About Cover Crops
Our Organic Cover Crop Mix is a cool-season powerhouse built to rebuild your soil while keeping weeds in check. The legumes, field peas and vetch, fix atmospheric nitrogen, enrich soil biology, and add fertility, while the oats provide quick-growing biomass and structural support for climbing vines. Use it to cover bare beds between plantings, protect soil from erosion, and leave behind a rich, mellow residue that’s easy to work back in.
When to Plant Cover Crop Seeds
Spring Sowing (All Zones):
Plant as soon as soil can be worked and temperatures are cool to mild. Ideal for soil building in spring through early summer.
Late Summer / Fall Sowing (Most Zones):
Sow 6 to 10 weeks before your first hard frost. In many climates, peas and oats will winter-kill while vetch may survive and regrow come spring.
Where to Plant Cover Crop Seeds
A full sun location is best for strong biomass and optimal nitrogen fixation. This mix performs best in well-drained soils; avoid soggy or waterlogged spots.
Ideal for resting beds, crop rotation zones, pathways, and as a living mulch wherever you need soil cover.
How to Plant Cover Crop Seeds
For best nitrogen fixation, inoculate seed with a pea- or vetch-type inoculant, especially if legumes have not been grown in the area recently.
Keep the area moist until seedlings are established. This mix is drought-tolerant once up, but steady water boosts biomass.
Skip the nitrogen fertilizer, these legumes make their own. Use light phosphorus/potassium if soil is poor. Added nitrogen will actually decrease the effectiveness of legumes to produce nitrogen. Consider fertilization if the purpose is to grow a cover crop for biomass for weed suppression or forage. If the next crop needs fertilization or pH adjustments, it is possible to add the fertility during cover crop establishment or active growth, especially phosphorus and potassium.
Cover crops may not suppress 100% of weeds, so proactive management is still important. Start by ensuring a clean, weed-free seedbed before planting cover crops, and continue to scout regularly for weed pressure as the cover grows. Perennial weeds can often be pulled by hand, while low-growing annuals may be managed with shallow hoeing at the soil surface or careful flame weeding. Patch any bare spots promptly with mulch or reseed to prevent weeds from establishing. If weeds become a significant problem and cannot be adequately controlled, it may be best to terminate the cover crop early to prevent weed seed development and spread.
How to Care for Cover Crops
Young dahlia plants do not need a lot of water, excessive water can lead to rotting of the plant. For larger plants, a good rule of thumb is to water if the rainfall is less than one inch in seven days. Pots require more regular watering. As the plant grows, remove any broken or damaged foliage. Good air circulation, especially near the ground is needed by the plants to prevent powdery mildew. Once the plants are several feet high the lower leaves can be removed to increase air circulation. Your dahlias will continue to bloom prolifically right up until frost. A heavy frost will kill the plant so you may want to dig the half a dozen or more tubers the plant has produced. Those tubers can then be stored and grown next spring! Be sure to pinch younger growth to encourage a bushier plant and ultimately create a sturdier plant with more blooms. Remove spent flowers to give nutrients and space for even more blooms to come!