Talk:Nurse crop

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Explanation Please---- Please explain to the layman how this crop is impemented. Am I correct in suspecting that seeds are planted early, then dug up after sprouting (destroyed), and the main crop is then planted. Or is there some other mechanism involved in its use?

It is not a specific type of plant, it refers to the reason the crop was planted.

For example. Clover or alfalfa are plants that grow very slowly the first year, so in order to get them established, you plant the seeds along with seeds for a nurse crop, often oats. Both are planted in early spring (before crops like corn or soybeans) The oats grows and is harvested in mid summer. At this time the alfalfa or clover is still only 2-3 inches high. The oats plants acted to 'nurse' the alfalfa plants along. Also, if there were no nurse crop, the farmer would not have any crop on the field for the first year.

The term cover crop is used as well.

I believe that this type of thing is done with other crops as well. Two crops are planted at the same time, but one grows much faster and is harvested before the second does most of it's growing. --71.38.175.146 (talk) 06:51, 7 July 2011 (UTC)(aka aflafla1)[reply]