How do I select the best cover crop(s) to use if I want to try organic no-till?
Your cover crop and cash crop must be a good match, timing wise, with respect to your goals and your growing region. Variables to consider include biomass (how many pounds produced per acre) and when the cover crop in question comes to maturity. Hairy vetch is an excellent choice as far as the way it behaves when rolled down, but it’s not a good match for the South because it matures too late with respect to the cash-crop season. Crimson clover is a better choice for Southern climates, though as you move northward this cover crop is not able to put on enough biomass for adequate weed suppression, or for providing adequate nitrogen to support good yields. While we’ve had great success planting corn into rolled-down hairy vetch in early June here in southeastern Pennsylvania, for some farmers this just isn’t early enough (plant breeders are working on earlier-maturing varieties of this cover crop with some level of success). So your choices really depend on a combination of what will wor
