How late is too late to sow wholecrop?

[Mowerzstuff]

Interested to hear how late you would consider drilling wholecrop peas & barley in the Southwest on heavy clay soil? New to growing this after being recommended it for a protein crop. The field has just got dry enough to kill off with this intention or should I just be going in with maize instead? Thanks

 

[goodevans]

Spring barley has been planted on 2 farms neighbouring me following whole crop rye,so last few days of June or 1st week of July and then whole cropped ,south shropshire,not a big crop but a crop

 

[harperfarmer]

Stil got 100acres oats to go in. Not worried yet as have planted into May and still taken 11t/acre freshweight on a good growing year. Have equally had it where we've taken 5t/acre due to lack of rain. So I'd say its more down to moisture/conditions than date per-say.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Whole crop can be planted a lot later
End of may would still be ok

 

[YELROM]

Interested to hear how late you would consider drilling wholecrop peas & barley in the Southwest on heavy clay soil? New to growing this after being recommended it for a protein crop. The field has just got dry enough to kill off with this intention or should I just be going in with maize instead? Thanks

I’ve never grown peas but thought they were a light land crop, would you be better off planting beans if it’s heavy clay land

 

[Will Blackburn]

Not beans for wholecrop, too late maturity.

 

[Barleycorn]

We've just finished planting ours, we're organic so we like to plant later, (not that it was our choice this year), so it 'gets up and goes', beating the weeds. Have planted bin May before with a good crop.

 

[Mowerzstuff]

Thanks all! The replys have been very reassuring as all I’ve been hearing is that it’s too late & should be drilling maize instead.

 

[mar]

Thanks all! The replys have been very reassuring as all I’ve been hearing is that it’s too late & should be drilling maize instead.

The first line of this article say it needs 12-15 weeks to grow, you should be aiming for 12 weeks because after that the grain starts to fall of if you were mowing and baling it so as to reduce losses. When is the latest date you want to cut it and then work back to get your sowing date

https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2018/Forage-Crops.pdf

 

[Andyrob]

Not beans for wholecrop, too late maturity.

beans do well for wholecrop tho

plus here we got thew wholecrop coming off and second whole crop / oat

 

[deleted user 837354]

I wouldn't sow peas or beans in wholecrop- it complicates weed control. If you want protein, grow grass.

Sow spring barley now and you should get a nice crop of good starch content. Soil test, add slurry or correct P and K, then drill it and apply all the nitrogen immediately after drilling. Spray with herbicide + fungicide when crops closes over and begins to see weed ingress. Possibly a second fungicide when paintbrush stage. Keep watching the crop as it matures because it will go from green as grass to approaching combine stage in the blink of an eye and you'll cus because the D value of it falls like a stone.

Far too late for spring wheat, would grow spring oats also if no spring barley seed about. Just need to be careful with herbicide options.