Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
No till and cover crops in Scotland
- Thread starter jh.
- Start date
Only got one spring barley field cut so far as stuff is just refusing to ripen . Took a rubbed sample this afternoon in the next field I thought would be ready , 12 days glyphosate and still 20 plus % but the sun just wasn't for coming out so combine got left in the shed . Might regret that but nothing else pushing .
Walking them seems a real mixed bag so don't know if I could make any decisions from this year other than if this is the future it's probably making cover crops too late unless they can be spread in standing crops .
Pre Christmas ploughing definitely works best on this place . Also seems crops are a bit stronger where the straw was chopped and ploughed rather than baled . Stuff ploughed after say mid February gets poorer and March/April ploughed stand out as worst . The claydon area looks a cracking crop given what it went into (straw baled) . Mintill where it was baled also looks a pretty good crop but where the straw was chopped is poor , almost like it's lost tillers early on and also fairly short too . Total reversal of what I've noticed with ploughed stuff and straw chopped or baled .
Opened it up tonight . Took a run the way it was sown but due to the brackling I was loosing a lot of heads with the wide rows. Will try at a 45 deg angle when we get back to it . Seems a decent enough crop yield despite the brackling.
Stones and lifters don't mix but have them on this year to try a lift more before the knife .
Stones and lifters don't mix but have them on this year to try a lift more before the knife .
Sandy
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Certainly looks worse . Going at an angle has helped with the 12.5cm rows so perhaps the claydon will be the same .
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Possibly the year with the ground getting pounded all winter with rain , then a drought during emergence but without a doubt the claydon crop was better than anything March or April ploughed with power harrow and then combi drilled.
I'm not a fan of the spacing or crowded rows for spring barley but claydon offer a twin tine set up which looks very interesting for the job and also looks like it would bring up less stones with points not being winged .
Our oats really shook in the winds , even before they where ready for round up so nothing we could have done about it , so I had shallow disced the stubbles knowing they would green up . I now have a cracking volunteer cover crop , so tempted to leave them and see if we can try another DD plot next spring
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Thanks for the reply. Do you think the twin tine would reduce the issue of brackling?
ratchet spanner
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Where about are you? What is the mix and when did you spin it on? Looks awesome. Are you going to graze it before spring barley again?
We are at Laurencekirk. That mix was mustard, radish, vetch and phacelia. It was broadcast on the 13th of August about a fortnight before harvest.
We have considered grazing it but wanting the vetch to fix as much N as we can especially in the spring and not convinced it will grow away again after being grazed
We have considered grazing it but wanting the vetch to fix as much N as we can especially in the spring and not convinced it will grow away again after being grazed
What did you broadcast it with and what tramline size are you at . Looks ideal
Sandy
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Did you scratch the seed in after it was combine?
- Location
- Scotland
Looks brilliant. Do you think it would have stood up on of the straw was baled and removed? @rjmitch21
Yes we did some for a neighbour who baled the straw and there was more tracking in it and some of the covers rotted out under the bout but on a whole the cover crop was there. The headland areas were much more tramped with the bales being carted in and out