Albert Lea Seed House 2017 Organic Seed Guide | Page 32

ORGANIC COVER CROPS 2017
ORGANIC NITROGEN-FIXING COVER CROPS
Organic Hairy Vetch*

Organic Austrian Winter Peas*

• Fast-growing winter annual
• Great fall-planted green manure crop
• Plant with a nurse crop to ensure winter survival (oats,
winter rye, etc.)
• Reaches full bloom in early June
• Good hardiness; MN production
• Seed 25-35 lbs./acre alone, 15-20 lbs./acre in a mixture

• Viney, fall-seeded winter annual legume
• Excellent green manure plowdown
• Can produce 1-2 tons/acre drymatter and fix 90-150 lbs.
N/acre
• Not reliably winter hardy in the Upper Midwest; plant
with a nurse crop for best chance of winter survival
• Plant Aug. 1 – Sept. 15
• Seed 50-100 lbs./acre alone, 25-50 lbs./acre in a mixture

NEW Organic Purple Bounty Hairy Vetch

Chickling Vetch*

• Variety selected specifically for earlier flowering
in the spring (vs. VNS)
• Flowers up to two weeks earlier than common
hairy vetch
• Earlier flowering ideal for no-till operations and allows
more rotational flexibility
• Developed by the USDA breeding facility in
Beltsville, MD
• Excellent Nitrogen-fixation potential and biomass
accumulation
• Plant Aug. 1–Sept. 5
• Seed 25-30 lbs./acre straight, 15-20 lbs. in a mixture

Organic Yellow Blossom Clover*
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Very productive, biennial clover for plowdown
Can produce 80 to 200 lbs. N/acre
Good scavenger of P, K and other nutrients
Seed 8-12 lbs./acre alone, 2-5 lbs./acre in a mixture
Inoculated with Nitragin® Gold

Organic Mammoth Red Clover*
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VNS single-cut clover for plowdown
Will regrow only as high as it was cut
Does not bloom in seeding year
Excellent choice for underseeding spring small grains
Seed 8-12 lbs./acre alone, 2-