by Sarah Houin

Crimson Clover

On September 24th the crimson clover was seeded at 15# / acre. The first picture shows a spot where the seed didn’t get incorporated the best, but I was happy to see it germinating.

The other two pics are from October 22 in the same field.

Buckwheat

On October 1, the buckwheat continued to be the show stopper when it comes to quick growth. On October 11, in the same field of buckwheat, we had a ton of flowers and the bees were loving life. The last pic is from October 22; the field was terminated by frost, but you can see some crimson clover coming through.

Black Oats & Phacelia

The first picture below is from October 1st. The field was seeded on September 9th with black oats and phacelia. The remaining pics are from October 22nd - same field. Super impressed by the growth! As of October 24, the phacelia is still really healthy.

Radish

Radish seeded September 11th. What it looks like today (October 22).

Takeaways

We have had a very sunny, mild, and over-all dry fall. Once these plants were established, they helped hold any bit of moisture we had.

The buckwheat was planted 9/9 and flowered 10/11. I couldn’t count the number of bees out there.

The phacelia really impressed me. 2# of phacelia and 35# of black oats. The field is thick and covered. Probably my favorite so far. For the coverage I have this fall and what I spent/acre I am very pleased with this investment. My best weed control.

I included the picture of the radish because so many people are worried about planting radishes late. Planted on 9/11, it sat for 3 weeks before it had enough moisture to germ. The picture is really only 3 weeks of growth.