Green Manure

Green Manure

Green manures are slightly more specific than cover crops. Green manures are usually legumes, mustard and grasses that are grown specifically to increase soil organic matter and nutrients. Green manures help add nitrogen and other nutrients back into the soil.

The Common Flax is a cool season annual broadleaf with small taproots and very small, narrow leaves that are less than an inch long. This variety's stems are branched near the base of the plant, with plants reaching 30 to 36 inches in height. The multiple stems or branches of a flax plant are slender and flexible, bearing attractive blue flowers. Flax has the same performance benefits of other grasses and grains, of quick germination and a highly fibrous root mass. Flax will take up excess N and other minerals, will winter kill and provide moderate to high amounts of organic matter back to the soil. Flax provides excellent mulch for protection of erosion and improving water permeation during the winter and spring. Flax (Linum usitatissimum): Cool season, broadleaf, Annual, Upright plant habit Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Chicken Forage, Erosion Control, Green Manure, Nitrogen Savenger, No Till, Organic Matter (Biomass)

The California Blackeye #46 is similar to California Blackeye #5, but with smaller seeds. Bred by the UCLA and released in 1987. California Blackeye #46 plants are more erect than California Blackeye #5. The seeds are a typical blackeye type of Southern peas with cream-colored seed coats and black pigments around the eyes.  Heavy yielder. If using for Nitrogen fixation we highly recommend using a cowpea inoculant. Try with cowpea inoculant for maximum Nitrogen fixation.

The Pearl Millet is a very tall grass that can reach to be 15 feet tall that is used as a multiple cut forage grass and green manure. This grass is high in protein, digestible and free of prussic acid. The Pearl Millet is perfect used for hay, pasture and silage for feeding cattle, horses, goats and other livestock. The Pearl Millet is also a very good green manure that is well adapted to low soil moisture, low fertility and high temperatures. Uses: Erosion Control, Green Manure, Nitrogen Scavenger, No Till, Organic Matter (Biomass), Weed Suppression

The Common Alfalfa is a somewhat winter hardy perennial legume, but it grows more quickly than other regular alfalfa varieties. As an annual green manure, this cool-season "Summer" alfalfa can produce up to 10 tons of organic matter per acre. Its long taproots break up compacted soil and bring up subsurface minerals. High nitrogen fixation and great bee forage. Alfalfa is basically good at everything, as it great for nitrogen fixation and bee forage! Just look at all it's uses below! Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.): Cool season, broadleaf, Perennial, Legume (N-fixation), Upright plant growth, Crude protein: hay or silage 14-22% Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Chicken Forage, Compaction Control, Deer Attractant, Erosion Control, Forage, Green Manure, Nitrogen Fixation, Nitrogen Scavenger, No Till, Organic Matter (Biomass), Weed Suppression

The Common Buckwheat is a grain that can be planted late spring to early summer and improves top soil and an effective choke weed! This variety establishes quickly and matures in 60 days. This buckwheat accumulates phosphorus and and potassium for following crops and is frost sensitive. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench): Cool Season, Grain, Annual, Upright growth habit, Enhances soil P availability,Crude protein: straw 5%, grain 13% Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Green Manure, No Till, Organic Matter (Biomass), Weed Suppresion

The Crimson Clover is an attractive winter annual that can be planted fall or early spring and will protect and improve the soil. This good nitrogen fixer (70-150 lbs per acre per year) blooms showy crimson flowers in late spring that are an excellent source of nectar for bees. This variety inter-seeds well with grass, making it a great way to ready your vegetable garden for the spring or beautify a landscape! Not to be confused with the tough perennial clovers that can take over a meadow. Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Chicken Forage, Compaction Control, Deer Attractant, Erosion Control, Forage, Green Manure, Nitrogen Fixation, No Till, Weed Suppression

The Big Boy Purplehull is a high yielding, popular Southern cowpea that is great for home gardens. Big Boy Purplehull is a long podded variety with 13-16 peas per pod that are light tan in color and oblong shape. This is a good garden variety and is very prolific. If you are using for Nitrogen fixation we highly recommend using a cowpea inoculant. Try with cowpea inoculant for maximum Nitrogen fixation.

Dixie Lee cowpea seeds are a popular variety of cowpeas known for their high yield, disease resistance, and adaptability to various climates. These seeds produce vigorous, heat-tolerant plants that thrive in warm, dry conditions, making them ideal for Southern and drought-prone regions. The Dixie Lee variety is particularly favored for its tender, flavorful beans that are often used in a range of culinary dishes, from soups to side dishes. The plants typically produce medium-sized, cream-colored pods with dark brown or black-eyed beans, and they can be harvested both as fresh beans or dry beans. As a legume, Dixie Lee cowpeas also enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen, benefiting crop rotation systems.

A multipurpose cover crop blend that is sowed in spring! A cover crop blend is great for nitrogen fixation, adding organic matter and weed suppression. This mix will quickly improve soil to maximize the benefits of cover crops for your garden. Should be inoculated for best results. (60% Field Pea, 25% Oats, 15% Hairy Vetch) Seed Coverage: - 5 lbs covers 2,000-4,000 sqaure feet - 100 lbs covers 1-2 acres Uses: Green Manure, Nitrogen Fixation, No Till, Organic Matter (Biomass), Weed Suppression

The Medium Red Clover is fast to establish and can be grown in most soil types as well as sowed in spring, summer or fall! This clover works well for hay or silage. The Medium Red Clover can be used as a cover crop between rows of vegetable crops if mowed to maintain manageability. This clover can fix up to 150 lb. of nitrogen per acre. Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Chicken Forage, Compaction Control, Deer Attractant, Erosion Control, Forage, Green Manure, Nitrogen Fixation, No Till, Weed Suppression

The Indiangrass is a warm-season bunchgrass that is native to central and eastern North America and provides cover and food for wildlife. This grass can reach up to seven feet tall and is a common species of the Tallgrass Prairie. The beautiful, plume-like seed heads are very ornamental making them excellent for prairie and conservation mixtures.

The Quickpick Pinkeye cowpea is a bush type southern cowpea with early maturity and good disease resistance. This variety is a pinkeye Purplehull type variety that is determinate, erect, compact (reach about 20 inches), and non-vining. This cowpea gets its name, Quickpick, because it matures in about 60 days. The pods are dark-purple and about seven to eight inches long containing nine to eleven, kidney-shaped seeds with large, maroon colored eyes. If you are using for Nitrogen fixation we highly recommend using a cowpea inoculant. Try with cowpea inoculant for maximum Nitrogen fixation.