Cover crop before Spring Beans

Salopian_Will

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Shropshire
We have dabbled with cover crops previously, albeit on a limited basis and with no fixed conclusions. As part of our SFI scheme we are looking to put cover crops in ahead of spring beans. We are on heavy soils but they are regularly (annually) mucked and so the two main aims are to keep hold of nitrogen/nutrients ahead of the beans and to improve soil structure.

It seems to come back to either black or spring oats. Are there issues with beans following vetches? I want to avoid brassicas due to club root concerns. Is there anything else I ought to have in there?
 

Humble Village Farmer

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Essex
Depending on your drilling intentions, I would consider winter and spring oats. Spring oats can die over winter but that might suit you. Spring barley, rye but only if it's cheap, linseed and anything else that's not in your normal rotation and won't become a weed. Phacelia is a good one, at a max 1kg per ha (100g is worth a try).

Black oats are a waste of money. Alot of the species bandied about are quite expensive to buy from suppliers. You can always buy the odd kilo to see what they all do.
 

Salopian_Will

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Shropshire
Depending on your drilling intentions, I would consider winter and spring oats. Spring oats can die over winter but that might suit you. Spring barley, rye but only if it's cheap, linseed and anything else that's not in your normal rotation and won't become a weed. Phacelia is a good one, at a max 1kg per ha (100g is worth a try).

Black oats are a waste of money. Alot of the species bandied about are quite expensive to buy from suppliers. You can always buy the odd kilo to see what they all do.
Thank you. You have confirmed what I thought about Black oats...

What will phacelia bring to the table?

I would not sow any kind of broadleaf species. Grasses/cereals are where you are at. Black oats if you insist. Spring oats will do fine. In fact, what is wrong with a bit of spring barley cleaned off the heap?

Why do you say that about Broad leaf species? Nothing against spring barley but if I could get some spring oats I cannot help but think they might do a bit more for us in terms of rooting & biomass.
 

Humble Village Farmer

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Essex
Phacelia is a small seed so fairly cheap per plant. It doesn't normally feature in arable rotations and adds another species; plus it flowers so makes you feel better and should help pollenators and even predators.
What sort of area?
 

Great In Grass

Member
Location
Cornwall.
A mixture containing Vetch, Phacelia, Berseem Clover, Black Oats and Persian or Crimson Clover is our most popular mixture used in your circumstances.

Something cheaper would be Vetch with either Berseem Clover or Black Oats.
 

DRC

Member
If your going to use spring cereals, why not just do a light cultivation and leave the volunteers to grow from the previous cereal crop. Winter wheat or barley I’d presume.
Or some cheap grass seed that sheep could graze off .
 

Salopian_Will

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Shropshire
If your going to use spring cereals, why not just do a light cultivation and leave the volunteers to grow from the previous cereal crop. Winter wheat or barley I’d presume.
Or some cheap grass seed that sheep could graze off .

I like option 1 although it might be a bit hit and miss for this purpose. We tend to get plenty of volunteers under the swath but less so over the full width. As for option 2 I like it even more but I am not sure it will tick the SFI box.
 
Thank you. You have confirmed what I thought about Black oats...

What will phacelia bring to the table?



Why do you say that about Broad leaf species? Nothing against spring barley but if I could get some spring oats I cannot help but think they might do a bit more for us in terms of rooting & biomass.

I am speaking merely from a weed control perspective. If you have volunteer barley or something growing, you will easily (and cheaply) remove them from a bean crop if they become too thick or a recognised issue.
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
We have dabbled with cover crops previously, albeit on a limited basis and with no fixed conclusions. As part of our SFI scheme we are looking to put cover crops in ahead of spring beans. We are on heavy soils but they are regularly (annually) mucked and so the two main aims are to keep hold of nitrogen/nutrients ahead of the beans and to improve soil structure.

It seems to come back to either black or spring oats. Are there issues with beans following vetches? I want to avoid brassicas due to club root concerns. Is there anything else I ought to have in there?

What's the situation regarding applying muck ahead of spring beans?
 

YELROM

Member
Location
North Yorkshire
plant spring oats straight after harvest
2018 they were knee high by christmas plenty of n in the soil
2019 they took off in januarry when we had a warm dry spell rain washed the n out early in the autumn but warm january released some
2020 did not grow that well no n in the winter autumn
What rate do you plant the oats at?
 

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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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