In addition to selling forages that can double as cover crops, King’s AgriSeeds has developed a variety of cover crop mixes that will help increase soil health. Species blends are far more beneficial in improving the life of your soil than a monoculture.
Cover crop seed mix has huge potential to improve your farm’s long term productivity and profitability.
Whether you are farming conventionally, organically, or aiming for a no-till system, soils should have a living crop growing on each field for as many months of the year as possible.
For best root nodulation and nitrogen fixation, inoculate untreated legume seed and seed mixtures containing legumes with the appropriate inoculant, as indicated. Although some legumes tolerate more acidic soils after they get established, most legumes need a pH close to neutral for nodulation.
Consult with our agronomists to choose the appropriate cover crop mixes for your farm.
Cover Crop Reference Materials:
- Bees and cover crops: Using flowering cover crops for native pollinator conservation
- Cover Crop Decision Making Chart: After Corn/Corn Silage
- Cover Crop Decision Making Chart: After Soybeans
- Cover Crop Decision Making Chart: After Cereal Grains
- Cover Crop Rollers for Northeastern Grain Production
- Herbicide Carryover Table (Penn State Extension)
- Nitrogen Benefits of Winter Cover Crops (Cornell Extension)
- Penn State Interrow Seeder Information; See also When to Aerial Apply Cover Crops into Corn and Interseeder tech sheet
- Penn State Cover Crop Cocktails Research News
- Sustainable Crop Rotations with Cover Crops (Ohio State Extension)
Tech sheet: Long-term Covers and Conservation Mixes
Cover Crop Mixes
This cover crop mixes a red, ladino, and sweet clover mix that can be frost seeded, spring seeded, fall seeded, aerial seeded, broadcast after last cultivation of corn, or seeded just before soybean leaf drop. With its diversity, the white and red clover will grow in long, cool springs and in the fall, and the yellow blossom sweet clover grows well in the summer months and drier spells. Can work as a perennial pollinator mix; recommended for two years at the most. Can also be used for wildlife food plots. Recommended seeding rate: 10-15 lbs/A.
3-Way Clover is pre-inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria for best nitrogen fixation.
For broadcasting in late summer with moisture. Will improve soils in many ways, including nitrogen fixation, soil tilth and drainage. Can be broadcasted with hand seeders, ATV seeders, highboy seeders and by airplane or helicopter. Great for seeding into a living corn crop and open fields in late summer. This cover crop mixes MO1 and/or Marshall Annual Ryegrass, crimson clover, Common Medium Red Clover, Daikon radish, and yellow blossom sweet clover. Recommended seeding rate: 25-30 lbs/A.
Broadcaster is pre-inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria for best legume nitrogen fixation.
This cover crop mixes crimson clover, annual ryegrass, and oats. It is a superb cover crop for southern Pennsylvania (south of I-78) and further south. The benefit of crimson clover is that it flowers early, and thus will fix nitrogen earlier in the spring than other legumes. Annual ryegrass has very extensive root growth and improves soil structure even better than cereal grains. Feed quality is excellent as well. Recommended seeding rate: 60 lbs/A (110-130 lb/A if it will also be used for forage).
CARGO is pre-inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria for best legume nitrogen fixation.
This cover crop mixes 80% tall fescue and 20% annual ryegrass. For conservation purposes. Adjust seeding rate to erosion risk. Recommended seeding rate: 35-75 lbs/A.
This cover crop mixes a blend of 7 different clovers, designed to provide constant blooms over the growing season. The constant blooming will help draw in beneficial insects and other pollinators.
A perennial cover crop mixes 60% dwarf perennial ryegrass, 20% creeping red fescue, 20% chewings fescue. A low maintenance grass cover crop that was formulated specifically for use in orchards and vineyards. Shade tolerant, wear tolerant, slow-growing, and quickly established. Competes well with perennial weeds and stands up to traffic, requiring less mowing. Recommended seeding rate: 50 lbs/A.
A simple 2 species cover crop mixes Lowboy Annual Ryegrass and Crimson Clover for those who do not need forage.
Ideal for corn and other non-legume crop rotations
A fall-planted cover crop mixes TriCal 815 Triticale, crimson clover, hairy vetch, MO1 & KB Supreme Annual Ryegrass, and Daikon radish. Makes an excellent spring forage and/or overwintering cover crop. This mix is ideal for a spring grazing or cutting when the triticale reaches flag leaf or boot stage. Recommended seeding rate: 60-90 lb/A for cover crop; 120-140 lbs/A for forage.
