Farming Practices: Under-sowing and living mulches

What is it?

Under sowing crops is a traditional form of companion cropping where the main cash crop is sown and then clover or grasses are spread over the top. This means that the following ley will be ready as soon as the crop has been harvested. A living mulch is under sown to benefit the crop and is not always intended for use as a ley afterwards.

Benefits to farmers:

Helps to maximise ground cover increasing soil health, reducing losses from run off and erosion, suppressing the growth of weeds and regulating temperature at the soil surface.
Increase the number of beneficial insects for pest control.
Living mulches such as clover can help to provide nutrients for the crop.

Benefits for wildlife:

It also means the soils remain uncultivated throughout the winter which allows many insects to complete their life cycles.
Increases diversity in the productive area of the field providing further food and habitat for wildlife.

Point to consider:

Selecting the right plant for under sowing or a living mulch is important and depends highly on your crop and which companion plant will benefit it.
Yield penalties are likely to occur due to competition with the crop and need to be balanced with a lower use of artificial inputs (such as Nitrogen and pesticides) for crops to be as profitable.