We experimented this year with planting cover crops in unused spaces, mainly roadways. Our tractor is not on site, so keeping the field roads tilled is not super easy once we are done with major tractor field work and on to rototiller maintenance.
Also, space is at a premium. Equally important is soil building and pest management.
Sweet Allysum is a great beneficial insect attractant and cover crop for in-field rows, and for filling the end of a short row. However, it can be quite bushy, spreading out over a few feet in each direction. Solution? Plant a single row down the middle of your tilled roadway. We weeded with hoes once, it took about 10 minutes for a 200' length. For more information on the benefits of pest management with this plant, check out http://vegtrials.blogspot.com/2011/10/beneficial-insect-attractants.html
We also put in blocks of different cover crops for the summer, and extended them into our field road. Chickling Vetch and Oats got quite battered by the daily driving, but Hairy Vetch, Triticale and Rye did very well, holding up under the carriage of the truck, and staying alive and attractive. And best of all: suppressing weeds and making a management free space!
Lana Hairy Vetch, Hairy Vetch and Triticale
Triticale
Rye
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