A diverse, 8 species cover crop mixes small grains, legumes and brassicas. This mix is designed with rapid growth and soil health in mind. This can be used as a short term cover crop, as soil building transition crop to renovate depleted soils, and a grazing mix
A 7-way grass/legume/brassica mix for cover crop and/or forage. This versatile warm-season cover crop mixes a diverse variety of stress-tolerant summer annuals—cowpea, sorghum-sudans, pearl millet, radish, forage brassica and sunflower—that can be used as a short-term cover crop, a soil-building transition crop to renovate depleted soils, a beef cattle grazing mix, or some combination of these. It also contains several blooming species that, if left to grow and flower, will attract beneficial species. The mix is beneficial for both no-till and conventional-till soils.
Ray’s Crazy Mix is excellent for farmland reclamation, renovation, or when transitioning forest or brush-land land back into production. For vegetable growers it is also a good short season summer cover crop to build soil organic matter and contribute fertility in selected beds or fields. In a high tunnel or green house setting, Ray’s Crazy Mix can remediate soils during the summer months and to build soil organic matter, without extensive tillage. Recommended seeding rate: 40-60 lbs/A.
Inoculate with peanut inoculant for best legume nitrogen fixation.
This is a versatile cool season cover crop mix made up of grasses, legumes, and brassicas that can be used a short-term cover crop, a soil-building transition crop to renovate depleted soils, a grazing mix, or some combination of these. It also contains several blooming that, if left to grow and flower, will attract beneficial species.
Winter peas, hairy vetch and crimson clover grow through the winter and fix nitrogen. N production will be maximized if the hairy vetch and clover are left to grow to bloom in the spring. Grasses provide some shelter to legumes and brassicas during the winter months. Recommended seeding rate: 40-50 lbs/A for cover crop or forage.
A mixture of spring peas, oats and hairy vetch that makes an excellent soil improver and early cover. Best seeded in late winter to early spring. Once soil warms up, this mix germinates and grows rapidly to grow quick spring nitrogen for summer crops. The spring oats act as a nurse crop and then provides support for the peas and hairy vetch. This mix, once established, will crowd out weeds and fix nitrogen. Note: Can also be seeded in late summer. Recommended seeding rate: 125 lbs/A.
Inoculate with pea/vetch inoculant for best legume nitrogen fixation.
This summer annual mix of Wonderleaf Millet and T-Raptor forage brassica is often used as a highly palatable grazing mix, with the brassica adding a surprising level of protein. As a cover crop, this simple mix can go far to build soil with the combination of millet’s fibrous root structure and the brassica’s deep taproot. The combination of brassica’s broad leaves and millet’s quick tillering growth makes Summer Feast an outstanding competitor against weeds. If grazed, at least 2 two grazings are possible. Recommended seeding rate: 15 to 20 lbs/A.
A diverse legume-forb cover crop mix of aggressively growing summer annuals, with possible alternative use for wildlife food plots. The mix includes four very different components—buckwheat, cowpeas, sunflower, and sunn hemp. Both conventional and organic growers will find this a useful break crop in between spring and fall crops that builds soil nitrogen levels and attracts pollinators and other beneficial insects. It can also be used in farmscaping strips to draw beneficials throughout the season. Recommended seeding rate: 35-60 lb/A.
TerraLife Cover Crop Mixtures
TerraLife cover crop mixtures were developed to loosen up the soil between crop rotations and improve soil fertility and health. All mixtures include a proportion of quick-growing species to effectively suppress weed growth. The species diversity guarantees good biodiversity and maximum variation in root development to ensure good soil penetration.
Balanced, partly winterhardy cover crop for intensive maize crop rotations.
- Leaves optimal soil structure
- Supports deep roots
- Very good nitrogen exploitation
MaizePro DT is the ideal mix for corn crop rotations. It selectively supports the formation of mycorrhiza in a corn rotation, and as a result, improves the soil structure. The soils become move water stable, have an improved bearing capacity and are easier to work. The intensive root penetration properties of the components create new root channels, which help the corn particularly during periods of drought. The hardy components guarantee highly efficient erosion protection right into spring. After a successful cover crop, the soil only requires working to a depth of the soil horizon receiving the corn seed. In this way, the capillarity is maintained, ensuring water availability for germination.
