Ploughing

[Derrick Hughes]

Plough it as soon as it's dry enough , leave it until early spring , work it down then leave it until early may , light Harrow to take out weeds that gave germinatated and sow seed

 

[Flatlander]

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?

Couch isn’t going to be smothered. That sh1t has been the scurge of the earth since time began. Best hope for slowing it would be to rotavate it and chop it up. Let it regrow just a little then go again. Will weaken it some. Roundup is your only real option. Would be the cheapest too. I’d personally rotavate it to shorten rhizome length and let it get decent regrowth and hit it hard with RU. Wait a week the broadcast the seed and lightly rotavate again at two inches deepTo mix seeds in and roll.

 

[Ali_Maxxum]

Is it a single 2 acre plot or multiple plots that add up to 2 acres? What is it currently? Grassland? I would also try and avoid ploughing and just heavy harrow, broadcast, harrow, then roll.

 

[yellow belly]

If you multicultivate to reduce the couch the worms and other animal wild life in the soil will not benefit and be reduced

glyphosate is the only alternative to a spring summer bare land fallow

 

[Vader]

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.

Game cover for wild birds.
Do you mean game cover for wild game birds, or wild bird blocks for birds?

Whichever you will require chemicals at some point or they will end up full of grass or broadleaf weeds.

 

[ollie989898]

Round up it, plant kale and put on some pre-emergence spray.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

If you don't want to spray it off, Plough it in the spring, let it dry, then pull a spring tile harrow through it several times at different angles letting it dry between passes overnight, row the couch roots up with an old acrobat and burn it, then drag spring tine harrows through again a couple of times, row it up an burn it, once Happy you have got it, sow game cover

 

[Derrick Hughes]

What are you doing with the vetch ?

 

[essexpete]

Slightly different perhaps, but i did a small sub acre plot for wild flower mix for a neighbour. Late Summer/Early autumn sprayed off with roundup then rotavated. Harrowed down , broadcast seed and rolled. All looked good until all the weed seeds I had disturbed kicked off in the spring.
With hindsight it should have been flailed, rotavated (that was what was available), harrowed to tilth, allowed to green up sprayed and then broadcast/rolled.
In my limited experience, plants that thrive in given soil type and have viable seed for many years can so easily out compete introduced species.

 

[thesilentone]

Slightly different perhaps, but i did a small sub acre plot for wild flower mix for a neighbour. Late Summer/Early autumn sprayed off with roundup then rotavated. Harrowed down , broadcast seed and rolled. All looked good until all the weed seeds I had disturbed kicked off in the spring.
With hindsight it should have been flailed, rotavated (that was what was available), harrowed to tilth, allowed to green up sprayed and then broadcast/rolled.
I my limited experience, plants that thrive in given soil type and have viable seed for many years can so easily out compete introduced species.

Spot on, however the op has made it clear no spraying, which I assume is to protect the old meadow seeds that may still exist.

With only a couple of acres, he/she can afford to experiment.

 

[David1968]

If you don't want to spray it off, Plough it in the spring, let it dry, then pull a spring tile harrow through it several times at different angles letting it dry between passes overnight, row the couch roots up with an old acrobat and burn it, then drag spring tine harrows through again a couple of times, row it up an burn it, once Happy you have got it, sow game cover

Yes, this will work with patience and some favourable weather.

I think we should respect the OP knows his own mind when he stipulated no spray.