Take a closer look at beneficial insects, including some of the helpful roles of pollinators and natural enemies of crop pests. Includes a 5-step summary of how to establish a flowering insectary in your garden or on your farm, and a list of further reading, with links, for the curious.
Plant buckwheat for a quick, easy, warm-season weed-control cover crop. It additionally serves as an insectary plant, and as a good interim set-up crop between spring and fall plantings. Here are some tips for getting a buckwheat crop up and growing, ahead of the weeds.
"Which cover crop should I plant?.. Where and when do I plant it?.. When and how should it be terminated?.. What do I put in there next?" Here's help with a 5-step decision-making process from Jason Lilley, our local Cooperative Extension Sustainable Agriculture Professional, and Johnny's Selected Seeds.
This page on Farm Seed & Cover Crop Uses highlights the top 10 applications and benefits of incorporating this crop line into your system, from growing your own inputs and forage to attracting and sustaining beneficial insects. Key primary uses include Green Manures, Erosion Control, Nitrogen Fixation, Compaction Control, Weed Suppression, Pest Management, Forage, Biomass, and Beneficial Insect Support.
Key Growing Information
Dwarf Essex Rape Seed | Key Growing Information
Written by our research team, this reference contains the essential information for growing DWARF ESSEX RAPESEED (Brassica napus). Read more for a successful harvest!
Key Growing Information
Purple Top Forage Turnips | Key Growing Information
Written by our research team, this reference contains the essential information for growing PURPLE TOP FORAGE TURNIPS. Read more for a successful harvest!
Key Growing Information
Pearl Millet for Forage, Cover or Grain (Pennisetum glaucum) | Key Growing Information
Written by our research team, this reference contains the essential information for growing PEARL MILLET (Pennisetum glaucum) as a green manure, cover crop, and/or forage crop. Read more for a successful harvest!
Key Growing Information
Grains | Key Growing Information
Written by our research team, this reference contains the essential information for growing grains, including wheat, rye, oats, and barley. Read more for a successful harvest!
Key Growing Information
Green Manure | Key Growing Information
Written by our research team, this reference contains the essential information for growing GREEN MANURE. Read more for a successful harvest!
Learn about the advantages of using farm seed and cover crops in rotation to protect your fields from soil erosion, add nutrition with green manures, improve tilth, and attract and sustain beneficial insects. Topics include nitrogen-fixing crops, farmscaping for erosion control, how to install insectary plantings, steps for developing a cover-crop rotational plan, seasonal cover-cropping, and more, including growing hay and grass-legume combinations.
An overview of insectary planting options and recommendations for attracting and sustaining a range of beneficial insects on your farmscape or garden beds, with examples and descriptions of useful cover crops, grasses and grains, flowers and herbs, vegetables, trees, and shrubs that provide food and habitat for ecosystem service organisms.
Key Growing Information
Farm Seed Key Growing Information Index: Crop-by-Crop Planting Essentials
A crop-by-crop listing of farm seed / cover crops that we offer, with links to the essential sowing, planting, and growing information required to get you started.