you use annual rye? That is what is commonly recommended. But I have never seed it develop thick thatch. If so, IME little of it carries over to re-grow while it gives you great soil improvement and nutrient rich soil after tilling. Personally I've never had any problems with using it. Just till it and let the root clumps and thatch act as mulch and decompose on the surface. It is a great mulch, the worms love it, and so do the plants. Dave
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Winter cover crop in Asparagus
Q
Comments (1)
Right now I have planted buckwheat (and if the wild turkeys leave enough seed I may see some grow) in the Asparagus bed and will cut that down just after blossom stage (when the bees are about done with it). This fall I will seed in winter, or field, rye (not the annual ryegrass which is something altogether different), the grain. This will not die off in the spring, but I can cut it and let the stems lay as a mulch.
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Winter Cover Crops...
Q
Comments (17)
I will definitely look into the favas, I may even be able to grind them for floor. During the summer I hope to use oats and buckwheat for cover crops to add variety but will probably stick with clover and fava during the winter. It is just easier to stay away from potential problems with rye and wheat. feijoas, I will be checking into windbreak cloth for next season. Eventually I will plant a windbreak but that will take years to mature. The cloth cannot look any worse than the milk jug cloches I use for new transplants. If I cannot find the fabric here, I may just wrap my western fence with plastic.
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Johnny Coleman
7 years ago
Yes, we hope to sell a few hundred daikon radishes. We planted many more than we need. We have to create enough revenue to pay the wages for one employee. We hope to give away about half of what we grow.

It is hard to explain how nice the soil is there. We are being very careful not to allow erosion of any sort and will plant cover and green manure crops at every opportunity.

The soil type reminds me of loess.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
7 years ago
The soil sounds simply splendid!
OkieTexan (7b)
7 years ago
Hey Johnny, from where do you buy your seeds? Seems you must be buying in bulk.
johnnycoleman
Original Author
7 years ago
OkieTexan,

We buy from a few places, Stillwater Mill, Eckroat (OKC), online and we save some seed. We saved about 100 pounds of corn seed last year. We used 15 pounds of it to plant an acre this year. We will be growing crook neck milo next year and saving seed for the following year. We plan to cut our commercial chicken feed bill in half by growing our own feed.

Johnny
OkieTexan (7b)
7 years ago
Thanks. I'm about to plant a couple of acres in Austrian Winter Peas and Rye, so was just wondering where I might buy. I'm worried about the deer though. We have a lot of 'em and I heard they really like Rye.
johnnycoleman
Original Author
7 years ago
OkieTexan,

They really like Austrian Winter peas. Are you planting cereal rye? That is my favorite. It makes more biomass than annual ryegrass.

The deer (here) don't seem to bother hairy vetch. We have had very good results from it. We grew a crop of potatoes and a crop of corn after plowing under a winter cover crop of cereal rye, hairy vetch and tillage radish. Neither the potatoes nor the corn required supplemental feeding.

Good luck. Maybe it is time to reevaluate the deer conservation rules.

Johnny
johnnycoleman
Original Author
7 years ago
Our cover crop is looking very good. How is yours coming along?

Our corn crib is about 2/3 complete.
OkieTexan (7b)
7 years ago
Still trying to get wheat and clover planted in the main pastures on the ranch. Have had several things that have delayed us, mostly mechanical problems.
johnnycoleman
Original Author
7 years ago
OkieTexan,

Maybe it will work well for you anyway. Some are predicting a mild Winter.

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