Selectamatic's Farming Thread.

[Selectamatic]

headlands probably gone down tight.....there was no reason to roll it....if you really wanted to you should've waited until it was up
did you drill headlands first...or cultivate back up then drill last?

spuds look good

Hmmmmm...

The reason for rolling it was to make sure the forecast rain did not erode it, its light sandy stuff, we did some work on the farm next door when the same happened and it ruined it, washed most of it into the ditch. After the torrential stuff we've had here, I thought it was the right thing to do, but its packed it down quite hard.

I always drill the headland first, as has my father before me, with the outfit shown above, for 35 - 40 odd years.

Spuds do look ok, hope the buggers grow!

 

[spin cycle]

welcome to farming...you live and learn....on that soil,for cereals i'd say a power harrow is overkill....a springtine would be fine and a slightly rougher seedbed would prevent capping

 

[Selectamatic]

welcome to farming...you live and learn....on that soil,for cereals i'd say a power harrow is overkill....a springtine would be fine and a slightly rougher seedbed would prevent capping

Your probably right.

So, the capped, if it is that, I assume it is, what now? Is it knacked, or will it come through?

 

[spin cycle]

dig in and see....you might find the shoots yellowed underneath?...i'd say the headland is ff'ed but if it's really light you might be ok

 

[Selectamatic]

dig in and see....you might find the shoots yellowed underneath?...i'd say the headland is ff'ed but if it's really light you might be ok

Had a quick kick about there, and saw nothing, no seed, no shoots, nowt...

 

[spin cycle]

Had a quick kick about there, and saw nothing, no seed, no shoots, nowt...

...i think the correct technical term is 'fooked'

 

[Selectamatic]

...i think the correct technical term is 'fooked'

Arse.

 

[spin cycle]

Arse.

girls

don't despair....just tell everyone they're 'conservation headlands'

 

[Oat]

If the ends are compacted, then the seed may just be delayed emerging. If you dig around and there is no seed, then either it has been eaten of it was never drilled correctly

 

[Selectamatic]

Well, I balls'ed up the sowing and rolling of my Barley!

There's too much of it to drag it up, so I'll let it grow and take what I get.

Had a look at it the other day and it was desperate for a drink, and/or some Nitrogen, poor looking plants with yellowing patches all over the place.

So, we had a nice splash of rain yesterday, with more forecast, so i thought I would give it some 25-5-5, in an attempt to green the job up a bit...

Out came my favourite tractor, and possibly the best tractor ever made, Dad's faithful old 880, along with the little wagtail fert spinner, and on went a sprinkle of fertiliser.

Hope the bugger grows now!! Between the rolling causing patchy growing, and a blocked coulter on the drill for a few runs, this is turing out to be a bit of embarrassment! Ho hum...

On a more positive note, weeds seem to be keeping away ok, a stray spud that I dumped in a row by hand, probably not as deep as the planted ones has popped out, and the field that I am keeping for hay looks ok, so it's not all bad!

 

[Lana]

Was nice to say hello the other day

 

[Selectamatic]

Had a walk about today...

Spuds are just starting to poke out here and there, hopefully they will come along ok, I'm not sure what I'm doing with this spuds malarkey to be honest, just hoping for the best!

What there is of the Barley looks ok, but the overall state of the field is a bit embarrassing, hopefully the fertiliser spread on it the other day will give it a boost...

The grass as come along well, I hope that another few weeks and I will be thinking about haymaking, weather dependant...

Everything wants a drink, could do with some rain...

 

[ThatsSomeSheep]

Might just be my opinion, and might not be worth much to @Selectamatic but i don't think the heavy roll pre power harrowing was a great idea.

Looks to have crearted a lot of wheelings and possibly compacted what looks like really light ground? Then power harrowing has just crumbled over the top without lifting the wheelings out?

That's just my tuppence worth and could be very wrong!

Does look lovely ground, you are lucky.

 

[Selectamatic]

Might just be my opinion, and might not be worth much to @Selectamatic but i don't think the heavy roll pre ploughing was a great idea.

Looks to have crearted a lot of wheelings and possibly compacted what looks like really light ground? Then power harrowing has just crumbled over the top without lifting the wheelings out?

That's just my tuppence worth and could be very wrong!

Does look lovely ground, you are lucky.

