Integrating Summer Cover Crops into Vegetable Production in Southern New England.

Abstract: In southern New England the field production season for market growers runs from March through November, limiting the usefulness of winter cover crops for building soil carbon or nitrogen levels. Removing fields from cash crop production for the entire growing season or rotating small grains or hay with vegetables are not economical in peri-urban areas with high land values and extremely limited markets for commodity crops. However, cover crops such as sunn hemp, Japanese millet, teff, and chickling vetch that require only 6-8 weeks to accumulate significant biomass or nitrogen can be grown either before fall crops or after spring crops. This presentation will report on studies to determine optimal seeding rates and realistic planting dates for these species, which are new crops for the region.