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3 Responses to what winter cover crop is best to suppress weeds?

1. Ordinarily, plants don’t grow in winter. I suggest putting down a pre emergent in the early spring. Consult an almanac, or your local extension office for specific info on timing. ( it’s not really critical, as long as it’s applied before the weeds germinate.)

   

   D M
   June 30, 2011 at 6:00 am
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2. In Pennsylvania, this late into the year, you probably will not get very good results. Still, if you are determined, you may try Austrian Winter Peas. They are supposed to be fairly hardy, but I don’t know if they can handle the cold that you will have in late December or January. A better option would be to wait until spring and plant an extra-heavy cover of either Buckwheat or Alfalfa followed by a second crop of the other. When tilled in they will add enormous amounts of organic matter as well as phosphorous (buckwheat) and nitrogen (alfalfa). Both, when planted at approximately double their recommended coverage, are excellent at smothering out weeds. In addition to that, the alfalfa has roots that penetrate about 20 or 30 feet and pull trace minerals to the surface and can be mown for hay to feed livestock (if you have any) or sold to others. Alfalfa hay can also be added to soil as an amendment without growing it in place, but at $ 15.00 or more per bale it is expensive to use in that way.
   If you had started in early September you could have planted winter wheat or rye and used it as the base for the buckwheat and alfalfa in the spring.

   Good luck and enjoy!

   

   shooter1
   June 30, 2011 at 6:13 am
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3. You can plant winter rye..amount needed is on label back side of bag

   

   fedupneck
   June 30, 2011 at 6:32 am
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