Winter rye is a traditional cover crop for many Indiana vegetable growers because it does a good job of protecting soils from erosion over the winter, and can tolerate being planted late in the fall. Growers experienced with cover crops make use of a wider variety, and often in mixtures. Planning a rotation of cover crops, vegetables, and possibly field crops, involves integrating information about nutrient needs of cash and cover crops, insect and disease susceptibility, timing of weed seed germination and production, and cover and cash crop planting and termination or harvest dates and methods.
Chuck Mohler, a vegetable grower in northern Indiana, and conservation agronomist Joe Rorick join Eric Pfeiffer to discuss the process of choosing cover crops for specific vegetable rotations on a particular farm, and provide tips on preparing the soil and seeding methods for a solid healthy cover crop stand.
