Spring Cover Crop Mixes: Recipes for Soil Builder and Grazing

January 15, 2018 by Green Cover Team

Spring plantings are commonly utilized to jump-start soil biology after a long cold winter. These cover mixes are used to “prime” the soil biology ahead of a later spring planted crop. Spring mixes are also used in the western Great Plains as a “fallow replacement”, where a living cover provides extra residue and biological diversity for the soil. Moisture used by the cover crop is usually gained back later in the summer through increased infiltration and decreased evaporation. Seeding will typically occur once soil temperatures reach and maintain 40°F and field conditions are dry enough to allow traffic. Greater diversity can be added to these mixtures if planting date is delayed until closer to the frost-free date.

The following mixes are “base” mixtures for different spring planting situations and can be modified to best meet your needs. Call or email us and we can help you design the best mix for you.

Spring Soil Builder/Fallow Replacement	Spring Grazer
Legumes: Spring Forage Peas, Common Vetch Indianhead Spring Lentils, Crimson Clover Grasses: Spring Oats, Spring Forage Barley Brassicas: Rapeseed, Mustards Other Broadleaves: Flax, Safflower, Sunflower Estimated cost per acre: $18.00-25.00	Legumes: Spring Forage Peas, Common Vetch, Indianhead Spring Lentils Grasses: Spring Triticale, Spring Forage Barley, Spring Oats Brassicas: Impact Forage Collards, Viva Hybrid Turnips, Purple Top Turnips, Graza Radish, Broadleaf Mustard Other Broadleaves: Baldy Spineless Safflower Estimated cost per acre: $25.00-35.00
Spring Nitrogen Fixation	Spring Pollinator Mix
Legumes: Spring Forage Peas, AC Greenfix Chickling Vetch, Indianhead Spring Lentils, Desi Chick Peas, Common Vetch, Crimson Clover Grasses: Spring Oats Brassicas: Forage Rapeseed Other Broadleaves: Flax, Safflower, Sunflower Estimated cost per acre: $27.00-42.00	Legumes: Spring Forage Peas, AC Greenfix Chickling Vetch, Desi Chick Peas, Woolypod Vetch, Crimson Clover, Hubam Clover, Persian Clover Grasses: Spring Oats Brassicas: Nitro Radish, Yellow Mustard, Brown Mustard, Broadleaf Mustard Other Broadleaves: Flax, Safflower, Sunflower Estimated cost per acre: $30.00-40.00

Spring Soil Builder/Fallow Replacement

Spring Grazer

Legumes: Spring Forage Peas, Common Vetch Indianhead Spring Lentils, Crimson Clover
Grasses: Spring Oats, Spring Forage Barley
Brassicas: Rapeseed, Mustards
Other Broadleaves: Flax, Safflower, Sunflower
Estimated cost per acre: $18.00-25.00

Legumes: Spring Forage Peas, Common Vetch, Indianhead Spring Lentils
Grasses: Spring Triticale, Spring Forage Barley, Spring Oats
Brassicas: Impact Forage Collards, Viva Hybrid Turnips, Purple Top Turnips, Graza Radish, Broadleaf Mustard
Other Broadleaves: Baldy Spineless Safflower
Estimated cost per acre: $25.00-35.00

Spring Nitrogen Fixation

Spring Pollinator Mix

Legumes: Spring Forage Peas, AC Greenfix Chickling Vetch, Indianhead Spring Lentils, Desi Chick Peas, Common Vetch, Crimson Clover
Grasses: Spring Oats
Brassicas: Forage Rapeseed
Other Broadleaves: Flax, Safflower, Sunflower
Estimated cost per acre: $27.00-42.00

Legumes: Spring Forage Peas, AC Greenfix Chickling Vetch, Desi Chick Peas, Woolypod Vetch, Crimson Clover, Hubam Clover, Persian Clover
Grasses: Spring Oats
Brassicas: Nitro Radish, Yellow Mustard, Brown Mustard, Broadleaf Mustard
Other Broadleaves: Flax, Safflower, Sunflower
Estimated cost per acre: $30.00-40.00

Green Cover Team

This article was written by the Green Cover Team. Made up of farmers and cover crop specialists spread across multiple states, team members have hands-on experience in everything from row crop farming and ranching to animal husbandry, seed industry experience, and low-rainfall dryland production. Each year we run extensive cover crop trials on our farm in Bladen, Nebraska, testing hundreds of species, varieties and mixes to understand what actually works in the field. Together, we've spent decades helping growers in all 50 states find the right cover crop mix for their land.

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