Delaying autumn drilling problems

Tractor Boy

Member
Location
Suffolk
I’m just wondering what the answer is with regard to trying to delay drilling with a 750a on clay for blackgrass purposes. Before I had the 750 I used to have to try to finish drilling wheat with the Claydon drill by 10th October and it was always sticky drilling beans a bit later.
To help with blackgrass I am trying to delay and this season I got away with putting the wheat in between 9th and 14th October but even with a dry summer and relatively dry Autumn it is now too sticky on my hanslope clay. We haven’t had any rain for 8 days when we got 15mm but the soil is just not drying now as it stays sticky all day from overnight dew.
I have been putting beans in today on a glorious day but the gauge wheels,press wheels, guttlers and drill main wheels are all balls of mud and a lot of the drill wheelings are showing.
Basically in a year as dry as this it’s impossible to delay drilling past mid Oct. anyone got any observations or suggestions?
 
I would say that if you're struggling on a year like this which a lot of people are saying has been the easiest in their memory then that should tell you something. I know from experience how slow to dry unmoved ground is on this soil type once it gets wet. I hate to say it, but if you cultivate it does make drilling later easier and more reliable if the ground has been cultivated in good conditions as it has this year. Could have started drilling beans a number of days ago, but only have 3/4 day of drilling into Trioed and power harrowed seedbeds so will do it in the next few days and ground is nicely dry on top now.
 

Timbo1080

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Somerset
Next year, put a summer cover in as soon as the crop is off & drill on the green. The summer cover will also keep drying the soil as well as the other perks. We find this very helpful. 750A, 65% Clay, 30% silt, high Mag. Get some spoked gauge wheels too....Sometimes, the conditions can be right, but you still need them (I.e. It’s not always an indication that “you shouldn’t be there” when the gauge wheels are filling). We don’t have any yet, but it’s on the shopping list.
 

Case290

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Worcestershire
I’ve got some un moved stubble going into beans it’s still got cracks and like rock all the ground that was v lightly disced has gone a lot better and was wetter . Which is the complete. Opposite To what you just said.
 

Tractor Boy

Member
Location
Suffolk
I would say that if you're struggling on a year like this which a lot of people are saying has been the easiest in their memory then that should tell you something. I know from experience how slow to dry unmoved ground is on this soil type once it gets wet. I hate to say it, but if you cultivate it does make drilling later easier and more reliable if the ground has been cultivated in good conditions as it has this year. Could have started drilling beans a number of days ago, but only have 3/4 day of drilling into Trioed and power harrowed seedbeds so will do it in the next few days and ground is nicely dry on top now.
I know what you are saying but it’s not really developing a no til system is it.
 

Tractor Boy

Member
Location
Suffolk
You cannot no till hanslope clay into later October reliably. Or even after the small amounts of rain we have had. Drill early or cultivate it if you want to drill late.
This definitely seems to be the case. I am toying with a suggestion above about using a catch crop to drill on the green slightly later in the autumn as I can see this working although the opposite has proved to be the case when spring drilling in that the cover needs to be long gone.
 

ajd132

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
This definitely seems to be the case. I am toying with a suggestion above about using a catch crop to drill on the green slightly later in the autumn as I can see this working although the opposite has proved to be the case when spring drilling in that the cover needs to be long gone.
Catch crop might work but might make it even wetter, an inch or two of filth can make a huge huge difference.
 
Farm hanslope and ragdale soils autumn notill drill by October 1st
Later drilling is fine in a year like this but be prepared to plant spring crops instead of winter crops 1 in 3 years if waiting to the 5 October or 1 in 2 years if waiting to 15 October
Later drilling for black grass is spring drilling in my book then once the bg is well controlled back to earlier drilling for higher yield of wheat
No till 2 weeks earlier in the autumn or 2 weeks later in the spring is an important rule
 

Tractor Boy

Member
Location
Suffolk
Farm hanslope and ragdale soils autumn notill drill by October 1st
Later drilling is fine in a year like this but be prepared to plant spring crops instead of winter crops 1 in 3 years if waiting to the 5 October or 1 in 2 years if waiting to 15 October
Later drilling for black grass is spring drilling in my book then once the bg is well controlled back to earlier drilling for higher yield of wheat
No till 2 weeks earlier in the autumn or 2 weeks later in the spring is an important rule
I’m already doing a lot of spring crops though. Last year 66% of my entire acreage was spring cropped and most of that was drilled mid April or later and subsequently didn’t perform particularly well this year despite looking great mid May.
This year I’ve still got 50% scheduled for spring crops. Trouble is, of the 50% I’ve now drilled after 9th October some had to have glyphosate on the 16th, the day before emerging due to single leaf blackgrass that must’ve come through around the drilling day!
 

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