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  • From: Etienne Goyer <etienne.goyer AT outlands.ca>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Réf : Re: undersowing sweet corn
  • Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:22:34 -0400

Perhaps you should undersow edamame, and thus get a marketable crop out
of your smother crop? No idea how well that would work, but it sounds
like an interesting idea. I might try it eventually.


On 11-06-23 08:32 AM, Lova Andriamanjay wrote:
> Thank you Pam for your reply. I will definitely try soybeans!
>
> Lova
>
>
>
> Le 19 juin 2011 15:26, Pam Twin Oaks <pam AT twinoaks.org> a écrit :
>
> I've been bogged down in the jungles of Virginia, as Ann Mooney called it!
>
> Days and days ago, Lova Andriamanjay said:
> "this year we are growing quit a bit more sweet corn and would really
> like to grow some cover crops between the rows. It has been cultivaded
> with a flex tine weeder two or three times depending of the sowing
> date and I plan to inject some dairy manure between the rows soon and
> then cultivate once and finally hill it. All this should be done by
> the beginning of July when the rows should be closing up. I would like
> to sow something when I will be hilling them. The cover crop would
> grow in the shade until august when the sweet corn is harvested and
> then chopped. It would then have 2-3 months of growth before winter
> shut things up.
>
> I am pretty sure some of you have tried this so I would like to hear
> what you have done. I would really like a legume/legume based mix for
> the nitrogen. I was thinking of trying: hairy vetch and rye, annual
> ryegrass, crimson clover and sweet clover. Are these choices sound?
> Would the sweet clover be able to grow back come spring?"
>
> Our approach is: We undersow sweet corn with soy beans at about 30 days
> after sowing the corn. That's our second and last cultivation. We don't
> hill. We have a good source of cheap soybeans as we also make and sell
> tofu. Soy is somewhat tolerant of both shade (from the corn) and foot
> traffic (the harvesting crew), so that works well.
>
> We tried crimson clover in the past but it didn't grow. In summer we
> can't provide the continuous overhead irrigation needed to get the
> clover germinated. Here, winter rye sown in August would head up before
> the fall and be a nuisance, so we don't do that. Ryegrass becomes a weed
> here, so we don't do that either.
>
> For our last sweet corn planting, which is ready to be undersown in
> August, we use oats and soy, then just bush hog the sweet corn (high)
> when it's finished, and let the cover crops grow and be winter-killed.
> This is zone 7a approx. I forgot to note where you are located.
>
> I don't know if hairy vetch would be a good idea. If it seeds it can
> become a problem, as some of the seed is "hard" (doesn't germinate in
> the first year, but surprises you in later years!) Sweet clover I've
> never tried. I believe the white and the yellow are quite different from
> each other.
>
> Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community, Louisa, Jungles of VA
>
>
>
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