- Location
- Lincolnshire
What we are looking at has been tried already. It’s organic farming. A niche sector that can’t compete with conventionally produced foreign imports and if those imports stopped it probably couldn’t feed our population anyway.
While I’ll keep trying to reduce pesticide usage. I think that we need to be very careful we don’t end up commercially unviable due to low yields and poor quality.
Back to the thread, the only way I can see of getting a crop of OSR is a Rolls Royce seedbed in late August, so a fine seedbed, uniform depth, good seed to soil contact and hope for some rain. I think the days of chucking the seed onto a straw mat saturated with residuals between clay boulders then crashing over it with the rolls are long gone. You might getaway with that approach but it adds to risk. Flea beetle love a rough seedbed and dry weather in my experience. So if I grow it I’ll plough in late august and drill right behind the plough. N but no preems in the seedbed.
maybe just one last try but I’ll want to know the crack with the seed price deal. I have no home saved seed and aren’t going to break law. If I have to pay top whack for new seed and take all the risk then forget it.
While I’ll keep trying to reduce pesticide usage. I think that we need to be very careful we don’t end up commercially unviable due to low yields and poor quality.
Back to the thread, the only way I can see of getting a crop of OSR is a Rolls Royce seedbed in late August, so a fine seedbed, uniform depth, good seed to soil contact and hope for some rain. I think the days of chucking the seed onto a straw mat saturated with residuals between clay boulders then crashing over it with the rolls are long gone. You might getaway with that approach but it adds to risk. Flea beetle love a rough seedbed and dry weather in my experience. So if I grow it I’ll plough in late august and drill right behind the plough. N but no preems in the seedbed.
maybe just one last try but I’ll want to know the crack with the seed price deal. I have no home saved seed and aren’t going to break law. If I have to pay top whack for new seed and take all the risk then forget it.