Warm Season Grasses
A plant which makes most or all of its growth during the spring and summer, flowering in the summer or autumn.
Cool Season Grasses
A plant that makes most of its growth and flowers during spring and slows growth or becomes dormant during the hot part of the summer, and may resume growth in the fall with the advent of cool temperatures.
Featured Crops
Rye
Rye is a cold-tolerant grain that geminates in cool soil (34-40° F), making it a major fall-planted cover crop for winter erosion control. The top growth provides soil cover and suppresses weed.
Field Peas
Field peas are used in spring plantings as a source of organic matter and nitrogen. In late summer, peas can be interseeded with oats to provide ground cover over the winter.
Forage Turnip and Rapeseed
Turnip and rape grow quickly and are good at reducing surface compaction while providing winter cover and fall weed suppression.
Oats
Spring-planted oats are used for green manure, while fall-planted oats provide winter-killed ground cover. They are also useful as a nurse crop with legumes, such as hairy vetch and peas, for forage, erosion control and weed suppression.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat is a short season annual with a delicate, fibrous root system. Since it establishes quickly, it is useful for weed suppression. It also mellows the soil while improving aggregate stability. It is a scavenger of phosphorus and calcium and mineralizes rock phosphate, making these nutrients available for later crops.
Sundangrass & Sorghum-Sudangrass
Sudangrass and sorghum-sudangrass are midsummer grasses suitable for short, 8-10 week plantings. These crops provide abundant root biomass, which is useful for increasing soil organic matter. Mowing encourages root growth. They suppress root knot nematodes and inhibit weed germination if densely sown.