Old pastures

[db1210]

Has anyone ever direct drilled old pastures it a old airfield the land hasn't been touch for over 60 years just topped it lovely soil

 

[Sharpy]

You might be better asking in Livestock, pretty common reseeding technique.

 

[db1210]

You might be better asking in Livestock, pretty common reseeding technique.

Sorry ment to say want to put down winter wheat

 

[Sharpy]

Sorry ment to say want to put down winter wheat

Yes, but if you can successfully get grass to take, wheat should be a doddle.

 

[hendrebc]

I've put spring barley into old permanent pasture there's pictures on here somewhere. Livestock farmer style though sprayed off, drilled in then left till it was cut for wholecrop. Was told it wouldn't work and leatherjackets something would kill it but it did fine. Put it in again in the same fields this year but it didn't do so well mildew of some sort ruined it (is unsprayed cereal for environmental scheme) If your an arable farmer who knows his way around a sprayer then you should be fine I would think from my limited knowledge of cropping.

 

[db1210]

Yes, but if you can successfully get grass to take, wheat should be a doddle.

Do think I will get a problem with leather jacket

 

[Sharpy]

Do think I will get a problem with leather jacket

I would think that it wiĺl depend on the soil type and current leatherjacket population. Check the numbers first, but surely the ground being tighter with no ploughing has to help.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Can you lime it? Generally speaking, plopping a decent amount of lime on old pasture can really deter springtails and slugs and the like - we don't really have leatherjackets and frit fly over here to comment on them.
But liming a while ahead of drilling can help quite a bit, with quite a lot of things.

Good advice above.

Have you done any soil tests, is anything particularly limiting in this field?

 

[Badshot]

With no chlorpyrifos, and only signal seed dressing available now id put beans rather than wheat.

 

[Will Blackburn]

With no chlorpyrifos, and only signal seed dressing available now id put beans rather than wheat.

That is what i've changed to. Wheat was still hit and miss with chlorpyrifos, possibly something to do with nematodes?

 

[hendrebc]

That is what i've changed to. Wheat was still hit and miss with chlorpyrifos, possibly something to do with nematodes?

Like o said I know very little about crops but would my spring barley have worked better than wheat because it was spring sown and grows much quicker than a winter crop so it gets stronger before the nematodes or whatever get a chance to do too much damage to it?

 

[Will Blackburn]

Like o said I know very little about crops but would my spring barley have worked better than wheat because it was spring sown and grows much quicker than a winter crop so it gets stronger before the nematodes or whatever get a chance to do too much damage to it?

I think so? Barley has always been regarded as safer round here.

 

[Granite Farmer]

I'm planning on dding some forage crop, a brassica mix, into very old pasture. I was not able the lime it in the autumn so would this have a detrimental effect on the establishing crop this spring even if it's limed soonest.

 

[Devon James]

I'm planning on dding some forage crop, a brassica mix, into very old pasture. I was not able the lime it in the autumn so would this have a detrimental effect on the establishing crop this spring even if it's limed soonest.

Hi GF. If it needs lime perhaps of the fields will travel it would be good to lime. The sooner it's on the sooner it will be fixing the problem? Whether it wash in or not is another thing! What is the pH?