1. Heidi Kratsch, Area Horticulture Specialist

2.  Companion crops:
◦ Also called Intercropping
◦ Usually planted at the same time as production
crops (interplanting vs. perimeter planting)
◦ Planted most often for pest suppression
 Cover crops:
◦ Usually planted in the “down” season (such as
winter) – not harvested for consumption
◦ Used for soil enhancement (called “Green Manure”)
But there is some overlap!

3.  Structural support for vining plants
 Increase nitrogen balance in the soil
 Pest suppression (insects)
 Pollinator / predator recruitment
 Protective shelter
 Trap cropping
 Pest pattern disruptions

4. Plants such as sweet allysum have been used to lure the
diamondback moth from cabbage plants.
Diamondback moth feeding on cabbage Sweet alyssum used as a trap crop
Destroy the trap crop after it becomes infested with insects.

5.  Legumes:  Interplanted with
◦ Alfalfa heavy feeders:
◦ Beans – all kinds ◦ Cabbage
◦ Clover ◦ Cauliflower
◦ Lentil ◦ Celery
◦ Peas ◦ Corn
◦ Cucumbers
◦ Leeks
◦ Lettuce
◦ Spinach
◦ Squash
◦ Tomatoes
Interplanted rows of corn with clover

6.  French and African
marigolds release
thiophene.
 Thiophene repels
nematodes, grubs
and aphids.

7.  Mowed cereal rye
as a mulch to
suppress weeds.
 Use with vegetables
that have large
seeds or are
transplants.
 Cut at flowering but
before seed set.

8.  Results in a diverse
canopy
 Taller sun-loving
plants shade lower
shade-loving plants
◦ Such as lettuce,
spinach, celery
Interplanting corn with squash to
confuse squash insect pests.

9. Sweet alyssum
 Companion plants
provide food and
cover for beneficial
insects.
◦ Ladybird beetles
◦ Lacewings
◦ Hoverflies
◦ Praying mantis
Fennel

10.  Planting multiple
crops and varieties
insures that you
have something to
harvest at the end
of the season.

12. Extract from valerian root leaves
Shady location Sunny location

13.  Wampanoag (Northeast and
South)
 Hidatsa (Plains)
 Zuni waffle garden (Southwest)
Corn, beans and squash have played a key role in
the survival of all North American people.

14.  Gifts from Great
Spirit
 Collectively called
De-o-ha-ko, or
“those who support
us”
Term coined by the Iroquois in the NE U.S. and Canada

15.  Corn provides
structure for beans
to climb
 Beans replenish the
soil with nutrients
 Leaves of squash
and pumpkin create
a living mulch that
conserves water
and inhibits weeds. Evidence of Paradise, Quilt
created by M. Joan Lintault to
celebrate Iroquois farming
methods.

16. N

17. N

18. N

19.  Growing two or
more vegetables in
the same place at
the same time

20.  Radishes are
harvested before
they crowd the
carrots.

21.  Plant small plants
close to large
plants.
 Can use this
strategy to
lengthen the
season for cool-
season plants.
Interplanting broccoli and lettuce

23.  Plant shade tolerant
species in the
shadow of taller
crops.
Interplanting cabbage,
lettuce, celery and mustards

24.  Interplant heavy
feeders with less
demanding crops.
Peas growing vertically behind 3
cauliflower plants. Growing in-front
of cauliflowers are leeks, carrots
and lettuces.

25.  Combine plants
with similar water
requirements.
Cucumbers, zucchinis and
squash have similar water
requirements.

26.  Increase soil organic
matter
 Increase nitrogen
balance in the soil
 Suppress pests
(weeds)
 Provide habitat for
beneficial insects
 Enhance soil
biological activity
 Control erosion
 Prevent compaction
What do you want your cover crop to do?

