How best to establish cover crops ?

[Andy Howard]

Until someone can come up with a consistant method of planting covers by spreading/autocasting etc I will drill them so I know I will get reasonable results. By the time you have been over spreading slug pellets, used 50% more seed and then raked or rolled you might as well have done it all the same time with the drill. Would love to get them into a standing crop but with what success? Probably better drilling in a low growing crop into the wheat etc in the early spring which can grow on after harvest.

 

[155tm]

If I strain my brain and remember back to the autocasting days... I recall that the rape would establish well on the best soil, and somewhere between not so well and not at all on the poorer parts of the field. If the same happens when broadcasting cover crops into a standing crop, the better soil will get the benefit not the poorer areas.

A sown crop has more chance of success in the poorer soils.

With the idea of the cover crop being to improve our soils I would be more tempted to alter seed rates, less on the good soil and more in the poor areas to ensure a stand.

 

[Fran Loake]

It would be more than handy to be able to successfully autocast/undersow a cheap, but perfect, multi species cover crop. Something to aim for?? A comment by martian about his experience in the No-till on The Plains conference - "The principles of soil health don't vary that much: minimal disturbance and continual growing cover.." makes me more inclined to find a way to do it. Autocast wouldn't move anything, and a cover crop growing before the last one fully senesced should be spot on.
I can't remember if Frederic Thomas had any thoughts on the subject (my brain was into overload by the end of his talk).
Would strip tillers be able to precision drill between the rows? Would it be possible to plant rape with a biennial companian? or similar?

 

[155tm]

I have suggested somewhere before what about autocasting or broadcasting the small seeds of the mix you wish to establish, then low disturbance drill (ie JD750a) the larger seeds after harvest?

Something would be growing early and the large seed should have it's own energy source to get going in amongst the established small seeds......

Could use variable seed rate on the drill or only drill extra seed on the poorer areas of soil.

 

[Banana Bar]

Morning all. I am very new to this subject and am consequently probabaly going to ask some real numpty questions. On the subject of cover cropping, would OSR volunteers qualify as a cc between OSR and a 1st wheat. If so how soon prior to drilling would you spray off (or would you leave it until post drilling)?

Andrew

 

[BSH]

Clive has successfully done this as have others. You can see his Blog on the BASE-UK web site to see how he got on.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Morning all. I am very new to this subject and am consequently probabaly going to ask some real numpty questions. On the subject of cover cropping, would OSR volunteers qualify as a cc between OSR and a 1st wheat. If so how soon prior to drilling would you spray off (or would you leave it until post drilling)?

Andrew

I've done it a bit as well. Generally because I swath rape I find there isn't that much volunteer left, and a zap of roundup pre drilling. Peasy. The 750 will drill into anything very accurately, be it 5ft high mustard or ploughed field.

I've toyed with putting a cover crop between rape and wheat but not had the guts to do it yet. Sometimes rape isn't picked up until 10th August and a month later I'd like to be drilling wheat so not sure to do it or not.