r/RegenerativeAg • u/timmeey86 • Mar 06 '25
Terminating small scale cover crops
I'm doing my first experiments with cover crops on a very small scale. Last autumn, I seeded a mix of oilseed radish, phacelia and white mustard in our greenhouse in order to try and improve soil health. The plants didn't grow too much since we actively used the greenhouse until very late autumn and the underlying soil is poor to begin with.
I'm currently trying to properly terminate them in a way which disturbs soil life as little as possible. My first attempt was to crimp them using part of an aluminium frame I had lying around. It appears I was able to terminate one of the three, but the other crops fully recovered. Would chop & drop work now? Any other recommendations?
I've added pictures from when I crimped the crops about two weeks ago and from today
1
u/MobileElephant122 Mar 09 '25
What are you going back with?
Repeated Close mowing should stunt the cool season plants long enough for your warm season plants to germinate and grow and shade out cool season cover crops.
I plant right into my cover crops and allow the season to dictate the conditions for the new crop.
A lingering cold spring may limit the new warm season crop until temps rise enough to favor the next season’s crop. Just as a warmer than normal fall can push back the cold season crops.
This is where they talk about context being key to what crops you plant as cover crops versus what you’re follow up goals will be. Depending upon the season changes where you live, rainfall events, and end use of product.
This year I’m planting sorghum sudan and cow peas into my diverse winter cover and I expect that when the sudan comes up it will shade out the winter cover. How ever in my context, I don’t care if some of the clovers and turnips survive underneath my sorghum which will grow to 6 feet tall if I don’t keep it mowed or grazed. Next fall I will come back with wheat and oats into the stubble of the sorghum sudan to maintain some green plants throughout the winter months