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NW IL | It may depend a bit on the type of spring we have. June 1 you'll defiantly have more growth than May 15. Once we hit a string of 70F+ days it can grow a lot in a short time. My guess is that flowering and peak N wouldn't be until later in mid June, but you'll probably see some benefit.
2-3bu would be the range a lot of people plant straight peas at.
I have personally never done straight peas for cover crop. My seed source is too expensive to justify 3bu/ac. I have done mixes of oats, peas, and a brassica before and liked the benefits that each brought. 30lb oats, 30-40lb peas, 2lb brassica (rapeseed works) has made a nice blend for us. Although since we like to terminate mid May I have gone to just straight oats as a more economical option over the mix. Waiting until June would definitely make the blend more worth it.
You could try Chickling Vetch for another spring legume. I have limited experience with it, mostly because it also needs another couple weeks in May/early June to really get going.
Flax could be another option to add if you wanted to go the fancy mix route. | |
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