It is being proven that planting primary crops directly into the cover crop instead of terminating the cover crop weeks beforehand can add to the overall health of your soil. This new strategy is known as “planting green”.

Planting green has several benefits, including increasing organic matter in the soil and increasing the time that the soil is protected from erosion. By harvesting more solar energy, the amount of carbon (organic matter) in the soil will increase. Planting into green cover crops also gives your soil a better chance to fix more nitrogen, and for extra soil moisture to be soaked up by the roots of the cover crop. This means that during wet springs, the soil dries up quicker and cash crops can more quickly be planted.

Overall, planting into green cover crops establishes the primary crop into moist, healthy soil. It also gives farmers a chance to better manage the cover crop residue. Planting equipment can move through a succulent living cover crop more easily than it can in decaying brittle residue.

To learn more about planting into green cover crops, contact ProHarvest using the form below!

The benefits of using cover crops are unmistakable; reversing erosion, reducing soil compaction, increasing organic matter, and an overall increase in cash crop yields are just some of the advantages of planting cover crops.

It is important to plant, manage, and terminate cover crops based on your goals. For example, cereal grains like rye and barley are incredible nitrogen sequesters while also being especially good for erosion prevention. Add in cover crop radishes and that makes a blend that is hard to beat. Manage and terminate your cover crops depending on the needs of your soil.

The timing and method of planting cover crops like radishes, annual ryegrass, winter rye, legumes, or a high performance blend are important. Most often, cover crops are established just prior to or right after the cash crop is harvested. Planting methods include drilling, aerial seeding, and broadcasting — among others.

Usually, cover crops are terminated before cash crop production. Termination options include tilling, herbicides, or roller-crimping. Termination should also be based on your soil goals. Is your soil most often plagued by compaction or run-off? Is your agronomic battle constantly against weeds? If you need nitrogen, then you need to kill the cover crop in its vegetative state to get the most nitrogen out of it.

Would you like help determining which cover crops and which management techniques your soil needs? Or are you interested in learning more about the timing of cover crop termination? Contact ProHarvest by filling out the form below!