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Oats
ships year-round
Annual grass. A solid all-purpose oat. Generates biomass and smothers weeds. Tolerates bad weather and soil conditions. Excellent feed for cows and horses.
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ships year-round
Annual grass. Vigorous, lush foliage. Significantly more biomass production than common oats, making them superior for cover-cropping/soil-building, and for feeding livestock. Organic seed.
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ships year-round
Annual grass. Vigorous, lush foliage. Significantly more biomass production than common oats, making them superior for cover-cropping/soil-building, and for feeding livestock. Conventional seed.
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ships year-round
Annual grass. Great for food or feed. The hull sheds easily during the normal threshing process—industrial-grade milling not required! Medium straw. Resistant to crown rust.
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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.