Late season cover crop after spring barley/wheat

W

Wombat

Member

BASIS

Location

East yorks

• May 5, 2022

• #1

Our wheat and spring barley won’t be harvested till about last week of august/ first week of sept. Last year I tried a vetch, oats cover crop end of the first week of sept after wheat and it just never worked, slugs and things getting colder meant it was an expensive failure.

I know I could spread something into the barley my concern is if it goes wet it could be a nightmare to combine.

what would be good and not crazy expensive for that sort of time frame of drilling, I was thinking of maybe forage rape or something as it will be spring barley again the following spring

 

fred.950

Member

Mixed Farmer

Location

Dorset/Wiltshire

• May 5, 2022

• #2

Linseed and phacilia is favourite here, doesn’t interfere with future rotation and doesn’t get too thick which is good for spring drilling.
I prefer growth underground rather than above.

 

Derrick Hughes

Member

✓

Location

Ceredigion

• May 5, 2022

• #3

Are you intending to graze

 

D

DRC

Member

• May 5, 2022

• #4

In my opinion you are largely wasting your time and money if these type of crops aren’t drilled by mid August , unless you are down south or we have a very kind autumn .
This is certainly true for stubble turnips etc .

 

Bogweevil

Member

• May 5, 2022

• #5

Wombat said:

Our wheat and spring barley won’t be harvested till about last week of august/ first week of sept. Last year I tried a vetch, oats cover crop end of the first week of sept after wheat and it just never worked, slugs and things getting colder meant it was an expensive failure.

I know I could spread something into the barley my concern is if it goes wet it could be a nightmare to combine.

what would be good and not crazy expensive for that sort of time frame of drilling, I was thinking of maybe forage rape or something as it will be spring barley again the following spring

Click to expand...

Forage rye or black oats? The latter is killed out by December frost in most winters which is handy. Even so they absolutely must be sown before mid-September for any decent growth.

Italian ryegrass is better but of course can be a nasty herbicide-resistant weed on arable farms with no leys to suppress it, even if you plough before spring sowing.

 

Chae1

Member

Location

Aberdeenshire

• May 5, 2022

• #6

Mustard here. Unsure how much benefit is to following crops though. Establishes a decent amount of biomass though. Put sheep or cattle on it.

 

Humble Village Farmer

Member

BASE UK Member

Location

Essex

• May 5, 2022

• #7

silverfox said:

In my opinion you are largely wasting your time and money if these type of crops aren’t drilled by mid August , unless you are down south or we have a very kind autumn .
This is certainly true for stubble turnips etc .

Click to expand...

I would agree the earlier the better but you will still get a benefit from having roots in the ground. The later you go th bigger the seed needs to be. Spring beans grow well in the autumn. It depends slightly on the following cropping plan.

 

Derrick Hughes

Member

✓

Location

Ceredigion

• May 5, 2022

• #8

Problem is every season is different , but last September was a desater for sowing here last year , Westerwolds and Rye will stand later sowings though

 

W

Wombat

Member

BASIS

Location

East yorks

• May 5, 2022

• #9

Thanks for the ideas, I just cannot guarantee we can get the corn off any earlier than the august bank holiday. So was thinking of some idea for a cover

 

W

Wombat

Member

BASIS

Location

East yorks

• May 5, 2022

• #10

Derrick Hughes said:

Are you intending to graze

Click to expand...

No it’s purely for over winter to try and stop the clay sealing up

 

Will 1594

Member

Mixed Farmer

Location

Other side of the river to sandringham

• May 7, 2022

• #11

Drive a bit faster with combine ,and leave volenteers and weeds ,to grow and dont move stubble ,will do just as much good ,as you have some roots in it