Medicago sativa Perennial legume, up to 3' high. This fragrant plant has beautiful purple flowers and is great for hay and as a cover crop. Herbalists consider it a valuable nutritive tonic.
Hordeum vulgare Annual spring grain. Variety: ‘Quest.’ Suitable for cover-cropping, grain production, home brewing, or forage. Reliable, valuable feed grain for livestock.
Hordeum vulgare Annual spring grain. Truly hulless variety, which makes for quick, easy, low-tech processing. Fast-growing, and competes well with weeds. Tolerates drought and heavy soils.
Vicia faba Annual or winter annual legume. Great for fixing nitrogen, and building large amounts of biomass. Bell beans will happily sprout in half-frozen soil, and tolerate a wide range of soil conditions.
Fagopyrum esculentum Annual broadleaf. Excellent cover crop for outcompeting summer weeds. Makes tasty flour for pancakes or baked goods. Bees like its abundant nectar.
Camelina sativa Annual brassica. Widely adaptable and versatile winter-hardy cover crop and oilseed plant; tolerates poor conditions. Excellent nutrient scavenger. Sow when you would for winter rye.
Trifolium repens Perennial legume. Up to 12". Vigorous large-leafed white clover. Readily self-seeds. Excellent for perennial grazing pasture and improving soil quality in areas transitioning from woody growth.
Trifolium incarnatum Tender biennial legume. Up to 18". Rapid growth in cool weather makes this vigorous clover great for cover cropping and green manure. Crimson blooms attract bees and make good cutflowers.
Trifolium repens Perennial legume. The lowest-growing clover. This shade- and traffic-tolerant perennial makes nice garden paths and living mulch. Our most popular clover.
Trifolium pratense Short-lived perennial legume. Up to 24". A high-yielding red hay clover with glabrous stems for fast dry-down. Excellent winter hardiness and persistence. Good for acidic or wet soils.
Trifolium repens Perennial legume. 8–12" tall. Fantastic nitrogen fixer with great protein and digestibility. Tall enough to be harvested for hay, silage, and green chop. Good choice for poorly drained soil.
Trifolium pratense Biennial legume. Up to 36". Vigorous red clover for cover cropping or grazing. Deep taproot. Tolerates shade, so a good choice for overseeding into standing crops. Blossoms make a lovely tea.
Trifolium pratense Short-lived perennial legume. Up to 24". Vigorous and high-yielding clover suitable for pastures, underseeding and cover-cropping. More drought-tolerant than white clover.
Trifolium repens Perennial legume. Up to 9". Small-leafed perennial clover establishes quickly and withstands traffic and close mowing. Our favorite clover for organic pasture.
Melilotus officinalis Biennial legume. Up to 6'. Vigorous clover for cover cropping, bee forage and green manure. Long thick taproots are very effective at breaking up subsoils and improving soil aeration.
Raphanus sativus var. niger Broadleaf annual. Roots penetrate hardpans and loosen soil down to 30" or beyond. Takes up available soil nutrients and prevents losses to leaching or runoff. Suppresses weeds if planted thickly.
Pisum sativum var. arvense Annual legume. Also called Forage Peas. Great as weed-smothering workhorse soil builder, or a tasty and highly digestible forage. Likes cool moist conditions. Will grow in most soil types.
Cichorium intybus Perennial broadleaf, up to 18". Very high digestibility. Protein levels up to 50% higher than alfalfa. Stands may live 5 years or longer, but it’s also valuable for pasture or green chop.
Lolium multiflorum Annual or winter annual grass. Extremely frost hardy. Widely adaptable. Will establish quickly in cool wet spring weather, providing a dense cover crop and outcompeting weeds. Good erosion control.
Lolium multiflorum Annual or winter annual grass. Extremely frost hardy. Widely adaptable. Will establish quickly in cool wet spring weather, providing a dense cover crop and outcompeting weeds. Good erosion control.
