Cover crop choice

martian

DD Moderator
BASE UK Member
Location
N Herts
What is phacelia and can it be grazed if in a mix.
To answer the grazing bit...yes you can. We planted it in a mix with Pedders No 1 and the cattle eat it down to the ground and look very well on it. Not very scientific I know, but will weigh beasts when they eventually come in (or get near yards) and see how they compare to those yarded all winter.
 

Cutlerstom

Member
Arable Farmer
Re visiting this thread again.....who is cover cropping between say a spring barley crop and a winter cereal? I have rape in the rotation, so mustard is out, but what grows really quickly - I anticipate at best a 7 week window from combine to drilling cash crop. Are spring oats an option? @Clive you have done some summer cover crops haven't you?
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Re visiting this thread again.....who is cover cropping between say a spring barley crop and a winter cereal? I have rape in the rotation, so mustard is out, but what grows really quickly - I anticipate at best a 7 week window from combine to drilling cash crop. Are spring oats an option? @Clive you have done some summer cover crops haven't you?

I don't like last oats in cover crops and certainly wouldn't follow them with a cereal (bad allopathy and acidic breakdown)

If you can get it in fast I would suggest sunflower, and radish, linseed maybe some beans - you will be amazed how fast stuff grows at that time of year !!
 
Last edited:

6910

Member
I don't like last oats in cover crops and certainly wouldn't follow them with a cereal (bad allopathy and acidic breakdown)

If you can get it in fast I would suggest sunflower, and radish, linseed maybe some beans - you will be amazed how fast stuff grows at that time of year !!
Would it be better to leave beans out considering there's rape in the rotation
 
Location
Cambridge
It probably is marginal, but after seeing what a cover has done here between rape and wheat, it could be worth it in some years. I'm now a big fan of sowing into the green in the autumn, I reckon so long as reasonably good ground cover was achieved it would pay.
What's the difference in harvest between osr and s barley, three weeks?
 

Pedders

Member
Location
West Sussex
Re visiting this thread again.....who is cover cropping between say a spring barley crop and a winter cereal? I have rape in the rotation, so mustard is out, but what grows really quickly - I anticipate at best a 7 week window from combine to drilling cash crop. Are spring oats an option? @Clive you have done some summer cover crops haven't you?
...would suggest a mix of sunflower buckwheat linseed and peas as being the most cost effective and quick growing if you're insisting you don't want brassicas ..but I'm not convinced that 7 weeks of a brassica in a mix would cause any club root problems
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Not enough time.

Mid August for 6 weeks... Very marginal

depends on weather really and harvest dates - this year we had early OSR harvest and then some moisture to get things going, CC growth was worthwhile pre wheat - @Tom Sewell had some good results as well IIRC

It's why I would say keep seed spend down below £25/ha ie its a gamble but an affordable one, I will probably just use home saved linseed, beans, millet. pea and lupin pre autumn covers for this reason as cost will be negligible
 
Location
Cambridge
depends on weather really and harvest dates - this year we had early OSR harvest and then some moisture to get things going, CC growth was worthwhile pre wheat - @Tom Sewell had some good results as well IIRC

It's why I would say keep seed spend down below £25/ha ie its a gamble but an affordable one, I will probably just use home saved linseed, beans, millet. pea and lupin pre autumn covers for this reason as cost will be negligible
Yes, like I said a few posts ago, after OSR fine, but three weeks later than that with spring barley? Not for me.
 

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As reported in Independent


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