Summer cover crop?

moretimeforgolf

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North Kent, UK
Hi. I’ve got a field of non-efa fallow which has a ryegrass problem. It’s had glyphosate but I just don’t like seeing bare soil. The field is due to go back in with wheat in the autumn.
Any suggestions for a suitable cover crop?
I’m thinking buckwheat, maybe vetch, peas, phacelia? I’m a bit concerned about some other species going to seed .
I could wait another month before seeding.
Any advice gratefully received.
 

Will7

Member
IMG_1596.JPG
black oat, oil radish, berseem clover, phacelia drilled last week of April, this was taken 11 weeks later. Can’t quite remember the proportions but home mixed
 

moretimeforgolf

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North Kent, UK
It looks great but rooting limited due to the extreme growth, and it went to seed too quick really.
Whereabouts are you? Do you think that mix would be better drilled late May/early June? I use oil radish in over winter cover crops but even then you need to be careful with the variety because it can go to seed before Christmas.
 

Will7

Member
Whereabouts are you? Do you think that mix would be better drilled late May/early June? I use oil radish in over winter cover crops but even then you need to be careful with the variety because it can go to seed before Christmas.

Mid Lincs, heavy land. It seems a shame not to have something growing in may as that is one of the better “growing” months. I terminated mine early due to bg in the bottom. You could get another 2-4 weeks out of the mix possibly.

If I did it again at this time of year I would try and use winter cultivars which won’t produce seed, or perhaps have a broadleaf summer cocktail with winter oats, so that when the phacelia, radish etc start to run to seed they can be mown and the winter oats at the bottom will keep going into the autumn. Also depends if you are grazing or not.
 

moretimeforgolf

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North Kent, UK
Thanks for the response.
I think a winter oat might be a good choice as it probably won’t set seed. I’ve got some berseem clover in stock, could add phacelia and vetch.
As you say, it seems a shame not to utilise a good growing month like May.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
Keep seed rates down and tickle the top inch before sowing if you want to get a decent flush of ryegrass. The cover crops above look great, but IMO if you have a weed problem this is a great opportunity to clean the soil up. There is some serious competition and potential allelopathy here. How about an ultra cheap cover crop and destroy it in early July then sow another one of buckwheat to give you another bite at the ryegrass control?
 

moretimeforgolf

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North Kent, UK
Keep seed rates down and tickle the top inch before sowing if you want to get a decent flush of ryegrass. The cover crops above look great, but IMO if you have a weed problem this is a great opportunity to clean the soil up. There is some serious competition and potential allelopathy here. How about an ultra cheap cover crop and destroy it in early July then sow another one of buckwheat to give you another bite at the ryegrass control?
We usually sow our cover crops with a seeder mounted on a carrier but it's so dry here I don't think much would germinate. In this instance I was planning to use the JD 750a because there is a little moisture under the surface but I take your point regarding getting another flush of ryegrass. Maybe I would be better holding off for another month.
 
Any suggestions for a field coming out of forage rye very shortly and going back into forage rye in early October. It’ll be no tilled in October. However we can’t no till the cover now due to waiting for new points to arrive. So all we can do now is straight in with a 7 inch horsch point and then roll or possibly spin it on. It’s a bad BG field that until Oct 18 had been spring cropped for 6 years so moving to much soil isn’t ideal.
 

moretimeforgolf

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North Kent, UK
Any suggestions for a field coming out of forage rye very shortly and going back into forage rye in early October. It’ll be no tilled in October. However we can’t no till the cover now due to waiting for new points to arrive. So all we can do now is straight in with a 7 inch horsch point and then roll or possibly spin it on. It’s a bad BG field that until Oct 18 had been spring cropped for 6 years so moving to much soil isn’t ideal.
We did actually drill a mix on 15th May on the earlier mentioned ‘fallow’ field. Now visible in rows (drilled with 750a).
It consists of: winter oats, vetch, berseem clover, phacelia and buckwheat. It’s due to go in with wheat in early October. The problem on this field is ryegrass, so will be making sure we don’t let any of that go to seed before it sees glyphosate.
 
Wouldn’t you want to take this opportunity to get as many BG generations destroyed as possible???

From what we’ve seen if there’s a growing spring barley it out competes it unless it goes flat or there’s not enough seed, hence the high seed rates of 600 seeds +. It’s very hard to find any BG plants where there’s Rye full stop, so possibly something growing is better than multiple chits?

We don’t want to cover crop with barley as it’s to similar to rye.
 

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