Alec:
An AGRICOLA database search on Phacelia turned up nearly
eighty citations, but the few that dealt with Phacelia as
a cover crop were in French or German. Limited studies in
Britain (1) suggest that Phacelia should be sown at a rate
of ten to fifteen pounds per acre and at a depth of one
inch. Even though Phacelia is rather deep rooted, the
same study suggests that the amount of dry matter produced
is roughly half that of other non-leguminous cover crops
and only about a sixth of most legume cover crops.
Most of the work on Phacelia as a cover crop in eastern
North America has been done by the Centre de developpement
d'agrobiologie du Quebec [Quebec Organic Agriculture
Development Center] (2) in the last five or six years. A
number of personnel at the center are conversant in
English and may be able to furnish you with specific
practical information about the crop. They may well have
seed for sale (fairly expensive) or could at least direct
you to someone who can sell you seed if you wish to try it
yourself.
1) Woodward, Lawrence and Burge, Pat. 1982. Green
Manures. Elm Farm Research Center. Practical
Handbook Series. Berkshire, United Kingdom
2) Centre de developpement d'agrobiologie du Quebec
224 rue Principale
Sainte-Elizabeth-de-Warwick, Quebec, J0Z 1M0
819-358-3850 fax -3859
Good luck,
Bart