IN YOUR ORCHARD
THE BEE BOX
Winter Cover Crops: What to Expect Having winter vegetation via planted cover crops in your orchard rows can bring your orchard many benefits, both during the winter months and into the rest of the year. Adding organic matter through cover crops can result in noticeable improvement of soil health and overall soil structure, which can result in better water infiltration, reducing the risk of runoff and minimizing erosion concerns.¹ Cover crops provide a variety of positive agronomic functions and promote biodiversity and forage for pollinators. With a growing consumer market for sustainably grown products and incentive programs for improving on-farm conservation, there is a real opportunity for growers to try out more climate-smart farming practices in their orchards. This year, Blue Diamond launched the USDA Climate Smart Grant and more than 90 growers signed up to plant winter cover crops in their orchard. Whether you’ve barely thought about using cover crops or had them as part of your system for years, now is a great time to experience the benefits. Blue Diamond Growers has partnered with Project Apis m .’s Seeds for Bees program to provide growers with free cover crop seeds, up-to-date information and technical advice to get the most
out of your cover crop investment. As part of the USDA Grant, Blue Diamond growers can also receive an implementation incentive to help offset the cost of planting cover crops. Whether you're already enrolled in the program and have seeds in the ground or are curious about cover crops — this article provides an overview of what you can expect to see through the winter months with cover crops in your orchard regarding cover crop growth, management considerations, winter sanitation and frost risks. Cover Crop Growth & Emergence By late October to November, cover crop seeds should be planted and watered (by either well-timed rainfall or applied irrigation) for seeds to germinate and begin to grow. Time of emergence, the time when you first start to see growth, will depend on a variety of conditions. Time of planting, water availability, soil temperatures, daylength and seed selection are all factors at play while your stand is growing over winter. The Pollinator Brassica mix (comprised of mustards, canola and daikon radish) is quick to emerge, fastest to grow through winter, and you can see growth in as little as 6-8 days after planting! The NitroBuilder mix (comprised of Common Vetch and Triticale grass) takes around 10 days to see initial growth. In contrast, the Annual Clover mix requires 12-14 days to show first growth, and it grows more slowly throughout the winter compared to our other seed mixtures.
Timing of emergence, rate of growth, and date of maturation depends on time of planting, water availability, rainfall and seed variety. Photo credit: Project Apis m.
42
ALMOND FACTS
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker