Morning from the highlands

[Andy84]

Hi I’m new to direct drilling etc but I’m very interested in it going forward. I have taken on a hill farm in Inverness-shire with a lot of Old grassland needing Rejuvenated! In time I am looking at buying a drill and was looking at an SMS disc drill they seem good value for money anyone using one. I’m looking at doing a combination of burning off and drilling in a break crop (forage rape/yellow neeps/kale etc) then back into grass and burning off and straight into grass.
Typical hill farm quite a lot of shallow acidic soil but also some better fields. Any help and pointers etc are greatly received!

 

[Andy84]

I have a set of Opico harrows that I could put a seed box on to save money but I’m of the opinion that tine Harrow air seeders are a waste of time and money unless getting used on mostly black ground. Would people agree with this?

 

[Chae1]

I have a set of Opico harrows that I could put a seed box on to save money but I’m of the opinion that tine Harrow air seeders are a waste of time and money unless getting used on mostly black ground. Would people agree with this?

Yes. Waste of time.

 

[Andy84]

Yes. Waste of time.

yeah I thought so!

 

[Short_Angus]

I have a set of Opico harrows that I could put a seed box on to save money but I’m of the opinion that tine Harrow air seeders are a waste of time and money unless getting used on mostly black ground. Would people agree with this?

I've shared a Sherbourne harrow with a Stocks air seeder with a mate for over 10 years now and if you're looking for results the same year as sowing you will be disappointed. It's the following year the benefits are seen. The pic below is a good example of a field that I thought had a poor take, sprayed (Lark/Galgon) mid May, cut end of June, overseeded 2nd July. Didn't think it looked too great last autumn but have seen that often with overseeding. Biggest danger is drought after sowing as with any crop.

Don't make the mistake of thinking overseeding is a replacement for a full reseed because it's certainly not that, but it can buy you a few years provided there are still some of the original sown grasses left in the sward. I think 5/6 years is the longest term overseed mix available.

 

[Zebbedee]

Heavy discs then power Harrow drill, simple and I think your rotation of fodder crop then grass can work. Grass back to grass needs ploughed to give a result but I guess on thin ground you don’t want to Plough. Soil samples are a must to check PH levels and drainage is also a huge factor
( shameless plug but if you need lime work done give us a shout)

 

[Dave6170]

Get lime on before you do anything else

 

[Sharpy]

I have a set of Opico harrows that I could put a seed box on to save money but I’m of the opinion that tine Harrow air seeders are a waste of time and money unless getting used on mostly black ground. Would people agree with this?

If you cant get soil seed contact you are wasting your time regardless of drill. End of story.