Sorghum × drummondii Annual grass. Vigorous, competitive, adaptable cover crop or annual forage. Likes heat and high fertility. Grows best in warm weather when other grasses slow down.
Echinochloa frumentacea Annual grass. Vigorous and versatile! Good for hay, forage, weed-smothering, building soil, and controlling erosion. Tolerates waterlogged soils, low fertility and cool conditions.
Dactylis glomerata Perennial grass. Long-lived vigorous grass. Tall leafy plants grow rapidly even in poor soils, tolerates moderately drained soils. Can be established in spring, summer, or even late winter.
Lolium perenne Short-lived perennial grass. Extremely palatable forage grass, popular in grazing mixes. Germinates quickly and grows rapidly, suppressing weeds. Holds up under heavy traffic. Good pest resistance.
Lolium arundinaceum Perennial grass. Long-lived, versatile and low-maintenance grass good for pasture, lawn, or hay. Deep and extensive root system protects against erosion. Tolerates most adverse conditions.
Phleum pratense Perennial grass. A popular perennial hay species that produces good yields, resists lodging and is easily cut and cured. Very winter hardy. Does not tolerate heat or drought.
x Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus [Secale × Triticum] Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye, and boasts many advantages over plain winter rye. This variety was selected for winter hardiness and consistently high yields of both forage and seed yields.
A cover crop blend of 40% buckwheat, 40% BMR sorghum/sudangrass, and 20% Sunn Hemp for nitrogen fixation. Loves heat. First-rate smother crop and biomass builder formulated to reliably winter-kill.
With annuals and biennials, grasses and legumes and broadleafs, and roots of all shapes and sizes, this blend mimics natural diversity and encourages a flourishing and balanced microbial population.
All-purpose lawn blend for the Northeast. Good for a range of conditions, full sun to partial shade. Makes a great understory for orchards and other perennial woody crops.
Superb cover crop mix for fall planting where mechanical tillage is available the following spring. 78% winter rye and 22% hairy vetch. Adds nitrogen to the soil and suppresses weed growth.
Diverse multispecies clover-heavy mix is great as a soil-building living mulch under tall-growing competitive crops, like cannabis. Suitable in raised beds, containers and high tunnels.
This mix offers organic matter production, nitrogen fixation, nutrient scavenging, erosion control, and weed suppression. Perfect for no-till growers and gardeners who work with hand tools only.
Perennial pasture mix of grasses and clover, well suited to Maine and other areas with similarly variable weather and temperatures. Provides season-long regrowth and good grazing.
This dynamic cover crop duo has become a favorite of growers who value its vigorous growth and soil-building prowess, along with the assurance that it will winterkill up North.
A superior soil-building cover crop mix. The oats come up first and are pulled down by the peas, which are then pulled down by the smothering vetch. Weeds don’t stand a chance in that jungle!
Brassica juncea or Sinapis alba Annual broadleaf. Great cover crop to retain nutrients, suppress weeds and improve water penetration. Breaks down into compounds toxic to nematodes and soil-borne pathogens.
Avena sativa Annual grass. A solid all-purpose oat. Generates biomass and smothers weeds. Tolerates bad weather and soil conditions. Excellent feed for cows and horses.
Avena sativa 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.
Crotolaria juncea Annual legume. Rock star cover crop builds organic matter, fixes atmospheric nitrogen, controls harmful nematodes, and still finds time to be beautiful! Grows vigorously in warm conditions.
Triticum aestivum Annual grain. Hard red spring variety that bakers favor for its superior milling and baking qualities. High in protein, very high test weight. Solid disease resistance.
Triticum aestivum Winter annual grain. Extremely cold hardy hard red wheat. Flour has great flavor and texture, and sturdy plants make great straw. Good for small spaces. Well adapted to New England. Will Bonsall fave!
Secale cereale Winter annual grass. Extremely frost hardy, adaptable and competitive. For cover crop or grain. Deep extensive roots help prevent compaction and improve soil tilth. Vigorous spring regrowth.
