Cool Season Green Manure Cover Crop Mix

Cool Season Green Manure Cover Crop Mix

Cool Season Cover is an autumn and winter green manure seed mix designed to improve soil fertility, add organic matter, suppress weeds, protect bare soil, and support beneficial insects through the cooler months. This diverse blend combines legumes, cereal grains, brassicas, herbs, and deep-rooted species to build healthier soil before spring and summer planting.

Legumes such as vetch, clovers, lupin, peas, broad bean, and fenugreek support nitrogen fixation when compatible rhizobia are present. Cereal grains such as oats, barley, rye, and wheat add fibrous roots and carbon-rich biomass, while brassicas, tillage radish, chicory, plantain, and herbs help improve soil structure, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity.

• Cool-season green manure mix for autumn and winter soil improvement.
• Includes legumes, cereal grains, brassicas, herbs, and deep-rooted cover crops.
• Helps fix nitrogen, add organic matter, suppress weeds, and reduce erosion.
• Deep-rooted species assist with compaction, drainage, and nutrient cycling.
• Suitable for vegetable gardens, orchards, vineyards, paddocks, and market gardens.
• Can be incorporated as green manure or used as chop-and-drop mulch.
• Best suited to cool, temperate, Mediterranean, and mild subtropical climates.

What’s Inside?

• Legumes: Lucerne/Alfalfa, Broad Bean, Crimson Clover, White Clover, Dun Pea, Lupin, Vetch, Fenugreek and other cool-season legumes.
• Grains & Grasses: Oats, Barley, Rye, Wheat and other cereal cover crop species for biomass and erosion control.
• Brassicas & Leafy Crops: Mustard, Kale, Tillage Radish and other soil-conditioning brassicas.
• Deep-Rooted Herbs: Chicory, Plantain and Dill for biodiversity, mineral cycling and beneficial insect support.

Plant Details

• Mix Type: Cool-season green manure and cover crop seed mix
• Plant Types: Annual legumes, cereal grains, brassicas, herbs, and selected perennial soil-conditioning species
• Main Uses: Green manure, soil fertility, organic matter, nitrogen fixation, weed suppression, erosion control and cover cropping
• Growth Habit: Mixed upright, trailing, leafy, grassy, taprooted and fibrous-rooted species
• Best Position: Full sun to light shade
• Coverage: Approx. 100–250 m² per kg depending on sowing rate and site conditions

Best Uses

• Autumn and winter green manure
• Cool-season cover cropping
• Vegetable garden soil improvement
• Orchard and vineyard inter-rows
• Weed suppression and erosion control
• Organic matter and soil carbon building
• Crop rotation and fallow bed improvement
• No-dig chop-and-drop mulch
• Regenerative farming and market garden systems

Mix Benefits

Sowing Information

• Best Sowing Time: Late summer to autumn, or early spring where conditions are cool and moist
• Germination Time: Approximately 5–14 days depending on species, soil temperature and moisture
• Sowing Depth: 10–20 mm; avoid burying small seeds too deeply
• Position: Full sun to light shade
• Soil Type: Suitable for most prepared soils; performs best in well-drained soil with good seed-to-soil contact
• Watering: Keep moist during germination and establishment
• Sow Where: Garden beds, orchards, vineyards, paddocks, inter-rows, food forests, market gardens and fallow areas
• Inoculation: Legume components may benefit from suitable inoculant for stronger nitrogen fixation.

Sowing Rate and Coverage

Seed Quantity Guide

Coverage is a guide only. Use higher rates for faster cover, stronger weed suppression, poor seedbeds, exposed sites, slopes or areas with bird pressure.

When to Sow Cool Season Cover Mix in Australia

How to Sow Cool Season Cover Mix

1. Choose a sunny to lightly shaded position with prepared soil.
2. Remove weeds and create a fine, firm seedbed.
3. Broadcast seed evenly at the recommended sowing rate.
4. Lightly rake or cover seed with approximately 10–20 mm of soil.
5. Press or roll gently for good seed-to-soil contact.
6. Water gently and keep moist until seedlings are established.
7. Allow the crop to grow until useful biomass has formed before cutting or incorporation.

Management

• Keep soil moist during germination and early growth.
• Cut before heavy seed set if volunteer plants are not wanted.
• Allow flowering if pollinator and beneficial insect support is desired.
• Mow, slash or crimp before planting the next crop.
• Leave chopped material as surface mulch in no-dig systems.
• Allow 2–4 weeks for soft residues to break down before planting the next crop.

Harvest and Incorporation

For green manure use, mow or chop the mix when good biomass has developed or before heavy seed set. Incorporate the material into the soil 2–4 weeks before planting the next crop, or leave the cut material on the surface as mulch in no-dig systems. Cutting earlier produces softer biomass that breaks down quickly, while later cutting provides more bulk and longer-lasting mulch.

Soil Benefits and Use

Cool Season Cover helps protect and improve soil through living roots, organic matter, nitrogen fixation, fibrous root growth, deep taproots and plant diversity. It is particularly useful after summer crops, in fallow vegetable beds, under orchard rows, between vineyard rows, and in regenerative systems where soil cover is needed through the cooler months.

Important Notes

• This is a cool-season mix and is best sown in mild, moist conditions.
• Species performance will vary depending on climate, rainfall, soil type, sowing time and management.
• Legumes may benefit from suitable inoculant for stronger nitrogen fixation.
• Cut before seed set if self-sown plants are not wanted.
• Use higher sowing rates where fast cover or weed suppression is important.
• Not all species in the mix will perform equally in every climate or sowing window.

Quick Growing Guide