Cover Crops For The Summer Heat

Summer cover crops are a cost efficient and effective way to add nutrients into your soil, offer erosion control, retain moisture, and provide forage to wildlife and livestock. Planting a cover crop that thrives in the heat and has excellent drought tolerance is the key to success for beating the heat this summer. Before you get started, explore our top picks for high quality cover crop seed that will nourish and restore your land’s soil for the upcoming growing season. 

Summer cover crops for your land

To protect your land from harsh summer conditions with cover crops, you need to find the right variety for the unique needs of your soil, climate, and region. Here are a few of our most popular cover crops for agriculture and public land use.

	German R Strain Millet German R Strain Millet is an annual warm-season grass commonly used for forage, hay, and grazing due to its fast-growing nature. This variety produces slender, leafy stems with cylindrical, compact heads growing 24+ inches high. This cover crop should be planted in the summer and offers drought tolerance with a minimum yearly rainfall of 12-18 inches.
	Leafy 22 Hybrid Pearl Millet Leafy 22 Hybrid Pearl Millet is an improved hybrid pearl millet variety with excellent seedling vigor. This forage option offers more strength and durability than the average Millet forage due to the shorter growth of this variety. This warm-season grass should be planted in the summer and grows 24+ inches.
	Early Sumac (Red Top Cane) Early Sumac Sorghum, Red Top Cane is an open-pollinated forage sorghum that produces palatable forage with dark red seeds for livestock and wildlife. This warm-season variety has a long maturity of about 100 days, growing 24+ inches. Planting for Red Top Cane takes place in the summer and is drought-tolerant and widely adapted to most soils.
	BMR 506x51 Our BMR 506x51 Sorghum Sudangrass (SxS) is a warm-season grass hybrid of sorghum and sudangrass featuring lower lignin levels than other non-BMR types resulting in more digestible fiber and higher feed value. This fast-growing, drought-tolerant plant is often used as a forage option for grazing, hay, or silage. Growing 24+ inches, this crop is low-maintenance, growing well throughout harsh summer conditions, and widely adapted to most soils.
	Hegari Hegari Sorghum is a white-seeded sorghum widely used for grain and forage to livestock and wildlife. This warm-season plant grows up to 60 inches and produces palatable, thick, green stalks offering erosion control to the land. Hegari is very drought tolerant and widely adapted to many soil types and should be planted in the summer.

Let’s get started! 

With decades of experience, our team brings you the highest quality seed products and customer care in the seed industry. Before placing your order, contact our Cultivation Experts to request your personal consultation to ensure you get the most out of your seed investment. You’ll find just what you need in our wide range of products.

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