A mixture of prostrate triticale, crimson clover, hairy vetch, annual ryegrass and daikon radish. An excellent spring forage and/or overwintering cover crop. Clovers and vetch provide high protein in a forage application, and triticale and ryegrass contribute high yield and energy though digestible fiber and sugars. This mix is ideal for a spring grazing or cutting when the triticale reaches flag leaf or boot stage.
As a cover crop mix, each species contributes a soil improvement function. Daikon radish will be the shortest-lived species. Its deep tap root grows quickly in the fall and scavenges nitrogen, holding it in its tissues. The large taproot also breaks through compacted layers of soil. As the radish winter-kills, its decomposing tissue gradually releases nutrients that were scavenged at deeper levels early in the fall with its rapidly growing tap root. These nutrients (especially nitrogen) may have been otherwise been leached. As these nutrients are re-released by the decomposing radish, the slower growing over-wintering grass and legume species in the mix carry them forward into spring.
The combination of species anchor soil and provides weed suppression with its diverse canopy, also protecting soil from erosion over winter. The mixture of diverse over-wintering root structures also builds soil organic matter and feeds soil microbes, contributing to long-term soil health and fertility.
Cutting Management
Must be fall planted to take a spring cut. For best results, cut prior to boot stage. This mix features our Gainer Triticale, which has an earlier maturing triticale which serves as a harvest indicator, when you see the first heads, its time to cut.
Wide swath for best drying.
Grazing Application:
Late Summer Planted: Can be grazed in fall and early winter. In norther locations, earlier planting dates are needed for this to be successful. The daikon radish leaves provide good grazing but will winterkill once temperatures get into the low 20’s, while the rest of the species in the mix can over-winter and be grazed the following spring
