Cover crop choice

[Banana Bar]

After a very interesting day looking at no-till in Kent on Friday we are now actively looking for a no till drill. I expect to experiment with cover cropping vs no cc. How on earth do I decide which cover crop to grow (or which mix)? Phacelia and tillage radish look obvious choices but what else should I include. In the first instance I would expect to trial ex rape land going to wheat and ex wheat land going to spring barley or spring beans. I have the advantage of running a flock of sheep which may help but the arable rotation must not be steered by livestock. Think I've got a lot to learn before the autumn!

BB

 

[Clive]

my choice is based on, no grasses, no crops related to those within my rotation and cost must be less than £10/ac

its a bit trail and error but you will learn fast !

 

[SilliamWhale]

I'd start by reading the cover crops book published by SARE and getting a copy of Pedders price list to see what types you prefer.

Familiarise yourself with concepts of warm and cool season crops etc.

Stubble turnips will be the best and cheapest sheep food.

 

[Simon Chiles]

After a very interesting day looking at no-till in Kent on Friday we are now actively looking for a no till drill. I expect to experiment with cover cropping vs no cc. How on earth do I decide which cover crop to grow (or which mix)? Phacelia and tillage radish look obvious choices but what else should I include. In the first instance I would expect to trial ex rape land going to wheat and ex wheat land going to spring barley or spring beans. I have the advantage of running a flock of sheep which may help but the arable rotation must not be steered by livestock. Think I've got a lot to learn before the autumn!

BB

This is probably where we need to experiment more as I think mastering which cc will give you the best results is the future in climbing the no till ladder. As @Clive says I wouldn't plant anything graminaceous or anything that was in the same family as a crop that I wanted to harvest. For example:- as I don't grow Rape makes Mustard an option. Phacelia, I would suggest, is a must have in any mix. So for me it would probably be Phacelia, Linseed, Vetch ( only on ground where I didn't grow it for seed ) Mustard and Buckwheat etc.

 

[Andrew K]

BB,

I too have this quandry, a near neighbour has black oats and vetch [ supposed to alleviate blackgrass] but so far the blackgrass seems to be dominant, and sowing early seems to have aided its progress.
I deally I need a very fast developing CC that allows a bit of a chit and spray off first with Glypho. Graminicides dont work here, so non starter.

 

[normandyfarmer]

my choice is based on, no grasses, no crops related to those within my rotation and cost must be less than £10/ac

How did you figure the 10£/ac ?
At first I thought it wasn't a lot but that's currently 31€/ha, that makes sense

 

[warksfarmer]

After a very interesting day looking at no-till in Kent on Friday we are now actively looking for a no till drill. I expect to experiment with cover cropping vs no cc. How on earth do I decide which cover crop to grow (or which mix)? Phacelia and tillage radish look obvious choices but what else should I include. In the first instance I would expect to trial ex rape land going to wheat and ex wheat land going to spring barley or spring beans. I have the advantage of running a flock of sheep which may help but the arable rotation must not be steered by livestock. Think I've got a lot to learn before the autumn!

BB

Worth a email to Jim Bullock as he's got more experience than anybody in this country on no till and cover crops.

 

[moldengineer]

BB,

I too have this quandry, a near neighbour has black oats and vetch [ supposed to alleviate blackgrass] but so far the blackgrass seems to be dominant, and sowing early seems to have aided its progress.
I deally I need a very fast developing CC that allows a bit of a chit and spray off first with Glypho. Graminicides dont work here, so non starter.

A lot of people have put this in thinking that this on its own will cure black grass problems. My understanding of the Agrovista research is that this covercrop combined with minimum disturbance direct drilling and spring cropping gives the results not just the covercrop. Their aim was to get heavy land into a position where it could be dd'd in the spring by using the cover crop.

We have black oat/ vetch mix as well as mustard and radish cover crops. Mustard and radish will be mulched and ploughed for potatoes. Black oat vetch mix will be dd'd in the spring with spring beans. There will be some spring beans drilled into mustard as well. Biggest issue we have is what to do with the mustard before beans, it's currently 4 ft tall and very thick. I guess what covercrop to plant will be decided by what your drill can deal with in the spring.

 

[SilliamWhale]

A lot of people have put this in thinking that this on its own will cure black grass problems. My understanding of the Agrovista research is that this covercrop combined with minimum disturbance direct drilling and spring cropping gives the results not just the covercrop. Their aim was to get heavy land into a position where it could be dd'd in the spring by using the cover crop.

We have black oat/ vetch mix as well as mustard and radish cover crops. Mustard and radish will be mulched and ploughed for potatoes. Black oat vetch mix will be dd'd in the spring with spring beans. There will be some spring beans drilled into mustard as well. Biggest issue we have is what to do with the mustard before beans, it's currently 4 ft tall and very thick. I guess what covercrop to plant will be decided by what your drill can deal with in the spring.

Personally I'd tempted to roll them next chance you get simply because then when you go in with pre drilling roundup there will be less chance of regrowth in the beans.

 

[H.Jackson]

@Clive without grasses how are you building mycorrhizal fungi?

 

[wellingtonfarmer]

What cover crops do people suggest if you gave rape in rotation?

 

[Great In Grass]

What cover crops do people suggest if you gave rape in rotation?

I'd say any of these, egyptian clover, deeptill radish, field pea, phacelia, niger, bristle oat and common vetch which can be conveniently found in a mixture.

 

[Baling Hay]

This is probably where we need to experiment more as I think mastering which cc will give you the best results is the future in climbing the no till ladder. As @Clive says I wouldn't plant anything graminaceous or anything that was in the same family as a crop that I wanted to harvest. For example:- as I don't grow Rape makes Mustard an option. Phacelia, I would suggest, is a must have in any mix. So for me it would probably be Phacelia, Linseed, Vetch ( only on ground where I didn't grow it for seed ) Mustard and Buckwheat etc.

Why don't you grow rape?

 

[Simon Chiles]

Why don't you grow rape?

Half my business is making and supplying hay and straw to the equestrian market. With between 300 and 400 acres of hay to make, all in conventional bales, I haven't really got time to be harvesting rape when I'm also trying to do hay.

 

[SouthernBeef]

How many acres of arable do u do simon ?

 

[devonshire farmer]

I'd say any of these, egyptian clover, deeptill radish, field pea, phacelia, niger, bristle oat and common vetch which can be conveniently found in a mixture.

What is phacelia and can it be grazed if in a mix.

 

[Great In Grass]

What is phacelia and can it be grazed if in a mix.

Copy & paste time, "A prolific seeder, very fast to establish and a good weed suppressant. It produces a mass of sweet smelling purple flowers providing a good source of nectar and seeds beneficial to a large variety of insects. It is not winter hardy and therefore for game cover it is best sown as part of a mixture. Phacelia is likely to set seed and reseed itself for many years to come."

 

[Simon Chiles]

This is phacelia

 

[Simon Chiles]

How many acres of arable do u do simon ?

About 550 of whole farm contracting and then some contract drilling on top of that.

 

[Simon Chiles]

Copy & paste time, "A prolific seeder, very fast to establish and a good weed suppressant. It produces a mass of sweet smelling purple flowers providing a good source of nectar and seeds beneficial to a large variety of insects. It is not winter hardy and therefore for game cover it is best sown as part of a mixture. Phacelia is likely to set seed and reseed itself for many years to come."

Not sure about the winter hardy bit it some say it is and others say it isn't, got a field of volunteers I'll let you know after the winter.