Part of a multi-farm trial on five farms asking the research question: Do spring planted cover crops benefit the production of late season brassica cash crops?

Summary

• Organic vegetable growers use cover crops to improve soil fertility and tilth and control weeds.
• Five growers evaluated summer cover crops to determine benefits to N-demanding late season brassicas.
• Specific cover crop comparisons included bell/fava bean (legume) vs. no cover crop control; cocktails containing a legume (bell/fava bean, peas, white clover) vs. buckwheat control.

Key Findings

• Dry conditions in the spring impeded germination resulting in “lacklustre growth [that was] not nearly competitive
  enough to deter weeds” or mature enough to effectively mow, resulting in very little meaningful cover crop or
  brassicas yield data.
•  Buckwheat came up better than other species, making it the most drought tolerant of the species grown; at
  Angie’s, buckwheat had 6+ times greater biomass than the oats/peas/fava cocktail (P<0.01).