Note: In soils without a pea or vetch history, a pea vetch inoculant is recommended. The clovers in this mix are pre-inoculated.
Strong root growth stabilizes the soil structure.
- Long-term proven in practice
- Very deep roots
- For compacted soils
The cover crop mix Rigol DT is extremely effective in penetrating compacted soils as the plant types in the mix demonstrate intensive rooting activity. Numerous root channels are formed, which are used by the follow-on crop to rapidly reach rooting depth. At the same time, Rigol DT ensures good soil shade and rapid fine root penetration of the topsoil layer, as well as good above-ground biomass production. The legume fraction leads to good humus and nutrient accumulation. The low C/N-ratio allows rapid N-availability for the following crop. Rigol DT is also recommended for soils with poor iron availability (e.g.pH > 7).
Note: The clovers in this mixture are pre-inoculated.
The cover crop mix for vegetable and sugar beet cultivation.
- Freezes off reliably
- Creates ideal seedbed conditions
- Suits also for canola crop rotations
BetaMaxx is a balanced blend carefully selected for vegetable and sugar beet cultivation. Common vetch has a beneficial effect on soil bacteria, which protect plants from pathogens. BetaMaxx enables vegetables and beets to be grown the following year without plowing. The improves slowing accuracy and can reduce the incidence or forked roots in sugar beets. Early indications are that this mix can significantly increase sugar beet yields compared with using oil radish as a cover crop. BetaMaxx can also be used in combined canola and beet rotations because no cruciferous plants are included.
Note: In soils without a pea or vetch history, a pea vetch inoculant is recommended. The clovers in this mix are pre-inoculated.
Fast growing mix for intensive livestock husbandry
- Suitable for late sowing
- Tolerates cool germination conditions
- Good nitrogen and phosphorus binding over winter
VitaMaxx DT is a fast-growing, legume-free cover crop mix and is therefore very suitable for use in water protection areas. The mix produces plenty of biomass, which serves as a long-term food source for earthworms and other soil inhabitants and preserves the nutrients over winter. The fast growing components enable even later sowing dates.
TerraLife Webinar by Dr. Heino Schaupp & Dr. Matthias Westerschulte of DSV germany
Cover Crop Individual Species
Replaces Quickcover. Summer soil builder, weed and nematode suppressor, and subsoil loosener. AS 5201 will produce more biomass than any other sorghum-sudan. Goes well in a mix with brassicas. AS 5201 is a non-BMR and not as high quality for forage use as BMR sorghums and sorghum-sudans (lignin content will be higher). Recommended seeding rate: 35-50 lb/A (60-70 lb/A for forage use).
Sudangrass and Sorghum-Sudangrass as a Cover Crop (Cornell Extension)
Berseem clover grows as a summer annual or winter annual depending on your plant hardiness zone. In the south, typically from central Virginia and further south, the Berseem can be planted in the fall and will over-winter as a winter annual crop. Since it is not a cold tolerant crop, the Berseem clover may winter kill and not consistently survive northern winters (Mid-Atlantic and Northern States). Therefore, it is best used as a spring seeded summer annual in these regions. It is an excellent choice for a cover crop due to its vigorous warm-season growth and good nitrogen-fixing potential.
Berseem clover has oblong leaflets and hollow stems. It grows upright and produces yellowish-white flowers with small round heads. The plant may grow as tall as 18 to 30 inches. It has a small tap root that is 4 to 6 inches long. Berseem clover is excellent in a forage context because it is one of the rare legumes that does not cause bloat, and can be used to boost production on thinning alfalfa stands or as high protein stand-alone forage. Recommended seeding rate: 8-20 lbs/A.
Phacelia offers fast early development for quick, competitive canopy. It spreads very quickly across the ground and restricts the growth of weeds. It’s excellent for beneficial insects and works well as a cool season soil builder. Will make a good winter-killed cover crop to prepare the ground for an early spring planting. Recommended seeding rate: 8-12 lb/A.
A brassica and quick cover that can be used in vineyards, annual crop rotations, or in vegetable rotations. It grows rapidly to suppress weeds. As a nematode suppressing crop, Braco white mustard both interferes with completion of the feeding nematode larvae life cycle and acts as a natural bio-fumigant when turned into the soil just before or at flowering. Recommended seeding rate: 8-10 lbs/A.
