Annual Plow Down Mix
Annual Plow Down Mix combines faba beans, Biomaster peas, common vetch and spring oats to bring complementary legume and cereal functions into one planting. The mix is designed for green manure and soil-building applications where growers want biological nitrogen fixation, biomass production, nutrient capture and living soil cover.
Mix Components
A four-component blend combining three legumes with a cereal grain to provide complementary cover crop functions.
Multiple Cover Crop Functions in One Mix
Annual Plow Down combines legumes and a cereal species so the stand can provide several complementary functions during the cover crop growing period.
Biological Nitrogen Fixation
Faba beans, peas and common vetch are legumes capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen when properly inoculated and successfully nodulated. Following termination and decomposition, part of that nitrogen can cycle back through the cropping system.
Nutrient Capture
Spring oats provide a cereal component capable of taking up available soil nutrients during the cover crop period. This can help retain nutrients in plant biomass rather than leaving the soil without an actively growing crop.
Biomass Production
Large-seeded legumes combined with oats can produce substantial vegetative growth when conditions are favorable, providing plant residue that can be returned to the soil at termination.
Soil Cover
Maintaining living vegetation between cash crops helps reduce the amount of exposed soil. The oat component also contributes a fibrous root system that helps hold soil in place during the growing period.
Complementary Residue
Legumes generally produce nitrogen-rich plant material while cereal grasses contribute more carbon-rich residue. Combining the two provides a broader residue profile than planting either functional group alone.
Green Manure Fit
The mix is well suited to systems where the cover crop will be terminated and the resulting biomass incorporated or otherwise managed as part of a soil-building and nutrient-management program.
Agronomic Note: Cover crop performance and nutrient contribution vary with planting date, weather, soil fertility, irrigation, inoculation, stand establishment and termination timing. Contact Weaver Seed for help matching the mix to your production system.
Organic Annual Plow Down
A separate organic formulation is available. Contact Weaver Seed for current crop-year availability, packaging and pricing.
Interested in Annual Plow Down Mix?
Contact Weaver Seed for current availability, pricing, packaging options or help determining whether Annual Plow Down is the right fit for your cover crop program.
Request Pricing