Preparing spring seed bed in the autumn.

[Clive]

Hi All,

I have Weaving Sabre tine drill and I am looking to grow spring oats after wheat next spring. I have ploughed and pressed because there are some patches of black grass. Ideally I want to spray off the BG/weeds in the spring and then go straight in with my drill, with as little soil disturbance as possible.

My question is: How should I leave the soil over winter? Leave it as it is? Should I lightly harrow and level it out? Prepare a normal seedbed and leave?

What do people think?

Thanks in advance.

It’s should have been prepared in August and have a 3ft tall mixed cover on it by now !

 

[britt]

It’s should have been prepared in August and have a 3ft tall mixed cover on it by now !

3 ft !
You must have had a lot more rain than us since harvest Clive.
I have field of stubble turnips, planted 3rd August, which, before the rain 10 days ago, were wilting in the afternoons and are way behind where they should be.
Neighbours (who cultivate) have lost their rape crops.

 

[Clive]

3 ft !
You must have had a lot more rain than us since harvest Clive.
I have field of stubble turnips, planted 3rd August, which, before the rain 10 days ago, were wilting in the afternoons and are way behind where they should be.
Neighbours (who cultivate) have lost their rape crops.

At least 3ft here maybe 4ft here - certainly easy to loose a Labrador in !

It’s been very dry here as well and still
Is really (first meaningful rain since early June was 2 weeks ago)

 

[yellow belly]

At least 3ft here maybe 4ft here - certainly easy to loose a Labrador in !

It’s been very dry here as well and still
Is really (first meaningful rain since early June was 2 weeks ago)

My cover with oats into wheat in early August is now 2ft on the best doubled in size the last week
Oats planted after spring barley early September oats starting to fill in well a foot high barley in trails that got going before the straw was bailed now just showing it awns

 

[Clive]

I’m hoping we get this cold snap - lot of species flowering and I don’t want them setting seed. Need a good frost

 

[blueknightrick]

As I started this thread off last year and it has got picked up again, so I thought I would update it.

So, after ploughing and pressing (I realise that this was definitely wrong now!) we had some really dry weather in October so I sprayed off the blackgrass and when over it really lightly with a power harrow, just to take the tops off and level it a little. In the spring the week before Easter, I sprayed it off again (getting stuck in a wet patch!) and then drilled my spring oats straight in with the sabre tine, which went really well. My next mistake was to roll it in. We were due to have 5mm the next day, whereas we had over 50mm over the next day or two. The whole field was under water for several days. When it came up about 3 weeks later, I had to re-drill the headlands, which I did with the sabre tine again, straight in. The end result was not too bad. Getting it in early was definitely good as we did not have hardly any rain for months. Those around us who drilled after Easter had sparse crops. We manage to get just about 3 tonne/ac, even with poor headlands. Specific weight and screenings were bad though. Very little black grass came up, and what was there was very small and weak.

This year I haven't ploughed, but after harvest some light cultivations then left it several weeks and sprayed the black grass (there wasn't very much) and drilled on Oct 9th. It has come up really evenly within 8 days. I now wait in anticipation to see how much black grass emerges.

In preparation for next year's spring oats I have left the plough in the yard and drilled 30ac of cover crop (oil radish, vetch, phacelia). I am now researching the best way to destroy the cover crop and get the oats in next spring, which I am a bit nervous about, particularly if is is a wet spring.

 

[Brisel]

Only 3 t/acre? I didn't start drilling properly until 19th April down here & lots of my neighbours got caught out rolling before a heavy rain.

Beware of getting a seedbed too fine in the autumn or it can slump then take longer to dry out in spring. Better to leave it even but rough & open. Pull the furrows down with a set of pig tail tines so it is left ridged up. The Sabre Tine will level them off ok.

I spray cover crops off in late January/early Feb so they have a month to rot down. Keep glyphosate rates up as it will take a while to burn off the broad leafed plants.

 

[yellow belly]

As I started this thread off last year and it has got picked up again, so I thought I would update it.

So, after ploughing and pressing (I realise that this was definitely wrong now!) we had some really dry weather in October so I sprayed off the blackgrass and when over it really lightly with a power harrow, just to take the tops off and level it a little. In the spring the week before Easter, I sprayed it off again (getting stuck in a wet patch!) and then drilled my spring oats straight in with the sabre tine, which went really well. My next mistake was to roll it in. We were due to have 5mm the next day, whereas we had over 50mm over the next day or two. The whole field was under water for several days. When it came up about 3 weeks later, I had to re-drill the headlands, which I did with the sabre tine again, straight in. The end result was not too bad. Getting it in early was definitely good as we did not have hardly any rain for months. Those around us who drilled after Easter had sparse crops. We manage to get just about 3 tonne/ac, even with poor headlands. Specific weight and screenings were bad though. Very little black grass came up, and what was there was very small and weak.

This year I haven't ploughed, but after harvest some light cultivations then left it several weeks and sprayed the black grass (there wasn't very much) and drilled on Oct 9th. It has come up really evenly within 8 days. I now wait in anticipation to see how much black grass emerges.

In preparation for next year's spring oats I have left the plough in the yard and drilled 30ac of cover crop (oil radish, vetch, phacelia). I am now researching the best way to destroy the cover crop and get the oats in next spring, which I am a bit nervous about, particularly if is is a wet spring.

spray off when conditions are fit a month or more before drilling
if it is wet wait till it is dry enough on no account drill it based on the date and force it in
patience is the biggest skill and ignore the comments from those who drive by either heard or perceived
after a few years of notill they will be following your example the more years notill the easier it gets
but still never go on field if they are too wet however late it is