Heavy soil spring cropping

[Porkchops57]

Evening All,

scratching my head over a field roughly 10 acres which is extremely heavy clay soil. it has been ploughed but left a week or so but i have no idea how to go about putting a crop into the ground or what crop to put in. i have a combination drill but it just leaves it very cloddy/lumpy if too dry and impassable if too wet. have access to contractors with various drills. i have barley seed and grass seed and would happily buy some other seed in.

im out of ideas/losing the will to live

so the questions are that follows - on very very heavy clay

what shall i grow?

how shall i drill it?

enjoy! TIA

 

[teslacoils]

When was it ploughed?

 

[Porkchops57]

When was it ploughed?

ploughed 10 days ago. was spring barley last time around so was stubble. sprayed with roundup prior to ploughing.

 

[Wombat]

the issue was the ploughing this side of xmas

 

[Phil P]

Wait for it to dry but not bake, power Harrow leave it over night then combi drill. Problem is getting a long enough weather window for it to dry out enough if it’s had heavy rain on it after ploughing.
I’d go spring oats then get it into permanent winter wheat or even grass if it’s that heavy.

 

[z.man]

Wait for it to dry but not bake, power Harrow leave it over night then combi drill. Problem is getting a long enough weather window for it to dry out enough if it’s had heavy rain on it after ploughing.
I’d go spring oats then get it into permanent winter wheat or even grass if it’s that heavy.

That’s how I’d do it get it 85% dry break the top let it dry another day then sow remember patience is the key

 

[tr250]

Patients and luck is what you need at a guess.
probably power Harrow when dry enough to travel may need to take rear roller off. Then either wait till hazzled enough to travel with combi

 

[teslacoils]

ploughed 10 days ago. was spring barley last time around so was stubble. sprayed with roundup prior to ploughing.

Unless it has ploughed like liver and has lots of gaps, it's probably not that heavy. Get it levelled out with the power harrow (not deep, don't smear it) or a drag, and look again in a few weeks. We're not even going to look at drilling barley for a fortnight. As long as it's planted by mid April will be ok.

 

[Cowcorn]

Let it dry on top then run the pigtails through it . Power harrow in front of the combi and cambridge rolls behind should suffice
Heavy land can grow great crops of spring barley but you have to to get the timing right not to dry or you will never break it and not to wet or it will pack rather than till .
Anyway settle yourself no hurry im only getting slurry and dung spread on my mud pie before ploughing maybe next week .

 

[Porkchops57]

Cheers guys. It sounds like im on a similar wave length with the consensus - its just getting the right moisture/dryness of the soil to go into (not too hard not too soft). But i feel i may leave it a while before the powerharrow goes through it and drill into the more forgiving stuff