Crop Rotation Group
Miscellaneous
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Soil
Any average, well drained soil.
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Position
Full sun.
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Frost tolerant
Oats are a cool-weather crop that can tolerate light frosts but is usually killed by temperatures below 5F (-15C).
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Feeding
None generally needed, especially when oats are grown with nitrogen-fixing cover crops such as winter peas, winter beans or hairy vetch.
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Companions
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Spacing
Single Plants: 3" (10cm) each way (minimum)
Rows: 3" (10cm) with 3" (10cm) row gap (minimum)
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Sow and Plant
Sow in late summer to grow a cover crop that forms its own mulch when it is winterkilled, or when using oats as a companion crop for slower-growing legumes. Oats also can be grown as a spring cover crop to increase soil organic matter. Broadcast seed into cultivated soil so that the seeds are about 3 inches (7 cm) apart and one-half inch (1 cm) deep. No thinning is required. Increase spacing to 8 inches (20cm) apart when growing oats with other cover crops.
Our Garden Planning Tool can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area.
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Notes
Oats are an ideal late summer cover crop where winters are cold enough to kill it; the dead residue forms its own winter mulch, which is usually well rotted by spring.
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Harvesting
Young oats can be turned under anytime. In mild winter climates, oats should be mowed and tilled before seedheads appear in late spring.
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Troubleshooting
Rotting oat foliage has herbicidal properties, in that it inhibits germination of weed seeds. Always wait 3 weeks before sowing seeds into soil where oats have been turned under.
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