Vetch Trial / experiment

renewablejohn

Member
Location
lancs
Could you have crown vetch - Securigera varia? That appears to be a problem vetch.
PS my girlfriend will be very annoyed if I have planted a perennial weed in the veg patch. Hahaha

Thankfully not. There both very similar with long lines of flowers just different colours. If I remember when there in flower I will post on here. There already growing quite strongly although I might have knocked one area back by using the discs to kill some of the rushes and open up the sward.
 

jd24

Member
Thankfully not. There both very similar with long lines of flowers just different colours. If I remember when there in flower I will post on here. There already growing quite strongly.
Well if the vetches I have planted come back next year I won't be impressed. I planted vicia sativa and are described as a hardy annual by the distributor. Makes me wonder if I should spray them off now but the whole point was to not use spray....
So have your troublesome vetch survived glyphosate? I find some annoying weeds a spring application is the only time of year it works. Not great if you are trying to grow a crop.....
 

renewablejohn

Member
Location
lancs
Well if the vetches I have planted come back next year I won't be impressed. I planted vicia sativa and are described as a hardy annual by the distributor. Makes me wonder if I should spray them off now but the whole point was to not use spray....
So have your troublesome vetch survived glyphosate? I find some annoying weeds a spring application is the only time of year it works. Not great if you are trying to grow a crop.....

Its not troublesome I actively try to encourage it as its very good for the bees and has not caused any problems making hay.
 

jd24

Member
I'll go a little into why I trialed the Vetches on this small patch....
So my father let out our farm for a long period but we have decided to take in back in hand. We were are dairy farm with about 90 cows, 80 stock cattle and about 250 sheep back in 1998 when we stopped. We had muck coming out of our ears. Basically the soil was quite nutrient rich. Maybe even too rich. The tenant farmer has used the land pretty well and rotated crops but the level of nutrients are much lower. I want to bring back some fertility into the soil over the next few years with a grass ley and graze the fields. My father is traditional and thinks a good grass/clover mix is the way to go and I dont doubt that. I have been wondering if we need to do a bit more to kick start it. We dont have any stock for muck so I wonder about using something like vetches with the grass ley then topping them in the spring to boost organic matter and broadcasting clover to take over the N job. Clearly with grass we will need to lime the ground which hasnt been done for a while.
Am i over complicating the whole matter. Should I just do a good ley and let the grazing do the rest?
 

KMA

Member
Location
Dumfriesshire
Maybe before you spend time and money doing much more you should get the ground tested and see just what the situation is and take it from there. Sounds (and looks in the pics) to me as if it's in pretty good shape.
 

renewablejohn

Member
Location
lancs
Thankfully not. There both very similar with long lines of flowers just different colours. If I remember when there in flower I will post on here. There already growing quite strongly although I might have knocked one area back by using the discs to kill some of the rushes and open up the sward.

Far from knocking the area back using the discs the yellow vetch has really spread. Both are now in full flower but struggling to load pictures up.
 

Little squeak

Member
Location
Lancashire
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for anyone who is interested my vetch infesting the spring barley is now coming into flower. I have no idea on the variety or how to get rid of it. Its just in small patches above the corn but this is more lurking below small amounts are OK but when it gets above the barley and blockes the combine the driver isn't best pleased.
 
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jd24

Member
View attachment 554106 View attachment 554102 View attachment 554102 View attachment 554102 for anyone who is interested my vetch infesting the spring barley is now coming into flower. I have no idea on the variety or how to get rid of it. Its just in small patches above the corn but this is more lurking below small amounts are OK but when it gets above the barley and blockes the combine the driver isn't best pleased.
How annoying. The problem is the cereals are mature and the vetch is green still. The vetch will eventually dry and would go through the combine but not in time for your barley. I have found my trial area even with aggressive mowing and some spray I still have many plants regrowing. Annual ? I'm not so sure now
 

jd24

Member
It grows in a very similar manner to Red clover. If you cut it long it will keep going. If you cut it short if pretty much seems to kill it or very little regrowth particularly if the mulch lays on it. The problem is its life cycle is quicker than wheat or barley so it will go to seed before harvest. Your combine will then be spewing all those seeds out
 

jd24

Member
The trial patch I did was interesting. The problem I think we had with ours is the biomass and N produced was too high for some of the vegetables we planted after. Everything grew too well and too leafy. Great if you are planting a cereal. Not good for fruits I think or veg that requires a low N and higher P & K
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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