Following on from groundswell bicropping

[Badshot]

So folks.
Who's done it?
Who's making it work?
What seed rates?
What management?
What crops?
Outputs? (It was mentioned that it's 1.3 times the monocropping option, but was that just oat or both added up because a few beans in an oat trailer would add a lot of weight due simply to them being so much heavier)


Discuss.

 

[Wigeon]

So folks.
Who's done it?
Who's making it work?
What seed rates?
What management?
What crops?
Outputs? (It was mentioned that it's 1.3 times the monocropping option, but was that just oat or both added up because a few beans in an oat trailer would add a lot of weight due simply to them being so much heavier)


Discuss.

I have 30ha of winter milling wheat and winter bean bicrop.

50kgs/ha beans
220kgs wheat.
Heritage type blend so doesn't tiller.

No herbicides, 50kgs N.

First time so proof will be in the combine tank.

 

[Nearly]

Guy I steer combine for has field of boats. Beans and oats. I'll let you know.

 

[ih1455xl]

Do spring oats and peas here for a few years now and regularly stitch spring barley in to poor areas of winter beans in the spring

 

[Salopian_Will]

I was interested in whether it provided a genuine break too. The answers were very much we’re not sure!

 

[Spencer]

Guy I steer combine for has field of boats. Beans and oats. I'll let you know.

I had that many oats in my barley one year I called them boats....

 

[Badshot]

I was interested in whether it provided a genuine break too. The answers were very much we’re not sure!

Well I'm sure the boats will be a break, but they each have their own place in my rotation and growing them effectively closer shortening the interval is very risky. Finding out you've got nematodes will totally knacker the idea, and potentially the possibility of being an arable farm leaving not very many other break crop options.

 

[Adeptandy]

Do thistles or BG count as a bi-crop

 

[sjt01]

We have winter beans/oats for combining for cow feed , photo at end of May. 3 varieties of w barley on right

 

[O'Reilly]

We have winter beans/oats for combining for cow feed , photo at end of May. 3 varieties of w barley on right

How will you process the beans and oats before feeding? Why oats?

 

[sjt01]

How will you process the beans and oats before feeding? Why oats?

Rolling, first pass to crack beans, second pass to get the oats

 

[Clive]

So folks.
Who's done it?
Who's making it work?
What seed rates?
What management?
What crops?
Outputs? (It was mentioned that it's 1.3 times the monocropping option, but was that just oat or both added up because a few beans in an oat trailer would add a lot of weight due simply to them being so much heavier)


Discuss.

have done some in the past

next year every acre here will be companion cropped

 

[PSQ]

Do spring oats and peas here for a few years now

Genuine question: Do the help hold each up until harvest, or do they pull each other down?

My experience of harvesting by-passed vining peas is they go flat in any wind the week before harvest, and spring oats like to lean at the best of times.

 

[Spencer]

have done some in the past

next year every acre here will be companion cropped

What with what?

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Have tried peola, peatarde and boats, all spring, all failed due to drought and or flea beetle.

Gonna have another go with winter boats and no inputs this year.

 

[DieselRob]

have done some in the past

next year every acre here will be companion cropped

And taken to harvest?

 

[DieselRob]

I really like the idea of a clover understory and use sheep to do the growth reg in autumn and spring, am I mad? Will it work

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

I really like the idea of a clover understory and use sheep to do the growth reg in autumn and spring, am I mad? Will it work

Done it a few times with moderate success. As above, really depends on some kind weather during the growing season. The trick is to select low growing varieties like Rivendal and Jura. The idea being to grow continuous wheat with an animal break presowing and possibly in the spring too

 

[DieselRob]

Done it a few times with moderate success. As above, really depends on some kind weather during the growing season. The trick is to select low growing varieties like Rivendal and Jura. The idea being to grow continuous wheat with an animal break presowing and possibly in the spring too

That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Are you still doing it or have you decided against it?

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Are you still doing it or have you decided against it?

It's just had 2 doses of roundup, to kill the bg and thistles. It never got sown in the autumn which was probably a mistake. I don't even know why I didn't now, because I also failed to drill a spring crop because it was so wet so late.

It's got a cover crop recently sown into it but not emerging very well due to the drought.

So no, I haven't decided against it but waiting for something to go right!