S Barley after strip-tilled beet

Ruston3w

Member
Location
south suffolk
I know a mention of sugar beet will put most off, but here goes anyway- we have just harvested the last beet, loamy sand and gravel, beet were good and showed little sign of the "pinched" root we see sometimes with DD/Min-tilled beet. The harvester hardly left a mark and travels the full width so all is equally flattened and fairly level.I have dug and the soil would be dry enough to subsoil headlands were we ran trailers (none on field).
The question is should I drill now before it does get rained on or should I wait for things to warm up?
I had thought of drilling saved seed, perhaps a little quicker emergence? The field is in such good nick now it seems wrong to leave it with no cover? We have a simba aqueel roll/rake which I could use to level ridges and spread tops without really moving any ground but it will be tricky getting the simtech to drill at rook safe depth without being a bit deep if we get heavy rain......
If I don't drill it I would like to level the surface- should I drill WW out of the barn and roundup end march?
Richard.
 

Spud

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
YO62
IMO, if its in as good order as that, the best thing you can do is nothing. It will take weather far better as it is than in a worked state, particularly assuming you dd the barley. Direct drill into what is there (the tops will soon disappear) in early March. I dont see what you will gain by sowing wheat from the heap now, nothing will grow very fast in January, and the crows will have a party! Keep the costs down and stay out the field is my advice, fwiw.

regards, Spud
 

Doctor who

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
norfolk
I would come the position of drill that soil type asap if conditions are right and post strip till beet conditions are superb as you say.
Don't touch it and go real steady forward speed with simtech.
Rooks won't like 'harder' soil.
 

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