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South Dakota Roadside Counts are out!
- Thread starter Jlindell
- Start date
? what purpose do cover crops serve? Are they erosion control, green manure, or something else? Seems like added expense with little return, unless turnip market is really good,, I'm the only person I know that eats them anymore.
They do multiple things. I plant at least 10 different species so there is alot of diversity. They serve to keep the ground covered which stops erosion and holds the rain where it falls. Some of the species pull nitrogen out of the air. For me it is also wildlife habitat, many species of mammals, birds and insects use it. In the fall we use it for pheasant hunting. When the hunting is done I turn the cows in to winter graze it. It is also winter food for wildlife. But the main reason I plant cover crops is to improve the organic matter and stimulate the biological life in the soil itself. It is a multiple win event, but it is not a get rich quick scheme. It is a long term investment in my soil.
small munsterlander owner
Banned
Like haymaker says it keeps his soil living most the year vs dead dirt tuned over till the spring planting... I've seen pheasants use the beat/turnip plots lots in SD & ND especially on hard hunted public land they will hide in them beat/turnip cover plots... In SD & ND I've seen dikon radish almost 2 ft long as fat as a baseball bat lol beats damn near basketball sized I am think they plant them plots same time as the corn or millet plots etc. So they get huge..
Kind of a pain to walk in deer heavan...
Kind of a pain to walk in deer heavan...
haymaker,
when are cover crops typically planted? late fall after the Beans come out? sorry for the stupid question, or would it be coming off the wheat harvest
Cover crops that get used for hunting need to be planted mid June depending on the varieties involved. I am going to plant some rye and oats and rape tomorrow in wheat stubble. That won't do much for pheasants but the deer and the cattle will like it. I want to keep a living root in the soil as much of the year as possible. It keeps the little critters under the soil happy and that helps keep the big critters on top of the soil happy. No such thing as a dumb question if you don't know the answer.