Peaceful Valley Premium Soil Builder Mix is a cool-season cover crop blend developed for vegetable rotations, fallow garden beds, orchards, and other areas where growers want abundant biomass, living roots, and the soil-building benefits of legumes. Bell beans, field peas, and vetches contribute vigorous leafy growth, while white oats provide quick ground cover and upright structure that helps support the sprawling legumes. This diverse growth habit makes the mix useful for protecting exposed soil through the cool season. The oats establish quickly, helping slow erosion and compete with weeds, while the legumes can fix atmospheric nitrogen when properly inoculated and actively nodulated. As the stand develops, its roots occupy different portions of the soil profile and the aboveground growth supplies residue that can be returned to the soil. Actual biomass production and nitrogen contribution vary with climate, planting date, soil fertility, moisture, stand establishment, inoculation, and termination timing. Sow in September or October in many mild-winter regions, planting earlier where cold weather arrives sooner. In coastal districts and other cool-summer climates, the mix may also be spring planted. Prepare a reasonably clean seedbed, distribute the seed evenly, and cover it 3/4 to 1 inch deep. Maintain adequate moisture during germination and early establishment. For the best balance of manageable residue and soil-building growth, mow or incorporate the cover crop while stems are still tender and before the legumes produce mature seed. Allow time for incorporated material to begin decomposing before planting the next crop. Because this is raw, non-inoculated seed and the blend contains several legume species, inoculation is strongly recommended. Use a compatible pea, vetch, and bean inoculant, especially where these legumes have not been grown recently. Inoculant helps establish the Rhizobium relationship needed for effective nodulation and nitrogen fixation; it is not a fertilizer and should be handled and applied according to its label. Growth Cycle: Cool-season annual cover crop mix Application Rate: 3–5 lb per 1,000 sq ft or 70–120 lb per acre Planting Depth: 3/4–1 inch Germination: Approximately 5–10 days under suitable conditions Plant Height: Approximately 4–6 feet if allowed to mature Uses: Vegetable rotations, weed competition, erosion protection, beneficial-insect habitat, biomass production, and nitrogen fixation Inoculant: Strongly recommended. Use Pea Vetch Lentil Inoculant (treats 100 lb), Garden Combination Mix Inoculant (treats 8 lb), or Garden Combination Mix Inoculant (treats 50 lb). Choose the package size that matches the planting and sow promptly after treating the seed. Contains: Formulation may vary based on availability. The current mix contains bell beans, BioMaster peas, Dunsdale peas, vetches (hairy, common, and/or purple vetch, depending on availability), and white oats.
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