Midwest Vegetable Guide - 2022 - 22

Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management
Examples of Integrating Cover Crops
Cover crops help add organic matter, manage soilborne
diseases, and avoid soil erosion. Below are examples of five,
four-year cropping sequences that you can use with vegetable
crops. Each cover crop rotation sequence is designed to take
advantage of legumes for N-fixation, grass or buckwheat to
suppress weeds, and brassica cover crops for bio-fumigation
and reducing soil compaction. These rotations won't work on
every farm. Growers should try likely rotations in
manageable areas to develop the best strategy for their farms.
Example 1
Year 0
Fall before Year 1: Plant oats and peas as cover crops
Year 1
March: If field peas do not winter kill, terminate by mowing,
tillage, or herbicide
April-August: Onion production
August-November: Crimson clover as a cover crop
Year 2
March: If crimson clover does not winter kill, terminate by
tillage or herbicide
April-August: Potato production
August-November: Sorghum-sudangrass as a cover crop
Year 3
March-May: Leave winter-killed sorghum-sudangrass
May-October: Sweet potato production
October-June of Year 4: Cereal rye as a cover crop
Year 4
April-May: Terminate cereal rye by tillage, herbicide, or
roller-crimping
June-September: Cucumber production
September-November: Oats and field peas as a cover crop
Year 5
Return to Year 1
Example 2
Year 0
Fall before Year 1: Cereal rye and hairy vetch as cover crops
Year 1
March-June: Terminate cereal rye and hairy vetch, leave
residue on surface
June-October: Pumpkin production
November-May of Year 2: Cereal rye as a cover crop
Year 2
March-May: Terminate cereal rye as cover crop
May-September: Tomato production
September-November: Buckwheat as a cover crop
22
Year 3
March: Leave winter-killed buckwheat
April-August: Carrot production
August-November: Crimson clover as a cover crop
Year 4
March-May: If crimson clover does not winter kill, terminate
by tillage or herbicide
May-September: Sweet corn production
September-November: Cereal rye and hairy vetch as cover
crops
Year 5
Return to Year 1
Example 3
Year 0
Fall before Year 1: Oilseed radish as cover crop
Year 1
March: Leave winter-killed oilseed radish
April-June: Lettuce production
July-August: Buckwheat as cover crop
August-November: Cauliflower production
November-June of Year 2: Cereal rye as a cover crop
Year 2
March-June: Terminate cereal rye cover crop
June-October: Eggplant or pepper production
October-May of Year 3: Triticale as cover crop
Year 3
March-May: Terminate triticale
May-September: Onion production
September-November: Oats and field peas as cover crops
Year 4
March-May: Leave winter-killed oats; terminate field peas if
not winter-killed
May-September: Cucumber production
September-November: Oilseed radish as cover crop
Year 5
Return to Year 1
Example 4
Year 0
Fall before Year 1: Cowpea as cover crop
Year 1
March-May: Leave winter-killed cowpea
May-August: Sweet corn production
August-October: Buckwheat as cover crop
October-August of Year 2: Garlic production
Year 2
March-August: Leave garlic
August-November: Sorghum-sudangrass as cover crop
Midwest Veg Guide 2022
Midwest Vegetable Guide - 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Midwest Vegetable Guide - 2022
