Common Oats

Oats are an Annual grass used commonly as a cover crop because of its low maintenance, adaptability to weather, and benefits to soil health. Oats work well as a cover crop because they will die out during severe winter conditions. Oats are an annual crop that should be worked into the soil or mowed back before they set seeds. This will help prevent any volunteer seedlings from showing up in the following crop. This cover crop grows well with legumes such as peas and clover in mixes, they tolerate acidic soils better than any other grain, and they die over winter, so there is no need to terminate them in the spring.