Andrew and Fairchild Gardens

[Beverly Erlebacher]

In article <1992Sep2.172833.20501 at gserv1.dl.ac.uk> ajt at uk.ac.sari.rri writes:
>
>I'm not an expert on cereal husbandry, but I thought oats was
>deliberately introduced into barley crops in the past to suppress the
>emergence of other weeds rather than to support the canopy ??

When I lived in Eastern Ontario, a marginal agricultural area, the local
farmers told me they planted a mixture of oats and barley because if the
year were dry, the one grain would do better, and if it were wet, the
other would.  So this method gave them a good stand and reasonable crop
of cattle feed either way.

Disclaimer: I am not a farmer. :-)

Beverly Erlebacher
Toronto, Ontario Canada