Hairy vetch is used as a cover crop, green manure, pasture, silage, and hay. It is capable of accumulating large amounts of dry matter and nitrogen. When planted alone as a winter cover crop in annual vegetable rotations, it can provide substantial amounts of nitrogen (N) to a following crop.
Common vetch is a viny, succulent, annual legume attaining a height of 24 inches when planted alone. It grows taller when planted with a tall companion crop that provides structural support for climbing.
Crimson clover may be used as a cover crop, green manure, pasture, or hay. It often is used as a winter annual cover crop in annual rotations. It has been used successfully in reduced-tillage farming systems, and in orchards and vineyards where it can be managed to reseed itself.
Declared out of print April 2010. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Cereal grains are grasses and may have a prostrate, semierect, or erect physical stature. All have fibrous root systems.
Barley, oats, triticale, and wheat are each comprised of hundreds of varieties whose growth characteristics vary considerably.
Cereal rye is an erect annual grass with greenish blue, flat blades and an extensive fibrous root system. It resembles wheat, but usually is taller (3–5 ft) and tillers less. Flowering is induced by 14 hours of light in spring.