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Common Oats - Organic

seeds
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$6.25
Item: 8085-B
$23.25
Item: 8085-C
$79.00
Item: 8085-D
Avena sativa

Annual grass. A solid all-purpose oat. Oats tolerate acidic soils better than any other grain crop; a common rotation crop on potato farms.

As cover crop, seed at 100–200#/acre. For grain, seed early at 120–150#/acre, 3–4#/1000 sq ft.

As cover crop: Probably the most bang for your buck you can get in the world of cover crops. Offers high biomass and excellent weed competition. Tolerates a wide range of weather and soil conditions. Plant heavily in August or September (planting rates should increase with later seeding dates) for a frost-tolerant cover crop that holds nutrients, builds organic matter and helps control weeds—but that also winterkills, leaving less of a management headache in the spring than winter rye.

As feed grain: Consistently high-yielding, produced more than 100 bushels/acre with 13.3% protein in North Dakota trials. Excellent feed for cows and horses; too high in fiber for hogs.

Supplier Transparency:
① Small seed farmers including Fedco staff
ships year-round
Quick Details
Outdoor Direct Seeding Time
spring to first frost
Tons Biomass Per Acre
1.5-4.5
Minimum Soil Temperature
50°
Minimum Soil pH
5
Maximum Soil pH
6.5
Lifecycle
annual
Seeding Rate in Pounds per 1000 sq Feet
3-4
Seeding Rate in Pounds per Acre
100-150
Uses
organic matter, weed control, feed, straw
Compare
Compare with other Oats
Variety Product Type Outdoor Direct Seeding Time Tons Biomass Per Acre Minimum Soil Temperature Minimum Soil pH Maximum Soil pH Lifecycle Seeding Rate in Pounds per 1000 sq Feet Seeding Rate in Pounds per Acre
Forage Oats
Organic 		seeds spring to first frost 1.5-4.5 50° 5 6.5 annual 3 100
Hulless Oats
Organic 		seeds spring to first frost 1.5-4.5 50° 5 6.5 annual 3 100
Common Oats
Organic 		seeds spring to first frost 1.5-4.5 50° 5 6.5 annual 3-4 100-150
Additional Information

Oats

Avena spp. Oats are a real workhorse of a cover crop. They are inexpensive to sow, they’re not fussy about their soil, they build generous amounts of carbonaceous biomass, they’re competitive with weeds, they love cool weather but tolerate warm weather, they get along well with legumes like peas and clover in mixes, and they die over the winter (at least in New England—they’re hardy to 15°) so they don’t cause the spring headache that winter rye does.

As if their prowess as a cover crop weren’t enough, the grain may be used as food or feed, and oat straw makes some of the finest, softest mulch you’ll ever have the pleasure to kneel on. Try planting oats in early August and then planting your garlic into the living oats around mid-October—the oats will die over the winter and your garlic beds will be already mulched come spring. And there’s more! Herbalists favor “milky oats” (oat heads harvested when they are still green and the kernels exude a milky substance when squeezed) as a gentle restorative tonic.

Farm Seed

More info on uses of farm seed

Organic Seed

We are a MOFGA-certified organic repacker and handler of seed and feed.

None of our seed is treated with fungicides.

Organically grown seed is labeled OG.

More info on organic certification.

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