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Cover Crops in Meadows
Cover crops in a fall-seeded meadow planting have two purposes: stabilizing the site after planting to prevent erosion over the winter and early spring, and suppressing weed growth during the first growing season, when the perennial meadow plants are just beginning to establish.
Fall-seeded cover crops are usually grains - annuals which germinate and grow briefly in fall before going dormant during the winter and returning to grow vigorously in spring. When grown as food crops, these grains bear mature seedheads by midsummer and then die back; when grown as cover crops, they are mowed in spring before they can set seed.
Winter wheat seed. Photo: PCA
Fall-sown winter wheat cover crop. This image was captured on October 8, 2023, three weeks after sowing. Photo: PCA
The same cover crop six months after sowing on March 10, 2024, beginning its spring green-up.
What Cover Crop to Use: Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) is the best choice but can be difficult to source. Some local Hudson Valley farms offer it, and it is sold by Prairie Moon Nursery. Winter rye (Secale cereale) is also used by some installers and is easier to source. Its growing roots release compounds that may suppress the growth of young meadow plants.
Application Rate: Use at minimum 100 lb/acre for winter wheat or 40 lb/acre for rye.
When to Sow: You can sow cover crops simultaneously with your meadow seed mix in late fall (late October-November) if erosion control is not needed. Sown in late fall, cover crop seeds may germinate and grow a minor amount, but the majority of growth will take place the following spring. If your site is sloped and preventing winter erosion is a major goal, the cover crop will work best if seeded in early to mid-September, before the meadow mix. Cover crops seeded too late in the season will not grow enough in fall to protect the soil during winter.
How to Sow: If planting simultaneously with your meadow mix, seed can be added directly to the mix for hand broadcasting, or loaded into the native drill seeder along with the meadow mix. If sowing separately from your meadow mix, cover crop seed can be hand-broadcast, or broadcast-sown by a tractor equipped with a standard farm seeder.