2 Cover Crop Mixtures N-RICH COVER MIXTURE Sowing rate: 50-75kg/ha BUSTER COVER MIXTURE Sowing rate: 30-40kg/ha Vetches and rye complement each other to provide an excellent popular cover crop, which is best sown in late summer or early autumn. Vetches are fast growing, with the advantage of being able to fix nitrogen at lower temperatures than other legumes. Forage rye is deep rooting with aggressive roots which provide a good underground network for the plant to scavenge most of the nitrogen left by the previous crop. REVIVAL COVER MIXTURE Sowing rate: 30-50kg/ha A popular mixture containing species with aggressive deep roots that can help with difficult compacted soils. During the winter months this mixture can benefit the soil by producing vast quantities of organic matter, prevent nutrients being lost and penetrate through compacted soils. Oats, white mustard and phacelia combined make a very effective catch crop that produces large quantities of organic matter. White mustard and phacelia are very fast growing and good at suppressing weeds, they are also easy to break down and incorporate into the soil because they are less frost hardy. The oats provide good ground cover helping with weed suppression and also produce a large quantity of organic matter. N-HANCE COVER MIXTURE Sowing rate: 35-50kg/ha N-RETAIN COVER MIXTURE Sowing rate: 15-25kg/ha This mixture can benefit the soil by the use of species that absorb the leaching nutrients and has the added advantage of the useful nitrogen fixing winter vetch. It produces a huge quantity of organic matter and has the benefit of the radish’s large roots that can utilise nutrients from the deeper layers of soil. A balanced mixture that contains fast growing species which produce large amounts of biomass. The species used in the mixture offer a wide range of rooting depths some having a fibrous root system and others producing long taproots. Both types of roots help to soak up and retain any residual nutrients which may have been left behind by the previous crop. Cover Crop Straights 3 Westerwolds Sowing rate: 35kg/ha • Quick growing, short-term grass • High yields • Could take a silage cut Forage Rye Sowing rate: 125kg-185kg/ha • Autumn sown – winter hardy • Produces large quantities of biomass • Aggressive roots for nitrogen scavenging Italian Catch Crop Sowing rate: 35-38kg/ha • Quick growing, high yields of biomass • Aggressive roots help improve soil structure • Good for mopping up excess nitrogen in the soil • Winter hardy Black Oats Sowing rate: 50-75kg/ha • Rapid growing vigorous annual crop • Produces large quantity of biomass • Suppresses weeds • Not frost hardy Forage Rape Sowing rate: 6-10kg/ha • Rapid establishing, maturing in approximately 10-12 weeks • Wildly branched root system to help improve soil structure • Excellent feeding quality Leafy Turnip Sowing rate: 5-7.5kg/ha • Very leafy crop, large taproot, non-bulbing type • Covers the soil very fast and can be grazed after 8 weeks • Can be sown spring and autumn Stubble Turnips Sowing rate: 5-7.5kg/ha • Bulbing leafy crop within 10-12 weeks • Ideal for grazing with excellent feeding quality • Popular with livestock farmers Rocket Lettuce Sowing rate: 10kg/ha • The latest crucifer cover crop in our portfolio • Fast growing, biofumigant crop • Can be used for biofumigation to reduce nematodes Persian Clover Sowing rate: 7-10kg/ha • Annual fast-growing clover, not winter hardy • Nitrogen fixing, attractive to insects • Useful crop for companion cropping Crimson Clover Sowing rate: 12.5-15kg/ha • Annual clover, excellent nitrogen fixation • Tolerates poorer soil types • Attractive to insects Red Clover Sowing rate: 12.5-15kg/ha • Strong taproot that is good for improving soil structure and fixing nitrogen • Useful weed suppression • Produces large mass of organic matter and is shorter term than white clover Egyptian Clover Sowing rate: 10-22kg/ha • A rapid growing annual nitrogen fixing legume, not frost tolerant • Produces large biomass of organic matter • Useful crop for companion cropping
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