Cover crops or cover crops

There are seeds and cereal grains that have a very wide range of uses. They have been particularly popular in organic farming for some time now, but they are known and have been used on many farms for centuries, improving the quality of crops and soil fertility.

The name of cover/intercrop seeds comes from the period of their occurrence in agriculture, which takes place exactly between the cultivation of the main crops. Their task is to improve soil quality and minimize the occurrence of annual weeds. In many situations, they are also an ingredient of natural fertilizers and food for farm animals.

What are catch crop seeds and grains?

This group of plants is incredibly important for every farm. Cover crop seeds allow you to use the potential and resources of the cultivated land. Cover crops also protect the ground against weeds appearing on it. They have a wide range of applications, they can be used as part of natural fertilizers and even provide food for farm animals.

However, these are not new plant species that have no use elsewhere. These are mainly already known cultivated plants. However, their additional use is to fertilize and improve the quality of the soil, increase its biological activity, and provide it with many minerals. All these properties will result in very good yields in the next season.

Types of catch crop grains and seeds

There are three basic groups of cover crops, which are used in different periods:

Winter cover crop – this type of cover crop is sown in autumn, when the main crops have already been harvested. Cover crops are liquidated or harvested in the spring of the following year.

Stubble cover crop - this type of cover crop is sown in the second half of summer, when the early main crops have been harvested, and is harvested in autumn of the same year.

Undersown cover crops – this type of cover crops is sown in spring, at the same time as the main crop is sown. An example is serradella hay together with rye.

Why are plants sown for catch crops?

Catch crops help enrich the soil with valuable natural minerals, thanks to which we obtain higher-quality crops of vegetables and agricultural crops.

Preserving appropriate nutrients in the soil is possible thanks to the cover that cover crops provide for the earth, protecting it from drying out on hot days under the influence of sunlight. Some grains can eliminate harmful substances, such as heavy metals, which may leak into our soil.

Catch crops occur naturally in nature and can be freely grown between the main crops. This green fertilizer can be used for hay, silage and plowing. Catch crop plants provide nitrogen to the soil, so we have a chance for really high yields next year.

Types of catch crop grains and seeds

Among cover crops, we can distinguish three basic types that can be used in different periods:

winter plants, among others rye or Gorzów mixture, this type of cover crops can be sown in autumn, right away
after the main crops are harvested, they will be harvested in the spring of the following year,

stubble plants, among others white mustard, blue phacelia, buckwheat and other cover crops sown in summer, at the end of July or in August, harvested in the fall of the same year,

undersowing cover crops, among others serradella hay at the same time as rye. This type of cover crops is sown together with the main crops, the seeds sown in spring are collected in autumn, together with the crops.

What plant species can we use for sowing cover crops?

The best plants for sowing catch crops are those that enrich the soil and grow quite quickly. Properly selected plants will help enrich and fertilize the soil, so we can count on more abundant harvests.