Should You Plant Green Manure Cover Crops?

A cover crop for food plots is planted specifically to be turned back into the soil and make it for fertile. The quality of your soil directly affects how well certain plants can grow. Industrial farmers, home gardeners, and hunters planting food plots should work to improve the fertility of their soil and one common practice for this is to plant green manure cover crops. Our Plow Down Clover is the ideal green manure cover crop for hunters looking to add Nitrogen to their soil.

What is a Cover Crop?

A cover crop, also called green manure, are plants that are grown specifically to be turned back into the soil. This process helps the soil, incorporates more organic matter into the soil making it richer and have a more active microbial base, better weed control, better soil erosion control, and more. For hunters, it also has the added benefit of giving deer food during the Spring and Summer months before it is turned back into the soil and another plant is planted. However, not any plant can be turned into green manure.

What is the Best Green Manure Cover Crop?

Our Plow Down Clover is the best green manure cover crop for hunters planting food plots on allotments. It is a first of its kind blend of fast-growing annual and bi-annual clovers formulated specifically to be used as a green manure cover crop. The name of the product indicates it should be plowed down and turned back into the soil enriching it.

Legume

Clovers are considered a legume plant. One of the most notable characteristics of a legume plant is that they are able to take Nitrogen from the air and put it into the soil (Nitrogen fixation). Nitrogen is a key nutrient for other plants.

Green Manure Advantages

Our Plow Down Clover has numerous advantages when used for green manure for hunting allotments:

• Adds Nitrogen to your soil when plowed down
• Provides deer with a high-protein food source during the Spring & Summer months
• Weed suppression
• Protects against soil erosion
• Loosens hard & compacted soil
• Improves water absorption
• Helps prevent unwanted insects
• More active microbial type base
• Reduces the need for fertilizer since Nitrogen is added in this process. Nitrogen is also often the most expensive component of fertilizers.
• Helps your Brassicas, like in the Big and Beasty seed blend, grow
• Grows quickly

When & How To Plant Frigid Forage Plow Down Clover?

It is best planted in the early Spring and then plowed when you are ready to re-plant the field. The seeding rate is 8-10 lbs/acre. If you choose not to plow under your clover until the next season, this is okay. You may want to mow it once or twice to encourage new fresh growth. Actually plowing down the clover and buying the stems and leaves is better for the plot than just disking them down. This ensures the plants, and Nitrogen, are combined with the soil enriching it. For more information, view our Plow Down Clover planting instructions.

Buy Green Manure Cover Crops

Our Plow Down Clover seed blend is ideal for hunting allotments to get them ready for a seed blend like Big and Beasty. You can buy them on our online store and they are available in different sizes.

• 1 Acre Bag of Plow Down Clover
• 3 Acre Bag of Plow Down Clover
• 6 Acre Bag of Plow Down Clover
• 1 Acre Bag of Plow Down Clover & 1 Acre Bag of Big and Beasty (Free Shipping)
  • This is ideal for those ready to plow it down and plant Big and Beasty in the Fall.

Green Manure Videos

Watch how Bill Winke & The Just Hunt Club explain and use the Frigid Forage Plow Down Clover as a green manure cover crop in these videos.