Crimp rolling cover crops

[robot Jerseys]

We're organic and did try some winter rye then dd maize into it with a 750a last year. Not the perfect test as the rye was drilled to late after I had the idea/seen most of the above videos in December so was slow to get tall enough and when the maize was drilled it was to dry for germination, but it did eventually all germinate but the weeds didn't. Crop only got waist hight but there is potential.

 

[New Puritan]

@robot Jerseys - interesting, thanks.

 

[BSH]

There was a video of a system in france using beans as a winter cover crop that could be roller crimped in the spring, but i dont have a link. I think in an organic situation a form of shallow tillage in strips is probably the best way of preserving soil in a sort of hybrid model. You can do some cover cropping in the strips and dd through them on occasion and then alternate the strips using tillage. The problem is the getting set up with the equipment to do this.

 

[Fuzzy]

If the idea is to produce as the Americans would say a soil armour then flail top it, but you need a disc drill to plant any crops.

My cover crop was planted back in October with Mustard+vetch+volunteer spring barley. I did try rolling some (similar to crimping) in January but about 25% stood back up again after a few days, so i decided to flail it off in a frost. Result was a 95% kill

2 weeks ago I drilled (a barley/beans companion crop) into my cover crop with a Horsch co tine drill with metcalfe points.
My plan was to roundup pre emergence of the barley and beans but its bit wet to do anything at the moment, hoping i can get it done this weekend

 

[hendrebc]

I had a really weird maybe stupid idea today after i turned some sheep into the garden to graze the lawn.
Theyve completley flattened the daffodils and in the week since they went out they have started to turn into a yellow mat on the ground much like a crimped cover crop would do. Could daffodils or something similar work? Have snowdrops in for early winter growth then daffodils coming up later or something? Theyre bound to lie flat with a roller and even if it doesnt they will be gone by harvest anyway and grow back the next year from the bulbs.
I know there are lots of problems with this like killing them off if they need to rid of and spraying winter crops pribably a load more i havent thought of. Just an idea for you to ponder

 

[Great In Grass]

I had a really weird maybe stupid idea today after i turned some sheep into the garden to graze the lawn.
Theyve completley flattened the daffodils and in the week since they went out they have started to turn into a yellow mat on the ground much like a crimped cover crop would do. Could daffodils or something similar work? Have snowdrops in for early winter growth then daffodils coming up later or something? Theyre bound to lie flat with a roller and even if it doesnt they will be gone by harvest anyway and grow back the next year from the bulbs.
I know there are lots of problems with this like killing them off if they need to rid of and spraying winter crops pribably a load more i havent thought of. Just an idea for you to ponder

Daffodils contain a toxic chemical, lycorine.

 

[hendrebc]

Daffodils contain a toxic chemical, lycorine.

I did say there would be problems i hadnt thought of

 

[Great In Grass]

I did say there would be problems i hadnt thought of

I think it's more concentrated in the bulb.

 

[hendrebc]

What do cut flower farmers do with fields after theyve harvested the flowers?

 

[Great In Grass]

What do cut flower farmers do with fields after theyve harvested the flowers?

Down here with the Daffs I think they take the flowers for 2-3 years then the last year don't cut but after a while harvest the bulbs, then move on.