Acres in — seed, lime and fertilizer out, with the planting window for your region.
| Crop | Broadcast lb/acre | Type |
|---|---|---|
| White / ladino clover | 6–8 | Perennial legume |
| Red clover | 10–12 | Short-lived perennial |
| Chicory | 4–5 | Perennial forb |
| Brassicas | 8–10 | Annual |
| Cereal rye / oats / wheat | 100–120 | Annual grain |
| Austrian winter peas | 60–80 | Annual legume |
| Soybeans | 60–80 | Annual legume |
| Buckwheat | 50 | Summer annual |
| Corn | 20–25 | Annual grain |
Legumes — clover, peas, beans — fix their own nitrogen once established, so a starter with no N (0-20-20) is the usual call. Feeding them nitrogen mostly feeds the grass competing with them. Brassicas and cereal grains have no such trick and want nitrogen, which is why a balanced 19-19-19 and a later top-dress is standard.
Lime is the one nobody wants to hear about and the one that decides the plot. Clover wants a pH near 6.5; on acidic ground at 5.2 you can pour on fertilizer and the plants still cannot take it up. Lime also takes months to move the number, so it goes on well before the seed does.
Fall plots — brassicas, cereal grains, winter peas — want roughly 45 to 60 days of growth before your first hard frost. Perennial clover and chicory can go in late summer with the fall plots or in early spring, and spring is the safer choice on droughty ground. Summer annuals such as buckwheat and soybeans wait until soil temperature is reliably above 60 °F.