Cover Crops

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Introducing multi species cover crops into citrus production is the most efficient and economical way to provide carbon, promote the biology and feed it in the soil.

We have been taught that weeds and plants in our groves compete with trees for water and nutrients. Science has proven that this is not always the case. In a healthy soil, with a diverse species of cover crops, these plants are exchanging and sharing nutrients with each other and our citrus trees. They are also mining lost minerals that have leached beneath the rhizosphere of our trees and bringing them back to the surface to be recycled. A sunflower root system can grow to more than six feet deep and recover minerals. Cover crops not only recycle by depth, but also have the ability to mine and recycle specific minerals. Some examples include:

• Oats and Buckwheat—make Phosphorus and Zinc available
• Rape- solubilizes Sulfur
• Sunflower-brings up Zinc
• Millet and Rye- make Silicon available

This list could go on and on. In short, this is how it works. Plants including cover crops are photosynthesis machines.  This process converts carbon dioxide and sunlight into organic acids and carbohydrates that the plant utilizes for its own energy.  As part of this process, it also sends these organic compounds and carbohydrates out through the roots as exudates. These exudates are specific to each plant and change composition at every stage of root growth and development. This changing food source summons and stimulates specific microbiology to perform certain tasks such as solubilizing a needed mineral. The result is an increase in specific minerals available or in some cases the sequestering of excess minerals. Ultimately, these exudates serve as a food source for the biological community.  

Unwanted weeds are simply plants that have adapted to the soil environment provided them. These soil environments can range from lacking certain biology, lacking specific mineral balance or mineral availability. As the soil profile changes to a healthier condition by implementing diverse beneficial cover crops, these unwanted “weeds” will recede. These multi species plantings will increase and diversify the microbial activity in the soil, all while lessening weed pressure by way of competition, shading, and releasing allelopathic chemicals.