Organic Cabbage and Corn Grown with Clover Cover Crops

By Scout Nelson

South Dakota State University’s Southeast Research Farm is exploring how to grow organic cabbage and sweet corn using clover cover crops and reduced tillage methods. This USDA Certified Organic land near Beresford serves as a research site to test ways to boost soil health and lower weed pressure while maintaining yields.

Since 2022, researchers have tested several combinations of tillage practices and clover living mulch on vegetable crops. The study focuses on late-season cabbage and sweet corn harvests. In 2024, the second and third year of the trials showed that clover pathways helped suppress weeds more effectively, although they sometimes affected crop yield.

The research team includes soil scientists, agronomists, economists, and local farmers. The work is funded by the USDA Organic Transitions Program and will continue through spring 2026. A second year of organic sweet corn production is planned for 2025.

Soil health findings from the trial plots show some key results:

Nitrate, phosphorus, and potassium levels have decreased, suggesting that the clover and crops are absorbing more nutrients, leaving less unused in the soil.

Cold-water extractable carbon and nitrogen levels have slowly increased, pointing to better organic matter and improved nitrogen cycling.

In newer plots started in 2023, beta-glucosidase activity and microbial biomass carbon improved under no-till conditions with clover mulch, indicating stronger soil life and organic matter breakdown.

The research also includes equipment demonstrations, such as how no-till drills and vegetable bedding machines support soil structure and reduce erosion.

Full details and the 2024 report are available on the SDSU Open Prairie website, with findings published on pages 52, 62, and 73.

Photo Credit: south-dakota-state-university