Description
Secale cereale & Vicia villosa
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Cover crops are an awesome way to build your soil by feeding the oodles of microbes who dwell within it. They help to suppress weeds, hold water, and protect against erosion. This mix contains cereal rye and hairy vetch--two of the most cold-hardy cover crops out there! You can seed in fall to provide soil cover all winter. It also works to seed it in spring if you need to keep a space covered for the growing season.
Rye germinates and grows quickly and provides a LOT of biomass for the little soil-dwellers to feast upon. Vetch is a nitrogen-fixing legume that starts out a bit more slowly than rye but will use the rye as a ladder of sorts, climbing upward as it reaches for the sun. They make a great pair!
Also, heads up: there's a tiny amount of wheat in this mix as well, from the grower's combine. Wheat plays very nicely with rye & vetch so count yourself lucky if you get a few seeds in your packet!
Additional cover crop tips:
- Sow 2 pounds per 1000 square feet.
- Biomass and nutrient content is highest when the crop is 75% in flower--that's the best time to terminate it, BEFORE it goes to seed.
- You can terminate it with a heavy-duty tarp or by tilling or digging it under the soil.
- Mow or weed whack before terminating to help it break down faster in the soil.
Seeds grown by King's Crown Organics in King Hill, Idaho and Sunnyside Vine Farm in Lenore, Idaho.
350 seeds.
Directions: Broadcast 1 packet of seeds over an area covering 10-12 square feet. Rake the top layer of soil to bury the seeds, then water thoroughly until seeds germinate.
|
Planting Depth |
Seed Spacing |
Days to Germination |
Days to Maturity |
|
1/2" |
3" apart | 3-14 | varies |