Roller Crimper in action
still readily breaking down on the orchard floor after being mown repeatedly. Mowing is the most common method used for cover crop termination, and there are several mowing choices. Most growers will mow it once, short enough to kill the plants, and that’s it. This choice can limit the biomass soil health benefits by mowing too soon or increase costs through wear and tear on the equipment from mowing slower while going through older, tougher plant matter. An alternative schedule is to terminate in stages, a tall mowing first with a follow up shorter mowing height a few weeks later. A crimping operation may substitute for the early season mowing. This termination schedule can maximize biomass and soil health yet minimizes potential residue. Using crimping as the initial cover crop termination operation can result in multiple soil health benefits, while reducing the costs of termination. Crimpers operate faster with a lower horsepower requirement than a flail mower but still begin the process of reducing the above ground biomass for later operations. You can imitate the action of a crimper using a flat roller, a ring roller or an improvised or manufactured roller crimper. The primary benefit is longer soil surface coverage, helping reduce evaporation and spring weed germination.
If you are just beginning with cover crops, and you are nervous about all that extra growth, it doesn’t hurt to err on the side of terminating early but consider the goals for your cover crop plan before you do. For example, if you were growing your cover crop to benefit honey bees, allow the bees to forage in the cover crop before you terminate it. Blue Diamond Growers can experiment with cover crops and get technical support at no cost through the Blue Diamond Growers Advancing Markets for Producers Grant program. This is an ongoing federal USDA grant. To qualify, growers need to meet the following criteria: have and maintain a current contract with Blue Diamond , be a participant in the Blue Diamond Orchard Stewardship Incentive Program (OSIP) with a completed CASP progress report, and an orchard map and associated paperwork from the USDA Farm Service Agency. The details can be found at bluediamondgrowers.com.
Tom Johnson, Seeds for Bees, ® Grower Relations Manager, Project Apis m. tom@projectapism.org
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MARCH–APRIL 2026
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