Brown top millet is a very short and leafy species with high tolerance to soil acidity. A lower cost millet with more stem biomass and lower forage quality, Brown top works well as a cover crop or bird sanctuary. Does not regrow well after cutting. Recommended seeding rate: 10-25 lb/A.
True “smother crop” since it grows a thick canopy quickly and outcompetes summer weeds. Buckwheat is the perfect crop to fill in the rotational window between spring and summer or early fall crops. It can reseed itself if not managed closely, but easy to kill (seedlings also readily frost-kill). Good addition of broadleaves, especially for a mostly grass-based rotation. Fibrous root system, loosens up and conditions soil, makes organic phosphorous available. If left through bloom, it will attract pollinators. Recommended seeding rate: 50-70 lbs/A.
A small seeded buckwheat. Does not work well for pollinators; poor nectar production. Not for grain. Larger leaves and later bloom than VNS. Recommended seeding rate: 25-35 lbs/A.
Also available in Certified Organic.
Cereal rye or winter rye is one of the most cold tolerant of the commonly used cover crops and has been extensively used in a wide range of cropping systems. It can be planted later in the fall than other small grains. Recommended seeding rate: 168 lbs/A.
A low cost legume cover crop that can be used similarly to the 3-way clover mix. Red clover is fast starting and shade tolerant. Good source of nitrogen, soil builder and weed suppressor; attracts beneficials. Makes a good forage. Recommended seeding rate: 4-20 lbs/A.
Also available in Certified Organic.
Inoculate with clover inoculant for best results.
Common Medium Red Clover Tech Sheet
Management of Red Clover as a Cover Crop (Penn State Extension)
Nitrogen Credits from Red Clover as a Cover Crop Between Small Grains and Corn (Cornell Extension)
Productive heat tolerant vining summer-annual legume, excellent drought resistance, low fertility and a range of soils. If left to bloom it attracts many beneficial insects that prey on other pests. Slow to start, so it does well in mixes with other quicker growing species, especially those that are rigid and erect-growing that can serve as a trellis to support its growth (for example, summer grasses like millet and sudangrass). Works well as a forage, especially in a mix. Same as black-eyed peas (dry beans that can be used for human consumption). Recommended seeding rate: 40-60 lbs/A.
Inoculate with peanut inoculant for best results.
A legume cover crop that can be planted in late summer as a winter annual or in the spring. Rapid spring growth provides weed suppression and makes it a valuable spring and summer green manure, providing 60 to 100 lbs of N. It can be easily grown in rotation before grain sorghum or sorghum-sudangrass, and is also good for hay and grazing uses. In Northern areas of PA and farther north, crimson clover doesn’t over winter, but can be grown as a summer annual for fall nitrogen. Has a deep red flower that produces abundant nectar and is a habitat for beneficial insects and bumble bees. Great for mixtures (see our CARGO mix). Seed is larger than most other clovers, so use a higher seeding rate than for other clovers. Recommended seeding rate: 15-25 lbs/A.
Inoculate with with clover inoculant for best results.
Deep tap root growth, penetrates soil, improves tilth, scavenges and bio-accumulates nitrogen, calcium, sulfur and magnesium from lower soil levels and moves them up to upper soil profile, weed suppressor, suppresses nematodes. Plant early spring as a quick weed suppressor or break crop. Recommended seeding rate: 12-14 lbs/A; 2-5 lbs/A in mixes.
Excellent fast growing cover crop for between vegetable rows, providing low-growing, nitrogen-fixing ground cover. It is lower yielding and shorter growing than other varieties in a pasture setting. Recommended seeding rate: 2-4 lbs/A.
Dutch White Clover is pre-inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria for best nitrogen fixation.
HIGH YIELDS, WIDE ADAPTATION, AND EARLY MATURITY
AU Merit was bred by Auburn University specifically for high forage and biomass production and early flowering. The result is a variety which exhibits high forage yields (up to 12% higher than common hairy vetch), early maturity, good disease resistance, excellent seedling vigor and tolerance to a wide range of soil types.
A winter-hardy winter annual legume that has the potential to produce 200 lbs of free nitrogen. Burn off or till into the soil after flower for a significant amount of free nitrogen. It can also be rolled down as a weed-suppressing mulch in organic no-till systems. Best used in mixtures. Recommended seeding rate: 25-30 lbs/A.
Inoculate with pea/vetch inoculant for best growth and nitrogen fixation.
