Category Archives: Phacelia

Phacelia is a bumble bee paradise

In my narrow-minded search for fall-planted, low-residue, winterkilled cover crops, I tried growing phacelia a few times to suit this purpose. It did ok, but I found that with good fall growth, it really isn’t low-residue in spring. More on … Continue reading

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When cover crops die

I awoke to very frosty fields this morning, as is expected this time of year in Maine. The basil died long ago, the peppers have been limping along through light frost after light frost until they finally died last night. … Continue reading

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Getting cover crop seeds (in a quantity you can use) and putting them in the ground

This morning, I received a timely question from a a farmer in New Jersey: “Is the ‘Tillage Radish’  that is protected / copyrighted a better product than say, Forage Radish from Fedco seeds?” Good question, and I had just been … Continue reading

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Sometimes, less is more when it comes to cover crop residue

Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow in Maryland, and fields are neither drying out nor warming up quickly. Unlike a living cover or mulch that prevent the soil from drying in spring, low-residue winterkilled cover crops can facilitate faster … Continue reading

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Results are in: Radish 300, Phacelia 200, Weeds 50.

How much N can cover crops capture? Cover crops planted in late August of last year captured up to 300 kg of N per hectare (270 lb N per acre)! The experiment station in Clarksville, MD where they were planted … Continue reading

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