For local professional advice, it’s hard to beat a local Extension office or Master Gardeners.
Browsing around the Ohio Extension website, I didn’t find a lot of specific advice about clay-busting with cover crops, like specific varieties. Maybe that can only be gotten at the county level with an emailed question.
http://extension.osu.edu/ask-a...
Hamilton County:
Hamilton County Office
5093 Colerain Ave.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45223
PH: 513-946-8989
FAX: 513-772-6126
Visit the Hamilton County Office website:
http://hamilton.osu.edu/
Staff Directory
But here’s what I found in their website:
OSU Extension
http://extension.osu.edu/
Hey, exciting! “North American Manure Expo 2016”! I see them saying “Wednesday”, but not WHICH Wednesday.
“His talk, called “Establishing Cover Crops,” is one of four during the expo’s Cover Crops track, which goes from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.”
The cover crops they mention are: “annual ryegrass, red clover, buckwheat and many others”
Ohio-related Fact Sheets called “Ohioline”:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/
“Farm” fact sheets:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/topic/...
Cover Crop Fundamentals:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/factsh...
Legumes Non-legumes
Clovers Rye
Hairy Vetch Oats
Field Peas Wheat
Annual Medic Forage Turnips
Alfalfa Oilseed Radish
Soybean Sudangrass
Buckwheat
Three fact sheets tagged “cover crops”:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/tags/c...
http://ohioline.osu.edu/factsh...
For nitrogen: cowpea, crotalaria, winter pea, red and sweet clover, hairy vetch, and soybeans.
For reducing compaction: Brassicas like turnips, oilseed or tillage radish, and annual ryegrass.
...
For organic matter: cereal rye, annual ryegrass, Sorghum Sudan grass, and oats.
...
For weed control and disease suppression: cereal rye, buckwheat, mustard, and oilseed and tillage radish.
... ... ...
Cover crops for organic matter (high C:N): Sorghum Sudan grass, cereal rye, annual ryegrass, triticale, oats, wheat, spelt, and barley.
Cover crops for nitrogen (low C:N): cowpea, winter pea, red clover, sweet clover, hairy vetch, alfalfa, soybeans, and mung beans.
...
Reduce compaction (deep rooted): Sorghum Sudan grass, annual ryegrass-5-6', oilseed or tillage radish-3-30', sweet clover-deep taproot, cereal rye and oats-30".
...
Attract beneficial insects: buckwheat, sweet clover, and red clover.
Tolerate wet soils: sweet clover, red clover, annual ryegrass, cereal rye, wheat, and oats.
