Cover crop mix

Alistair Nelson

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
E Yorks
Looking at putting in a cover crop after some early vining peas harvested late June ahead of wheat which will be sown late September. Been offered a mixture of Italian rye grass, buckwheat and cammillia.

Abit concerned about the ryegrass that it will stay with us forever, don't know much about the others but look good to me. What are other people's thoughts ?

Thanks

Alistair
 

Great In Grass

Member
Location
Cornwall.
Is the mix to be grazed as buckwheat can be poisonous to sheep causing something similar to sun burn, many say it's not a problem but do you want to be the one to prove them wrong? What's cammillia?

It might be best to tell us what you hope to achieve with a CC and people could make suggestions.
 

Alistair Nelson

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
E Yorks
Thanks no it is not to be grazed. Cammillia looks like it a first cousin to linseed from what I can see. What I am looking to achieve is keep ground alive with roots etc and scavenge nutrients but not have a huge amount of greenery above ground to clear up.
 

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
Thanks no it is not to be grazed. Cammillia looks like it a first cousin to linseed from what I can see. What I am looking to achieve is keep ground alive with roots etc and scavenge nutrients but not have a huge amount of greenery above ground to clear up.

You've forgotten the magic ingredient in any cc mix, phacelia. I'd avoid the ryegrass if you're not going to graze it. I'd go along with both the buckwheat and linseed. I'd also either add vetch or clover which should do well after the peas.
 

Alistair Nelson

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
E Yorks
Thanks Simon. That sounds more like it in my mind will ask the question.

There isn't any phacelia as that was in a mix with Spring oats ahead of the peas and rightly or wrongly thought wanted something different?
 

SimonD

Member
Location
Dorset
Thanks Simon. Was looking at the potential to broadcast before the combine but will now drill as soon as we can get the fields cleared.
 

SimonD

Member
Location
Dorset
I successfully autocast a cover on two fields last autumn, there was phacelia in the mix, and it came as well as all the other seeds. I will do the same again this autumn, if conditions are suitable.
Did you chop the straw so as to cover the seed and I'm assuming this was broadcast before the combine? I think I will more than likely take Simon Chiles advice and drill it though as its a limited area and I'd like to get a good uptake of the available seed.
 

Richard III

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
CW5 Cheshire
Did you chop the straw so as to cover the seed and I'm assuming this was broadcast before the combine? I think I will more than likely take Simon Chiles advice and drill it though as its a limited area and I'd like to get a good uptake of the available seed.

Yes the straw was chopped, the seed was broadcast behind the combine header, on the combine. Conditions at the time were ideal for autocast, ie loads of worm casts and plenty of moisture. I hope to regularly autocast covers in the future, it suits me here. I'm a one man band in an area prone to damp and late harvests.

I would say that you would be very wise to take Simon's advice, there is no point risking problems with photo dormancy and all the other things that can go wrong with broadcasting ahead of the combine. My (one year) experience is that Phacelia can be autocast successfully under straw though.
 

SimonD

Member
Location
Dorset
Yes the straw was chopped, the seed was broadcast behind the combine header, on the combine. Conditions at the time were ideal for autocast, ie loads of worm casts and plenty of moisture. I hope to regularly autocast covers in the future, it suits me here. I'm a one man band in an area prone to damp and late harvests.

I would say that you would be very wise to take Simon's advice, there is no point risking problems with photo dormancy and all the other things that can go wrong with broadcasting ahead of the combine. My (one year) experience is that Phacelia can be autocast successfully under straw though.

With the current price of cover crop seed I will need to ensure every seed counts. If I had a heap of the stuff I would be more inclined to broadcast, seems to work well enough behind the combine with volunteers, especially OSR.

Need to look more at chopping straw but with 2nd Wheats this year it was better to remove it.
 

Devon James

Member
Location
Devon
Would like to run through the osr stubbles to mix in the massive amount of pod trash. In the past have done this with a spring tine and by time come back to drill all the trash has disappeared.
Was then thinking I could use the drill to do this and put some linseed in the tank. This is will be cheap as it's leftover from last year. 20kgs a hectare?
Shall I buy some buckwheat to add to the mix?
 

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