I did not roll pre ploughing, the power harrow did a lovely job, it was me that buggered the job up by rolling it after sowing while it was damp.

Lesson learned!

 

[ThatsSomeSheep]

I did not roll pre ploughing, the power harrow did a lovely job, it was me that buggered the job up by rolling it after sowing while it was damp.

Lesson learned!

Sorry for confusion, I meant the heavy roll pre power harrowing.

Anyway, bet in a months time it will be looking grand.

 

[blackbob]

@Selectamatic , @Selectamatic , @Selectamatic

Do they still use the term 'recreational tillage'?
Meaning doing things because they are pleasurable or look good, not to help the crops..

You made a nice job of ploughing that nice light soil - then went trampling over it with that big tractor and roller
Wouldn't be so bad if you had used that little 880

And why didn't you use that for sowing, instead of that one with those wheel weights on in the rain

And why did you feel the need to rotavate the tattie land, with a tractor with wheel weights and loader/fork when it looks a nice tilth already (guess power-harrowed?)

It's always been a hobby-horse of mine, to try to minimise compaction, using the lightest tractor with the biggest wheels or duals, and avoiding lugging any un-necessary iron around on soft seed-beds. You have perfectly illustrated the effects of compaction, more clearly than I would have expected, to be honest.

We can all learn

 

[J 1177]

@Selectamatic , @Selectamatic , @Selectamatic

Do they still use the term 'recreational tillage'?
Meaning doing things because they are pleasurable or look good, not to help the crops..

You made a nice job of ploughing that nice light soil - then went trampling over it with that big tractor and roller
Wouldn't be so bad if you had used that little 880

And why didn't you use that for sowing, instead of that one with those wheel weights on in the rain

And why did you feel the need to rotavate the tattie land, with a tractor with wheel weights and loader/fork when it looks a nice tilth already (guess power-harrowed?)

It's always been a hobby-horse of mine, to try to minimise compaction, using the lightest tractor with the biggest wheels or duals, and avoiding lugging any un-necessary iron around on soft seed-beds. You have perfectly illustrated the effects of compaction, more clearly than I would have expected, to be honest.

We can all learn

Tell me about it my old man doesnt belive in wide tyres (went nuts when i specd 600s on our nh) loves whacking land down, wont use tines "it just brings the wet up" drives me bonkers.

 

[Selectamatic]

@Selectamatic , @Selectamatic , @Selectamatic

Do they still use the term 'recreational tillage'?
Meaning doing things because they are pleasurable or look good, not to help the crops..

You made a nice job of ploughing that nice light soil - then went trampling over it with that big tractor and roller
Wouldn't be so bad if you had used that little 880

And why didn't you use that for sowing, instead of that one with those wheel weights on in the rain

And why did you feel the need to rotavate the tattie land, with a tractor with wheel weights and loader/fork when it looks a nice tilth already (guess power-harrowed?)

It's always been a hobby-horse of mine, to try to minimise compaction, using the lightest tractor with the biggest wheels or duals, and avoiding lugging any un-necessary iron around on soft seed-beds. You have perfectly illustrated the effects of compaction, more clearly than I would have expected, to be honest.

We can all learn

Hmmmmm, I'm not sure that I fully agree, y balls up was to roll the sown field when it was too damp, capping it under the wheels of the tractor. The rest of it, or most of it at least , I think I was ok to do what I did.

We did virtually the same job, on very similar land, with similar kit, but without the dampness, and the rolling after it was sown, it's come on wonderfully, it was sprouting out of the ground within the week!

There's always next time!

 

[blackbob]

You will know from looking at the bare strips, in your photo they don't appear to follow the rows of barley so not connected to the sowing, and you will be able to see if they are in the wheelmarks of the post-sowing rolling.

I do feel we should all become followers of our own guru of low-compaction farming, @carbonfibre farmer . I know we've said this already in another thread, but it sometimes seems modern farming and its ever-heavier machinery is not going in the right direction?

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

You will know from looking at the bare strips, in your photo they don't appear to follow the rows of barley so not connected to the sowing, and you will be able to see if they are in the wheelmarks of the post-sowing rolling.

I do feel we should all become followers of our own guru of low-compaction farming, @carbonfibre farmer . I know we've said this already in another thread, but it sometimes seems modern farming and its ever-heavier machinery is not going in the right direction?

I've been called many thing's,most of them unrepeatable...............
but never a guru