b'Intercropping and Cover Cropping: How They Work with Plant SynergiesNATURE IS INTELLIGENT.In nature, plants haveWhen designing a plant mix, goals are very impor-evolved and coevolved without any human assistance.tant, as is knowing where your soils are health-wise. Through the soil, microbes, insects, animals, and cli- For intercropping with a goal of low or no synthetic mate, these plants developed relationships with theirinputs, an easy button is to grow a grass with a legume environment, creating an efficient system of survival.like oats and peas. To take it to the next level, flax and The soils develop signals from the ecosystem we referPhacelia can be added. All species are mycorrhizal to as soil, triggering different plants to grow and thrive. fungi-friendly, and oat, flax and Phacelia are all rela-One of the keys of intercropping is the use of syner- tively low nitrogen users.getic plants. Most native stands that are properly man- Adding a Brassica to a mix would require a higher KEVIN ELMYaged will consist of each of the functional plant groups,nitrogen supply rate. Remember, Brassicas are nutrient is founder of Coverbut each have their own ecological advantage, so theyscavengers so will compete with your grasses, non-Crops Canada. Hiswill grow in specific areas or conditions.Brassicas and forbs. Peaola, peas and canola, has been book Cover CroppingLegumes are dominant in a stand early in thegrown in Western Canada for 40 years and is an easy in Western Canadasoil developmental stages. They provide nitrogen toway to grow canola without a large fertilizer invoice. is available throughthe system and once the nitrogen cycle has started,Recent work by Lana Shaw with flax and chickpeas has Friesen Press,natural soil-borne nitrogen fixers are established, andshown some great promise.Amazon, and digitallymycorrhizae fungi are established legumes that moveSeed size is the other key, unless the plan is to feed through Apple Books,to background levels.the mixture. For selling individual species from the Kindle, and GoogleBrassicas like to grow in disturbed areas with highmix, they need to be able to be separated. The least Play. For more info onlevels of free nutrients, normally in a soil that is bacte- expensive way to separate is by seed size, but separa-Cover Crops Canadaria-dominated. As a rule, they are competitors in thetion can also be done by seed weight density. Before visit covercrops.ca. system, tying up nutrients. They require a plant thatdoing any mixes, grain buyers should be contacted to will feed them, such as a legume. Grasses and forbs insee what their pain tolerance is of grain contamination a system dominated by brassicas will struggle to getwith other crop types or dockage. nutrients. Brassicas have an acidic root system so relyCare needs to be taken with fall rye if using other less on mycorrhizal fungi. cereal cash crops. It can overwinter, creating grain Non-brassica species are a very diverse group andcontamination, plus it produces allelopathy, chemicals this includes plants like beets, sunflowers, flax andwhich will prevent other plants from growing if it gets buckwheat. Many of the plants in the non-brassicaestablished before the other plants.group are mycorrhizal fungi-friendly so tend to playWhen we are looking at mixing plants together, nice in mixes. Most crop rotations are missing addingthink of how and where they occur in nature. In most some of these crops into their rotation or blends. cases it is a legume and a grass that thrive. Adding When looking at synergies by growing more thana forb or non-Brassica broadleaf helps with adding one functional plant group, one needs to understanddiversity both aboveground and within root systems.what each group does. When growing blends, observeHaving a grass species that stays in the vegetative what plants are thrivingthis is how our soils andstage helps to leak root exudates all season long. Care microbes talk to us. If the legumes are very strong it isneeds to be taken when including brassicas in a blend an indication that the nitrogen supply in the soil is low.as they will continue to accumulate nutrients.As the nitrogen level increases, the legumes lose theirThen, care must be taken in keeping the plant ecological advantage. Conversely, if grasses are pro- densities in the right ratios that match what the soil can ducing poorly, it may be due to low nitrogen so addingsupply in terms of nutrients and water. Remember to more legumes might correct it. work with natures intelligence.SW50/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2022'