A winter-hardy winter annual legume that has the potential to produce 200 lbs of free nitrogen. Burn off or till into the soil after flower for a significant amount of free nitrogen. It can also be rolled down as a weed-suppressing mulch in organic no-till systems. Best used in mixtures. Recommended seeding rate: 25-30 lbs/A.
Inoculate with pea/vetch inoculant for best growth and nitrogen fixation.
Ladino is a white clover with large leaves and taller growing stems, and will produce more N per acre than other white clovers. Dense shallow roots protect soil from erosion and suppress weeds well compared to other white clovers. Ladino clover can fix 80 to 130 lbs of N per acre if left to grow a year after establishment. As a cover crop, it can be frost seeded into small grains or broadcast over vegetables in late spring. It will grow slowly and develop roots in the shade of another growing crop, then grow rapidly after crop harvest. Great for use as a living mulch and a beneficial crop to attract bees for both nectar and pollen. Recommended seeding rate: 5-9 lbs/A.
VNS Ladino clover is pre-inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria for best nitrogen fixation.
Lowboy is a turf-type annual ryegrass for cover crop use only. It is a cold-tolerant, weed suppressing crop that has an extensive root system and is easy to terminate. Lowboy is ideal for building soil in grain, tobacco, or vegetable rotations.
Annual ryegrass can be overseeded into corn or soybeans or other vegetable crops. Ryegrass has an extensive root system that holds the soil in place, preventing erosion. It’s an excellent nitrogen scavenger and grows organic matter deep into the soil with root biomass. The dense root system improves water infiltration and builds soil tilth. If mixed with legumes it establishes quickly and acts as a nurse crop, which improves early season weed control and helps the legumes over-winter. Recommended seeding rate: 15-20 lbs/A.
Annual ryegrass that was interseeded into standing corn
A quick starting small grain that can be planted during many months except for during hot, dry periods. When planted in late summer, spring oats will typically die with a killing frost, creating an excellent early spring no-till opportunity with ample residue to suppress weeds. Any of our forage oats works well in a cover crop setting; some are leafier and later maturing than others, depending on your timing. Recommended seeding rate: 80-100 lbs/A.
Oats mixed with Daikon radish
Phacelia offers fast early development for quick, competitive canopy. It spreads very quickly across the ground and restricts the growth of weeds. It’s excellent for beneficial insects and works well as a cool season soil builder. Will make a good winter-killed cover crop to prepare the ground for an early spring planting. Recommended seeding rate: 8-12 lb/A.
Sunflowers are a high-yielding broadleaf cover crop that grow quickly and outcompete weeds, and the seeds they produce are also the most popular seed for bird feed. Peredovic Sunflowers grow 4-5 feet tall, the flowers attract butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects, and the seeds provide a nutritious high-energy food source for birds. All types of sunflower seeds originate from the common sunflower, Helianthus annuus, though there are many specialized and hybrid flower varieties that create different bloom sizes, stalk heights and seed yields. The seeds they produce are similar, however, and sunflower seed is universally popular birdseed. Recommended seeding rate: 40 lbs/A.
Tall-growing summer annual legume, tolerates dryer conditions, high biomass producer, and good smother crop. Use as a green manure/cover crop to provide both organic matter and nitrogen during the period between summer and winter cash crops. Produces significant biomass in 6-7 weeks. High lignin content; after 3 to 4 weeks of growth it gets too woody for forage use. Good in mixes to add varying heights to the cover, but keep seeding rate low. Recommended seeding rate: 20-40 lbs/A.
Inoculate with peanut inoculant for best growth and nitrogen fixation.
A cross between wheat and rye. Using triticale as a cover crop is very similar to using rye—in terms of seeding rate and application—but triticale is a little leafier, lower in lignin content and later heading than rye. It should also be planted slightly earlier than rye in the fall. Triticale provides over-winter erosion control, soil-building, and nitrogen scavenging. Like rye, triticale also makes an excellent spring emergency forage. Good for mixing with winter annual legumes and annual ryegrass. Seeding rate depends on goals for the crop and planting date. Recommended seeding rate: 60-220 lbs/A.
A biennial clover that develops a strong, deep tap root that can break hard pans and handles drought well. As a legume, it also fixes nitrogen. Sweet clover will grow in a wide range of soils but pH, as with most legumes, should be close to neutral (>6.5). Recommended seeding rate: 15-25 lbs/A.
Yellow blossom sweetclover is pre-inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria for best nitrogen fixation.
