cover cropping with triticale ,hairy vetch and cow peas late fall?

Published Oct 18, 2020 



Looking at planting triticale with hairy vetch and cow peas for a cover crop next year for a cash crop or corn to be planted late May 2021 using a roller crimper to terminate the cover crop before plant. It’s October 18th, I won’t be able to plant until the 22nd. Night time temps have fluctuated from mid 30s to high 20s no consistency yet. Some nights stay closer to 40. Highs are in the 70s and 80s. Am I too late for any of my covers? Any suggestions on planting rates? Will triticale terminate properly if I follow the method used for Rye, waiting until the entire field is dropping pollen?

2 Answers

By Jerry Smith
Published Oct 19, 2020 
By Pat Rogers
Published Feb 15, 2021 

As far as being too late for planting, in my experience I've always found that getting as much early season growth as possible really helps the cover crops establish better. In a perfect world you get your covers planted early and let them take off. In the real world, that's not always possible so if I have to plant late, I will just try to let them grow a little later than normal before terminating them.