cover crop before brassica

[Nova]

I am looking for suggestions of what to plant as a cover crop before I plant brassica in late July. In the past I have used buckwheat to build soil and keep the weeds at bay, but it seems that buckwheat prices have continued to rise. What else can I spring plant to before brassica?

 

[MoBuckChaser]

2 bushel of oats. They are cheap.

 

[swat1018]

I've done oats and medium red.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

2 bushel of oats. They are cheap.

Yup. I plant oats every spring before brassicas or soybeans. You can plant them as soon as the ground thaws too. Buckwheat only grows well once the soil is warm, so oats are a better early season option. And they are cheap.

 

[Powder]

Can oats be frost seeded?

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Can oats be frost seeded?

Oats work better with dirt on top of them.

 

[Nova]

Oats it is, thanks guys!

 

[wiscwhip]

I would almost always recommend oats for a spring planting, especially in the north(good for Nova). One other crop that guys with longer growing seasons(south) can use effectively would be sunn hemp. Plant the sunn hemp early, it can be terminated in 60 to 70 days and your brassicas can be planted on schedule, very much like buckwheat. Bonus is that it is a legume and can fix nitrogen in it's roots for subsequent crops to use. Drawback is that it is just as spendy, if not more so than buckwheat. Oats....cheap....easy....effective............

 

[Nova]

One more question about spring planted oats. Will they get browsed hard? I do have 60 acres of alfalfa in the middle of the property, a couple dandy clover plots, and a bunch of fall planted clover/rye plots, so there won't be a shortage of food come spring. Will the oats continue to grow after getting browsed?

 

[wiscwhip]

Yes, they will likely be browsed hard, and yes, unless they are literally eaten to the dirt, they will continue to grow even with browse pressure. They are easily terminated with a shot of gly for a clean start to your brassica planting.

 

[Nova]

Yes, they will likely be browsed hard, and yes, unless they are literally eaten to the dirt, they will continue to grow even with browse pressure. They are easily terminated with a shot of gly for a clean start to your brassica planting.

thanks much!!!

 

[Turkish]

Will rye or wheat perform similar to oats planted at that time? I am in the South -- MS. With the drought, our fall plots did very poorly. I'm worried I won't have enough rye from our fall planting come Spring to keep weeds at bay.

 

[shawnv]

Buckwheat and winter peas planted will produce more N that the above mentioned and pretty much anything according to the trials done by Cornell University.

 

[wiscwhip]

While not a bad alternative, an acre of BW and peas will also cost you 5 X's or more to plant than an acre of oats.

 

[scott44]

I've planted oats and crimson clover in the spring and disked it under for my brassicas early to mid July. Worked great plus added OM.

 

[shawnv]

Buckwheat produces zero N

Need to look into it more closely, I never said buckwheat itself produces it. Buckwheat soaks up nitrogen keeping the nutrient in circulation for your next crop, and the buckwheat stems and leaves also break down quickly after being killed. In university studies the planting Buckwheat with AWP increased the N over the other traditional cover crops (They are not sure why yet). If you want those numbers you can do some google searches or watch the presentations on youtube.

Relative Biomass and N production in North Carolina
Above-ground biomass (AGB), and AGB-N production data of various summer cover crops and mixtures planted in Plymouth and Goldsboro are summarized below.

SpeciesSeeding rateAGB (lb/ac)1C:NNitrogen (lb/ac)
Legumes
Cowpeas703529 21 75
Sesbania204278 23 86
Soybean903507 20 80
Velvetbean2401263 21 28
Lab Lab401994 29 30
Non-legumes
Sorghum-sudangrass357825 53 78
Sudangrass355018 44 58
Japanese Millet303486 42 35
Pearl Millet305936 50 57
German Foxtail Millet30406644 4 3
Buckwheat603157 34 43

 

[shawnv]

While not a bad alternative, an acre of BW and peas will also cost you 5 X's or more to plant than an acre of oats.

It was cheaper than oats here until last year. BW has become a very popular cover crop and so the price is 3X was it was a couple years ago. There was also a shortage from growers where the cool summer of 2015 reduced the amount of seed available according to my local seed hub. With that said the cost should be lower this next season.

 

[shawnv]

Also, Buckwheat solubilizes and takes up phosphorus that is otherwise unavailable to crops. Phosphorus is one of the main elements brassicas need.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

"I never said buckwheat itself produces it."........"Buckwheat and winter peas planted will produce more N"


Yes you did sorta......

 

[shawnv]

"I never said buckwheat itself produces it."........"Buckwheat and winter peas planted will produce more N"


Yes you did sorta......

Plant together and you will have a lot of N, the science is out there.