Min till grass establishment

Chae1

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
Looking at spring cropping and hoping to avoid undersowing Spring barley and establishing grass in Autumn. Would like to go over it with vaderstad carrier or similar to create seedbed then roll, and sow grass with grass Harrow.

If it was late I could use a mixture without clover. Anyone doing similar? Will there be a yield penalty compared to ploughing, power harrowing etc? I've about 70 acres to do so want to get it right.

Fed up with half crops of Spring barley in under sown crops and poor weed control.

@Great In Grass

TIA
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Put Italians and some with clover in by using discs (discordan) then PH then einbock or CO4. It could do without PH on some fields!
Getting 26t/acre on Italians over 4 cuts for a few years so can't be that bad.
 
Use min til but we put in after a couple of years break crop of wheat/ barley. Guess depends on your land, weather etc but did it years ago in an oldish pasture with limited success. I think unless ideal conditions it struggles to get established with a thickness of old roots, but as I say just my experience my land etc
 

Great In Grass

Member
Location
Cornwall.
Can't see any problems with your suggested establishment method.

In your part of the world a loose fluffy seedbed needs to be avoided more than ever so roll and perhaps roll again to get the desired firmness before sowing, then again after sowing with a flat roller which exerts a more uniform firmness and creates a good seed to soil contact.

50kg to 60kg of NPK/ha to the seedbed to get the young seedlings up and away before the weather turns so you will have healthy plants going into the winter.

Check pH excreta and choose the correct seed mix to suit.
 
Looking at spring cropping and hoping to avoid undersowing Spring barley and establishing grass in Autumn. Would like to go over it with vaderstad carrier or similar to create seedbed then roll, and sow grass with grass Harrow.

If it was late I could use a mixture without clover. Anyone doing similar? Will there be a yield penalty compared to ploughing, power harrowing etc? I've about 70 acres to do so want to get it right.

Fed up with half crops of Spring barley in under sown crops and poor weed control.

@Great In Grass

TIA

Go direct irg will germinate at much lower temps
This is forage rye stright in with Muzri drill
ImageUploadedByThe Farming Forum1487963437.014680.jpg
after spring barley photo January
 

GTB

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Looking at spring cropping and hoping to avoid undersowing Spring barley and establishing grass in Autumn. Would like to go over it with vaderstad carrier or similar to create seedbed then roll, and sow grass with grass Harrow.

If it was late I could use a mixture without clover. Anyone doing similar? Will there be a yield penalty compared to ploughing, power harrowing etc? I've about 70 acres to do so want to get it right.

Fed up with half crops of Spring barley in under sown crops and poor weed control.

@Great In Grass

TIA
Are you planning to DD the Barley or just the grass. Local contractor sowed some grass ley for a friend using a guttler greenmaster after Barley and it took well by all accounts.
 

Chae1

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
Are you planning to DD the Barley or just the grass. Local contractor sowed some grass ley for a friend using a guttler greenmaster after Barley and it took well by all accounts.
Will establish the barley with plough then one pass ph drill. Will get the field and ends completely level then in preparation for min tilling grass seed after harvest.

Will put pre emergence on to keep out amg and spray off barley with glyphosate to minimise weeds.
 

vinnie123

Member
Location
dorset
Put a lot of grass straight into stubbles last autumn with vaderstad rapid drill, drilled some once and cross drilled others, all look well. The cross drilled stuff had a lovely tilth second time over without putting too much metal in the ground, the drilling discs alone did a great job.
 

Q65

Member
Location
Perthshire
I had the same thought process when putting some grass in a couple of years ago, decided in the end to plough and sow after barley. I was concerned about any residual effect of the meadow grass control would have on the newly sown grass if I'd min tilled.
 

KennyO

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Angus
@Chae1 we do some short term leys after WB. Just give it a shallow grub the in with one pass. Cambridge roll after. It is never billiard table level but does us fine for silage.
 

nacnud

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Aberdeenshire
Just don't be too late! I've made that mistake. A little bit late turned very late due to very dry conditions just after sowing so slow germination and it just didn't do well over winter.
 

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