Ploughing

Benj

Member
Horticulture
Hi all,
I'm not a farmer but I've got some land and I want to sow 2 acres of game cover for wild birds next spring. I won't use chemicals so when would be the best time to plough and how many times would I need to harrow before seeding?
How much would it cost to hire a contractor to do the job?
Thanks in advance. Benj.
 

Benj

Member
Horticulture
Thanks but the seed guys say to bury the seeds 20mm. I did a trial this year and got phacelia and mustard to grow well. That patch is now down to vetch and most of the weeds have gone.
 

Benj

Member
Horticulture
Yes but it's not big, Kubota 7001 16hp. I can plough and rotavate but I think it would be better to get someone in for that area
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
West wales
Where About’s? Private message if you prefer.
A rotavator would do enough or if you do want the whole job doing properly PM and I’ll probably know someone in your area that does that sort of work - as long as they can actually get through the gateway.
 
Hi all,
I'm not a farmer but I've got some land and I want to sow 2 acres of game cover for wild birds next spring. I won't use chemicals so when would be the best time to plough and how many times would I need to harrow before seeding?
How much would it cost to hire a contractor to do the job?
Thanks in advance. Benj.

You could just rotovate it.

You're going to get weeds no matter what. Sow your chosen cover and I'm sure something useful will grow up as cover. Even the weeds will be useful, hopefully they won't bury your crop.

You need to wait until the soil is warm to sow game cover. Timing depends on the species in your mixture though.

A go with a roller after drilling may be useful.
 

Benj

Member
Horticulture
Yes I thought I would plough early then harrow a couple of times before seeding in May. However I've just learned (Thanks AI R) that I would spread the couch grass doing it that way. Really don't want to use chems though. Maybe a season of something like buckwheat first to smother the couch?
 

quattro

Member
Location
scotland
Yes I thought I would plough early then harrow a couple of times before seeding in May. However I've just learned (Thanks AI R) that I would spread the couch grass doing it that way. Really don't want to use chems though. Maybe a season of something like buckwheat first to smother the couch?
Use roundup to get rid of couch,or I’m afraid you will have years fighting it
 

David1968

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
SW Scotland
Rotavating will chop up the roots and only multiply the problem. If you want to be chemical free the best bet is to spring tine it in the Spring time, as soon as it's dry, to bring the roots to the surface. If it's really bad you may be able to windrow them with the cultivator or a set of mounted harrows and collect them up somehow. You might have to repeat this a couple of times. Even the bits you don't get might dry up and die if they're left on the surface.

If the ground is a bit hard you might be better to plough first to loosen it up then the spring tines will work better at pulling up the roots without breaking them into pieces.
 

quattro

Member
Location
scotland
Rotavating will chop up the roots and only multiply the problem. If you want to be chemical free the best bet is to spring tine it in the Spring time, as soon as it's dry, to bring the roots to the surface. If it's really bad you may be able to windrow them with the cultivator or a set of mounted harrows and collect them up somehow. You might have to repeat this a couple of times. Even the bits you don't get might dry up and die if they're left on the surface.

If the ground is a bit hard you might be better to plough first to loosen it up then the spring tines will work better at pulling up the roots without breaking them into pieces.
If you desperately don’t want to spray and it’s real bad leave it fallow and keep repeating above
 

thesilentone

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cumbria
If it's dry enough to travel, pile plenty of FYM on it now.

Plough once the frost has gone in the spring, then wait until it's warm before tilling. Make a fine seed bed, drill, then roll.
 

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