Oats and medium red clover were sown in the fall after the summer crop was harvested. The oats served as a nurse crop, then headed out in the fall. They oats were cut about eight inches high to leave stubble for winter protection. The oats began to grow in the spring, and this late-April video shows a vigorous and weed free stand of clover that will produce a lot of nitrogen for the tomatoes that will follow.

The oats provided a Fast Start so that weeds would be suppressed. I used certified 'Kara' seed so the seedlings would be vigorous.
The oats also helped make sure there were No Gaps, as there would have been with just clover.
The oats were Killed On Time, in part by cutting them at heading so that they didn't make seed, then the rest of the plant was killed by cold during the winter. The clover will be Killed On Time by mowing and turning into the soil shortly before covering the bed with black plastic mulch to provide nitrogen. It may have started to flower, but will not yet have made any seed.


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