How many farms are using voluntary / unpaid fallow in their rotation?

[yellow belly]

I'm coming round to the view that blackgrass isn't horrid at all (it is after all a plant, not an emissary of Satan), but, as the vicar would say, it is a sign from the lawd God almighty that we are farming the wrong way or what we modern people call an indicator species (also telling us we are farming the wrong way).

The land in the photo above had a lot of blackgrass on it when we sowed a multi-species cover crop . The cover didn't grow that well and got mullahed by the drill demos. However the blackgrass that survived looked properly unhappy, but seeded freely as we took our eye off the ball a bit. We sowed another cover the next year, this time it (the cover) grew rather better and wasn't hit by the drill demos. This is what we drilled this wheat into. There is next to no blackgrass to be seen. All we have applied is one glyphosate spray post drilling.

OK, a bit drastic taking land out of production for two years to get rid of some weeds. What I find interesting is that you do not need to get the bg to chit or bury the seeds eight inches down to get rid of them. Leave them on the surface and create an environment that doesn't suit them. They will disappear if you don't give them an easy ride. Sorry gone slightly off-topic...

I am finding this also bg is a very shallow rooter and needs nitrogen to produce viable seed
leave it on the soil surface and you get less plants established imho it is an arable weed where soil is cultivated and autumn planted crops every year

 

[Feldspar]

I wanted to ask a bit more about how to make fallow land not turn into a sad, muddy mess at the end of its time.

I remember trying to drill OSR in one field which was actually quite nice meadow soil. It grew an amazing crop of black-grass which was sprayed off on 15 May and left. The BG residue left a mat which covered the soil surface. The weather was not super dry and we had a hell of a job to try and drill OSR into. We went out a few times with the Mzuri but it would not go. In the end our last attempt of 7 September lead to a failed crop (although that was only partly to do with conditions it was drilled into). Basically it was a job and we have much less workable soil in other fields.

What are the chances that fallow that cannot be touched until 1 August could be then drilled with OSR? How could the fallow be managed in order to avoid the above difficulties? It's hard to see, within the restrictions of Mid Tier, what else we could do. Admittedly that field was the worst BG we've ever had. Nowadays the weed is much more under control and so you only have light smattering of BG rather than a carpet in the fallow. This might make the residue mat less of a problem.

On the wheat front, the problem seems easier because you have much more time. If necessary, the whole lot could be cultivated or ploughed, but what are the hopes for zero-tilling / scratch-tilling wheat into a fallow?

 

[Flat 10]

I agree wheat solves a lot of your issues. However wouldn’t you be able to cut the rubbish/ cultivate lightly in all probability in the 2weeks you have before the osr has to be drilled ( weather permitting). 750 go through anything anyway?
I know you can’t with the rules but I think you need a cover on your land to make the soil happy. Mustard or something?

 

[Feldspar]

I agree wheat solves a lot of your issues. However wouldn’t you be able to cut the rubbish/ cultivate lightly in all probability in the 2weeks you have before the osr has to be drilled ( weather permitting). 750 go through anything anyway?
I know you can’t with the rules but I think you need a cover on your land to make the soil happy. Mustard or something?

750a does seem to be not ideal for OSR. Just doesn't fire out of the blocks and put on growth like stuff done behind some sort of soil moving machine.

Do you think going through with a cultivator like a Trio would sort it out in time for wheat?

 

[Flat 10]

750a does seem to be not ideal for OSR. Just doesn't fire out of the blocks and put on growth like stuff done behind some sort of soil moving machine.

Do you think going through with a cultivator like a Trio would sort it out in time for wheat?

Yes

 

[Feldspar]

Yes

What about if zero-tilling / scratch-tilling? Could it be really dead, wet and slabby if just left as a pure fallow until October? Would a cover crop from 1 August until October help much?

 

[Flat 10]

Yes and yes l think.