Winter Cover Crops

During the winter, Tom plants "cover crops" on the fields.  Cover crops serve two purposes.  First, they keep the soil from blowing away in the wind which is definitely a problem here in Oklahoma.   And, second, they add nutrients to the soil.  Here is a picture of one of our fields where Tom planted a cover crop this winter.

There are actually 2 different cover crops interplanted on this field, rye and Austrian winter peas.   The rye is a cereal grain that is suppose to secrete a substance that inhibits the growth of certain weeds and can also help in nematode control.  The Austrian winter peas are "legumes" whose roots contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria that add nitrogen to the soil.

Here is a close-up picture where you can see both types of plants.  There is some henbit in there, too.  Just forget that is there.  Obviously, THAT is not one of the winter weeds that rye is suppose to kill!

In the early spring, Tom tills the cover crops under.  You can see an example of this in the top picture.  The solid green in the foreground is the part of the cover crop that has not been tilled.  Then there is a strip of land where he has run the roto-tiller over a section of the cover crop.  He does this 3-4 weeks before he plans to plant the field.  This gives the plant material time to disintergrate somewhat so it does not interfere with the planting process.