Great talk on Cover Crops by Margaret Smither-Kopperl today

Dr. Smither-Kopperl covered a whole array of topics quickly but thoroughly and here are some of the resources she mentioned to help us incorporate her  wisdom and experience into our day to day (or year to year)  planting.

First, the website of her home base is here.

You can find many valuable resources on it, including the “periodic table” of cover crops she showed us here.  A list of seed vendors here.  And a  report on the use of cover crops in almond orchards and vineyards here.

In addition, UC Davis has its own excellent Cover Crop database here.

The  Cover Crop Solution chart from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply up in  Grass Valley, CA) is here.  I have ordered many times from them and their seed is reliable, cheap and available in quantities as small as 1 pound .   Margaret  mentioned S&S seeds even closer to us in Carpenteria.  Their site allows you to filter seeds by water  requirements, location, etc.    Their minimum order, however, is 5 pounds and the Xerces Pollinator Mix Margaret mentioned is $84 a pound!

And finally the Cover Crops Best Management Practices guide for Almond Growers  published by the UCANR at UCDavis is here.  Its first page is a lovely photograph of a cover crop in an almond grove which visually illuminates the whole notion of using cover crops among our trips.  Enjoy!

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