All the while the weeds deplete the soil of nutrients for the vegetable plants. One of the trials conducted was to plant the aisle rows with a cover crop. A cover crop would compete with the weeds and if planted soon enough after cultivation, may crowd out the weeds from ever taking hold. Five different cover crops were used. The fifth was ryegrass which has been shown to have allelopathic affects on other plants.
Preliminary observations indicate that the cover crop needs to be kept low growing to avoid mowing.
White clover started out with small plants that did not compete very well with early weed pressure. Once the clover plants took off, they became quite large. Once the crop became esta-blished, it did not take well to being walked on. The ryegrass germinated quickly and was fast to cover the aisle. Weedy grasses seemed to be able to grow right along with it.