[Podcast] Tips for Using Cover Crops in Heavy Clay Soils

Pennsylvania cover crop expert Steve Groff shares key concepts for working with heavy clay soils, discusses why diversity of species is critical for this type of soil, and how cover crops and can be used in heavy clay soils for water management.
Because heavy clay soils tend to hold moisture, they can produce outstanding yields, so understanding how to manage some of the biggest challenges this soil type can offer is of the utmost importance. (Courtesy of Cover Crop Innovators)

[@KeoniKoa]

Everyone seems to make this WAY, WAY more complicated than it actually is. If you ask these "experts" about what you should do, they will more than likely NOT be able to tell you any way to make your clay soil better. You have to experiment with your own soil for several years to learn what works for you. With that being said, I can tell you what you can do as an experiment. Buy a bale or two of some ryegrass hay. Do not feed it to your livestock. Break it up and spread it with a rake and leave it at least 6 inches thick, and leave it until it grows into a thick patch of fresh ryegrass. Even if it takes it a year. You'll be AMAZED! It works perfectly without you having to do a dang thing. The experts don't even know this trick. Do it, it works!

[@nicolasbertin8552]

I got heavy clay soil (super alkaline too, lucky me...), just a shared urban garden (1800 m²), and I have to do cover crops every winter, otherwise the soil is compact, waterlogged with winter rain, despite 10 cm of wood chips. After a few tries, I've stopped using mustard or oats, and I just go for rye, spelt, vech, fava beans and winter pea. I tried throwing some daikon, but it doesn't grow amongst the dense rye. First, the sowing period is crucial. I can't sow everything at once, and really everything needs to be sown before the 3rd week of October, otherwise it won't really grow before the winter, and will in fact sometimes only germinate in February. Which is why I throw in phacelia now, coz it'll fill the gaps. Problem is, it flowers earlier (April) than the others (May). But since the seed is so small, and it's so easy to remove, I don't mind it. So I let everything go to flower in May, and squash it with a big wooden pallet. Then I add spent grain and wood chips (for squashes, tomatoes and peppers), or just wood chips (for beans, celeriac, leeks etc...).

[@MrToddino]

Exactly the kind of content ive been looking for, tyvm

[@portiaholliday8741]

Right now PA is having a drought. We had a drought last year in August. Usually we have too much rain. Barley is a nice cover crop for PA. Oats are nice bc they only grow knee high. Rats like Cow Peas. I have Crimson Clover planted. This is my 1st year planting Sunn Hemp that I got from Hoss in GA.

[@williamgibson2760]

Freeze and Frost-seeding: all Small seeded clovers, red, white - low cost medium red is almost fool proof. Even Birdsfoot trefoil

[@mandiegarrett1706]

Great content. I wanted to experiment with growing cover crop for helping the soil better. Right now, it's compact clay. So if I take about 100ft by 100, as my testing area, how do I go about planting cover crop on area that is full of green thick grass/weeds. I want to "no till" the area. Do I just spread the cover crop seeds on top of the growing grass/weeds...would the grass/weeds not allowing the cover crop to get to the ground/soil, doesn't make sense to me. Please help, thanks.

[@morganreeder109]

The thick grass and weeds would not allow the cover crop get established. They would keep the cover crops crowded out. If you had a way to terminate the grass and weeds, the cover crops would have a better chance.

[@henninglarsen2892]

good explanation and motivation, i am a european farmen in dry and hot Slovakia, i have very heavy and clay soils. rotatien is Winterrape, Corn, winterwheat, sunflower. i cultivate in 20-30 cm. all in front of all winter crop and ploug in front of Corn and sunflower 30-35 cm. will start with covercrop, but are afraid of heavy mous attacks, all ready now it is problematic if we do not cultivating in 25-30 cm. and destroying mouse nests !

[@gordonstewart8258]

I’m from Colorado-also semi arid and clay soil. Mice are kept down by native wildlife-falcons, eagles, coyotes, owls, crows. What’s native in your area? Build nesting areas, or wood piles for wildlife habitat. Nature will bring balance. Mice will be kept in check. Also cats. Some say we’d starve to death if cats weren’t such wonderful hunters

[@jaunpuriyabhauji9530]

👌👌👌👌

[@microsoilenhancersinspirey5750]

Balansa clover...also multiple species grow better than just single species...

[@benwilliams3539]

I'm in the tropics so half the year our clay soil is completely flooded and soaked then the other half its cold and bone dry, goes solid as a rock.

[@williamgibson2760]

Mycorrhizzae fungi (AMF) are SO valuable in the soil (24:00) Even worth purchasing a credible product, as long as it can be placed into the soil near/at seed/root. Sorghum-sudan may stimulate latent AMF in the soil after a die-off incident, but likely to take so long their population and plant association will be nil that year, and then tillage or another saturation eent could kill it back again. Using an inoculant with lots of viable propagules of at least 4 Glomus spp. is well worth a ~$20.00/acre investment, maybe just one time forever.

[@EDBZ28]

I’ve listened to about 2/3 of this podcast and nothing has been said about the possibility of cover crops getting into drainage systems and plugging them? Also the cost of running expensive $200,000 air seeders and strip tillers for planting cover crops, the expensive cost of these cover crop “cocktails”…more specifically, the return? I’ve yet to hear anyone assign a monetary return on a dollar for extensive and expensive cover cropping.

[@rondavis2791]

2/3 through one video about a subject that takes a good 40 hours to understand and get the right info. Need to do a little more research.

[@EDBZ28]

@@rondavis2791 yes, hence my questions…hoping someone would answer them in my effort of doing research. I’ve been reading articles and learning about the method of cover cropping for years now; in fact we’ve we’ve been using red clover as a cover crop for decades, but I’ve yet to come across someone to answer those questions in my comment. 3-5 years ago triticale was the hot new goto cover crop in my area…neighbors planted a bunch of acres and had a terrible time with plugged tiles. And that was triticale! Not aggressive taproot turnip type plants. Since then I haven’t heard of anyone planting triticale as a cover crop. Until I come across several farmers who can give me an ROI on spending 20,30, & $40/ac on seed plus wearing out a couple hundred thousand dollar air drill planting them, I will not jump into this new possible trend.

[@MrJimsonweed67]

@@EDBZ28 You are setting up a strawman argument. Cover cropping doesn't require a 200k air seeder. I have a used 1590 drill that cost 30k and will last longer than I will. Cover cropping doesn't require a strip tiller, so that's not even part of the cost. Crop cocktails are not expensive. I plant them all the time, mix a few lbs of rape with some saved wheat seed, cost $10/acre for seed. And get that back by grazing it.

[@helenachase5627]

Ya, I rotorilled 15 times and my soil will not till . It's so compacted. I think digging it up once and never again is not unreasonable. There is fuck all living in that paste