My first attempt at planting cover crops was a failure, sort of. It took more attempts and more failures to get it right.

Cover crops are not an exact science. That’s why the new cover crop demonstration plots at Husker Harvest Days are so important, offering a close look at different species and mixtures of cover crops at two different planting times. If you are trying cover crops, this is one place you can get answers and develop new methods that work.

Using What We Had

Thirty years ago in our tillage days, when a Buffalo cultivator was our tool of choice in ridding cornfields of velvetleaf and cockleburs, we wanted to add a cover crop in-season that could be grazed after corn harvest. At the time, most research suggested brassicas such as turnips or radishes as a cover of choice, and we knew that cattle would love it.

High-clearance sprayers weren’t commonly used back then. So, how could we get that cover crop seeded in the middle of the season?

The answer at that time for us was adding a small seeder to an implement that we were already driving through the field — our cultivator. One of our local seed dealers reminded me that in the old days, farmers would place a handful of brassica seed on the fender of their tractor while they were cultivating.

This seed fell from the fender and effectively seeded between the rows of corn. Not very uniformly, I might add, but it got the job done.

So, we mounted a small seeder on the rear of our cultivator that had a distribution width about the same as the four-row cultivator. That first year, we seeded in early July. It was a wet year, so every seed that was applied germinated and grew.

Learning From Mistakes

Unfortunately for us, it was also a long, drawn-out, wet harvest season. The brassicas grew up into cornstalks, so when we tried to harvest on a wet day, the extra foliage gummed up our corn head gathering chains and stalk rollers. Today, with modern equipment, this wouldn’t have been an issue. But it was for our older, more experienced corn head.

Eventually, on a drier day, we were able to successfully harvest that experimental field. But we learned to dial down our seeding rate, add a little cereal rye to the mix, and to seed those cover crops later in the season. We also knew to harvest those fields on a low humidity day when it was dry. However, the cows loved the fresh turnips and radishes when we grazed the stalks that fall and winter. On the grazing side, it was a success.

Does this have any application to those trying cover crops today? Yes. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s the old lesson, and it certainly applies here to cover crop plantings. Try things on a small scale at first, so a big problem in a small plot is still a small problem. Once you have the strategy and timing figured out, you can move on to the larger fields.

And don’t miss the cover crop demonstration plots this year on Lot 162 along First Street at HHD. It might save you from having to learn a few of those lessons the hard way.

Related Content:

Cover Crop Tips from Strip-Tillers, No-Tillers & Researchers,

Cover Crops: Starting Is the First Step,

Cover Cropping 101: 11 Dos and Don'ts