27.  Legumes
 Fix nitrogen and add
organic matter
 Peas, clovers
 Cereal grains
◦ Fast-growing: add
organic matter and
control erosion
◦ Deeply tap-rooted
plants: relieve
compaction
◦ Cereal rye, winter
wheat, barley
“Bio-drilling” relieves compacted
soil

28.  In rotation: 2- or 3-
year
 Winter cover crop
 Summer cover crop
 Strip cropping
 Intercropping
Cowpea as a summer cover to
increase soil nitrogen levels
and suppress weeds

29.  Drought tolerant Winter annual
 Excellent mineralized Zone 3 - 6
N provider
 Grows slowly in fall
but resumes in spring
 Smothers spring
weeds
 Enhances soil moisture
retention
 Sprawling vines can be
a challenge
Great in an area where tomatoes or corn will be grown!

30.  Early September
 Seeding rate of 1-2
lb./1000 ft2
 Requires
inoculation with
Rhizobium bacteria
 Comes as dry
powder mixed with
finely ground peat
moss

31. Winter annual
 Winter annual that
Zone 6
may die in winter in
colder parts of
Nevada
 But, establishes
quickly
 If winter-killed, no
need to pull up…
 Can combine with
winter rye
Seed Austrian pea at 2-4 lb./1000 ft2

32.  Greater control of
winter annual weeds Hairy vetch with winter rye
 More organic matter
residue
 Provides proper C:N
ratio to speed
decomposition in soil
 Use 40-60% grain full
rate and 80% legume
full rate

33.  Hardiest of cover crops Winter annual
 Rapid establishment Zone 4
 Deep fibrous rooting
 Builds organic matter
 Breaks up compaction
 Allelopathy suppresses
weed seeds
 Often grown with a
legume
Seed at 2.5 lb/1000 ft2

34.  Fall-seeded brassica
 Forms thick, white tap
roots 8-14 inches long!
 Nicknamed “biodrill” or
“tillage radish”
 Seed in late August, will
winter-kill in much of
Nevada
 Traps soil nutrients,
breaks up compaction,
biofumigant properties
(against nematodes)

35.  The best time to plant
a cover crop is anytime
a bed is not covered by
food crop or mulch.
 Make a furrow for large
seeds
 Scatter and rake in
smaller seeds
 Tamp the bed to
ensure good soil
contact and water in.
Nature abhors a vacuum. Bare ground
invites weeds and represents a lost
opportunity to improve the soil.

36.  Choose crops
appropriate for our
area.
 Irrigate only
enough to avoid
plant stress.
 Use drip irrigation
to avoid water
waste.
 Irrigate less in
winter. While buckwheat is a fast-growing
summer annual cover crop, it
requires more water than is efficient
for our region.

37. Incorporate them
back into your soil

38.  Tilling – avoid deep
mechanical tillage
 Mowing
 Remove plants and use
as compost or mulch
 Pen chickens in the field
(except hairy vetch –
seed is poisonous to
chickens)
 Incorporate cover crop 3 Turning in a cover crop by hand is a
weeks before food crop tedious job. Top mowing or use of a
is planted garden tiller can facilitate the process.

39. Chickens can remove a cover crop in 2 weeks. BUT don’t let
chickens graze in hairy vetch that has done to seed.

40.  Perennials – alfalfa,
hairy indigo, red
clover* Medium red clover*
 Summer annuals –
garden pea, mustard,
turnip, barley, oats,
sorghum-sudangrass
 Winter annuals –
Austrian winter pea,
hairy vetch, winter * Can be weedy in a garden setting
wheat, winter rye

41. Food Crop Cover Crop
Early spring planting: Fall planted winter annual
Lettuces, cabbage, that is winter-killed:
spinach, kale, peas, Austrian winter pea
radishes, carrots, chard
Warm season planting: Fall-planted cold-hardy
peppers, tomatoes, legumes: hairy vetch
squash, corn, melon
Late-season planting: Spring-planted summer
Broccoli, beets, kale, annual: garden pea, clover
collard, lettuce, peas,
radishes

42.  Territorial Seed Company
http://www.territorialseed.com/category/cover_crops
 Johnny’s Selected Seeds
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/t-covercropchart.aspx
 Burpee Seeds
http://www.burpee.com/organic-gardening/cover-
crops/
 Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
http://www.groworganic.com/seeds/cover-crop.html

43. http://www.sare.org/Learning-
Center/Books/Managing-
Cover-Crops-Profitably-3rd-
Edition