Potatoes Grow Better With Companion Crops
Brendan Rockey gets better potatoes when he plants them with “companion crops” that fix nitrogen, mobilize phosphorus, and attract beneficial insects to the potatoes when they need them. Earlier plantings of up to 20 different species in 9-row-wide corridors give the good bugs a head start, attracting predators who spread out throughout the field when the companions and potatoes emerge.
“Currently, we plant a mix of 2 species of field peas, desi chickpeas, vetch, buckwheat and fava beans with our potatoes,” says Brendan.
Healthy plants are important to any farmer, but especially to Brendan and his brother Sheldon. They grow 30 different varieties of certified seed potatoes and fingerlings for the wholesale market. Aphids, known for carrying a viral disease, are a major concern. Plenty of predators keep the aphids in check without the use of insecticides. That keeps the virus in check without the need for fungicides. Growing a mix of plants and potatoes in the same field means the Rockeys can’t use herbicides, but that’s okay. They do 3 mechanical cultivations instead.
“We figure we are saving around $200 an acre in reduced chemical applications,” says Rockey. “Seeds produced by the peas and buckwheat fall to the ground, germinate, and emerge after potato harvest, providing us with a free cover crop. It freezes off and leaves a nice residue in the spring.”
It all started with field peas planted in rotation ahead of potatoes.
“A few volunteer peas would come up in the potatoes,” recalls Rockey. “We wouldn’t pull them like we did weeds because they were adding nitrogen. We realized they added a different root system and flowers to attract beneficials.”
They tried hand-planting plots of peas into potato hills. The potatoes with peas out-yielded potatoes without. Wanting to avoid a separate trip to plant the peas, the Rockeys used Gandy boxes and seed tubes to drop pea seed alongside the potatoes. The next year they added vetch. They discovered the first cultivation clipped the early emerging pea shoots, but new shoots quickly emerged. Potatoes emerged later.
The Rockeys were already planting a diverse cover crop post-harvest, which was custom grazed. They used as many as 15 different varieties from Green Cover Seed (Vol. 44, No. 4). Working with company co-owner Keith Berns, they came up with a mix of beneficial companions and seeding rates for the dedicated strips and for the in-row companions.
“Our main goal was diversity, but we wanted stuff to bloom early and late as a food source for pollinators and predators,” says Rockey. “We also wanted differing plant architectures so there were lots of habitats for beneficials.”
Getting the right seeding rate was a big challenge. The brothers experimented with a range of rates from 5 to 40 lbs. per acre.
“Five wasn’t enough and 40 didn’t gain us anything,” says Rockey. “We settled on about 15 lbs. per acre with an even mix of all species except for buckwheat. We go a little lighter on that. At 15 lbs., the cost of the mix runs about $6 an acre.”
When they needed a new potato planter, they had it customized for the companion planting. “We sat down with Grimme company engineers and told them what we wanted,” says Rockey.
The new planter makes changing rates even easier. The Gandy boxes now run off the same drive as the seed cups for the potatoes. When potatoes are planted, so are the companions.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rockey Farms, 48444 Co. Rd. C, Center, Colo. 81125 (ph 719 588-5726 or 719 588-4383; rockeyfarm@hotmail.com; BrendonRockey.com; Facebook: Rockey-Farms-LLC).
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Potatoes Grow Better With Companion Crops CROPS Miscellaneous Brendan Rockey gets better potatoes when he plants them with “companion crops” that fix nitrogen mobilize phosphorus and attract beneficial insects to the potatoes when they need them Earlier plantings of up to 20 different species in 9-row-wide corridors give the good bugs a head start attracting predators who spread out throughout the field when the companions and potatoes emerge “Currently we plant a mix of 2 species of field peas desi chickpeas vetch buckwheat and fava beans with our potatoes ” says Brendan Healthy plants are important to any farmer but especially to Brendan and his brother Sheldon They grow 30 different varieties of certified seed potatoes and fingerlings for the wholesale market Aphids known for carrying a viral disease are a major concern Plenty of predators keep the aphids in check without the use of insecticides That keeps the virus in check without the need for fungicides Growing a mix of plants and potatoes in the same field means the Rockeys can’t use herbicides but that’s okay They do 3 mechanical cultivations instead “We figure we are saving around $200 an acre in reduced chemical applications ” says Rockey “Seeds produced by the peas and buckwheat fall to the ground germinate and emerge after potato harvest providing us with a free cover crop It freezes off and leaves a nice residue in the spring ” It all started with field peas planted in rotation ahead of potatoes “A few volunteer peas would come up in the potatoes ” recalls Rockey “We wouldn’t pull them like we did weeds because they were adding nitrogen We realized they added a different root system and flowers to attract beneficials ” They tried hand-planting plots of peas into potato hills The potatoes with peas out-yielded potatoes without Wanting to avoid a separate trip to plant the peas the Rockeys used Gandy boxes and seed tubes to drop pea seed alongside the potatoes The next year they added vetch They discovered the first cultivation clipped the early emerging pea shoots but new shoots quickly emerged Potatoes emerged later The Rockeys were already planting a diverse cover crop post-harvest which was custom grazed They used as many as 15 different varieties from Green Cover Seed Vol 44 No 4 Working with company co-owner Keith Berns they came up with a mix of beneficial companions and seeding rates for the dedicated strips and for the in-row companions “Our main goal was diversity but we wanted stuff to bloom early and late as a food source for pollinators and predators ” says Rockey “We also wanted differing plant architectures so there were lots of habitats for beneficials ” Getting the right seeding rate was a big challenge The brothers experimented with a range of rates from 5 to 40 lbs per acre “Five wasn’t enough and 40 didn’t gain us anything ” says Rockey “We settled on about 15 lbs per acre with an even mix of all species except for buckwheat We go a little lighter on that At 15 lbs the cost of the mix runs about $6 an acre ” When they needed a new potato planter they had it customized for the companion planting “We sat down with Grimme company engineers and told them what we wanted ” says Rockey The new planter makes changing rates even easier The Gandy boxes now run off the same drive as the seed cups for the potatoes When potatoes are planted so are the companions Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rockey Farms 48444 Co Rd C Center Colo 81125 ph 719 588-5726 or 719 588-4383; rockeyfarm@hotmail com; BrendonRockey com; Facebook: Rockey-Farms-LLC
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