I usually like thirty days minimum. The organic material needs time to rot before the roots get to that layer. Thirty days is usually a good enough head start for most plants.
Another thing to consider is that the cover crop can steal the moisture from the ground if you get too late in the spring. Then the ground can be hard to work. Plus the "NEW" crop can be hindered getting started if you do not get enough rain.
I have moved away from cover crops in my rotation. I have high residue from the corn stalks and then all of my ground gets bedding manure so it is getting a lot of organic matter already.
Also getting cover crops growing in the fall can be an issue around here. Many time the cover crop is very small over winter and does not grow until early spring. So I really do not see much advantage in my area. I think that they work fine if your further south where you have more warmth to get them started in the fall.
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Today's Featured Article - Grain Threshing in the Early 40's - by Jerry D. Coleman. How many of you can sit there and say that you have plowed with a mule? Well I would say not many, but maybe a few. This story is about the day my Grandfather Brown (true name) decided along with my parents to purchase a new Ford tractor. It wasn't really new except to us. The year was about 1967 and my father found a good used Ford 601 tractor to use on the farm instead of "Bob", our old mule. Now my grandfather had had this mule since the mid 40's and he was getting some age on him. S
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