ROOT CROP Newbie

Rob Holmes

Moderator
BASIS
Okay thanks fellas,

Here's what I am thinking now, due to the thatch present in the sward I plan to spray and top down then spread my fert and rotovate at about 2-1/2 - 3 inches down at the very most to try and make some kind of tilth, get the Guttler in and roll after?

Good - thinking it won't churn up to much and less establishment cost due to having everything on hand
Bad - potentially a lot of trash in the top layer mixing the topped material off into such shallow depth?

What you think
I'd be tempted to go down the Vredo route,

  • Saves a cultivation pass
  • Gets seeds into moisture, and should cut though trash/thatch
  • Maintains soil structure so should carry cattle better
  • Less weeds due to less soil movement
 

JMTHORNLEY

Member
Location
Glossop
I'd be tempted to go down the Vredo route,

  • Saves a cultivation pass
  • Gets seeds into moisture, and should cut though trash/thatch
  • Maintains soil structure so should carry cattle better
  • Less weeds due to less soil movement

It's just getting him here is the trouble, it'll cost me a bomb (n) but I had thought about topping then dragging the spring harrows over it and over it to try and 'clear' the ground?
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
If you have a rotovator or discs or something to make some tilth you could just run that over it and then mix seed in with the fertilizer when it's spun on. If you did 2 passes at 90° it would be plenty good enough for a brassica crop. Roll it after and job done.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Found a packet of sheep closer to home so going to mob it for a few days, spray it then flail whats left and look to slot seed it. made my mind up :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

It would be better to spray it first, then mob stock with sheep 5 days later, if that’s the way you want to go. You’ll need plenty of leaf for the glyphosate to work, which the sheep would take off if you graze it first.

I bet you wish you hadn’t started this now.:D
 
If you have a rotovator or discs or something to make some tilth you could just run that over it and then mix seed in with the fertilizer when it's spun on. If you did 2 passes at 90° it would be plenty good enough for a brassica crop. Roll it after and job done.
How do you mix the seed in with the fert
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
It defo needs roundup . Myself I would leave it fallow top it later in the year spray in spring and straight back to grass .
All I know is it that was my land with rushes like that brasicas would be s waste of time and money. But evry farm is different. If you dont spray it your rushes will be back in force
 

JMTHORNLEY

Member
Location
Glossop
It would be better to spray it first, then mob stock with sheep 5 days later, if that’s the way you want to go. You’ll need plenty of leaf for the glyphosate to work, which the sheep would take off if you graze it first.

I bet you wish you hadn’t started this now.:D

Nope, very glad I did. Getting some good advice and know where I need to be looking. I am going to plant the crop as the ground needs cleaning some way and I'll turn the beasties onto it when it's ready to graze, they can stay on grass until mid October to be honest so it'll have plenty of time to grow a decent crop.

I'm just trying to think of the best way to deal with the trash so it's not getting in the way of the new crop....
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
How do you mix the seed in with the fert
Tip the seed into the fertilizer as it's coming out of the bag into the spinner. Try and do it at about the same rate so the seed and fertilizer finishes at about the same time. I usually do that with half the seed and then sprinkle the rest on top of the fertilizer in the spinner and it mixes on the way down as it's going out of the spinner. There might be a better way of doing it but that's what I do it seemed to work quite well. I don't think you have to be too precious about it though more important to go over the field twice to try and get it even I think.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
Nope, very glad I did. Getting some good advice and know where I need to be looking. I am going to plant the crop as the ground needs cleaning some way and I'll turn the beasties onto it when it's ready to graze, they can stay on grass until mid October to be honest so it'll have plenty of time to grow a decent crop.

I'm just trying to think of the best way to deal with the trash so it's not getting in the way of the new crop....
Its the stuff that's growing you need to worry about .if you dont kill it you will be fighting it again next year
 

JMTHORNLEY

Member
Location
Glossop
@Forage Trader and all else, this is what I’m working with. Anybody feel different?

4F635670-397D-4E0B-A8BD-A94B69A1FAEE.jpeg
EACFC632-2957-4B84-A61F-0E4606517022.jpeg
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Been so busy with first cut I haven’t even rung just yet. All burnt off and some sheep in just need to shape me self now

You might have saved yourself some money. I rang to pull my swede seed forward a couple of weeks ago, then DD’ed until dark, along with a kilo/ac of slug pellets in the drill, getting it all in before the heavens opened for a week or so. 5ac has come well, and the other 8ac was starting to show promise. Got held up on haylage elsewhere so didn’t look at it for 2 days, only to find one field needed spraying for flea beetle ASAP, and the other only has about 4 plants left over the 8ac. Those few plants show no flea beetle or slug damage, and no sign of either a couple of days before, but somethings had it away with 8ac of swede seedlings while I was distracted.:banghead: Maincrop turnip seed to redrill it has arrived today.:(
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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