Shallow cultivations in No-Till? Yes or no?

[jack6480]

light land
Thats how it was with mine. Our contractor has a stubble rake that we sometimes use and i think next time a few passes with that would sort the slugs and the trash a bit better, then drill shallow and roll.
i don't want to get into putting fert with the seed or using slug pellets at drilling just for the sake of it.

 

[Brisel]

Straw rakes are good for creating a bit of surface tilth and killing slugs if used in the right conditions. I wouldn't be able to get along well with a tine drill without it, especially where the combine stopped or the baler drivers left bits of straw.

Don't underestimate the benefits of starter fertiliser near the seed, especially if dry (!). I've relied on liquid fertiliser applied pre drilling and even granular fertiliser applied on top pre drilling would get most of those benefits. My next drill will have multiple hoppers to make life easier for companion crops, fertiliser, slug pellets etc down the air stream.

 

[EddAke]

Straw rakes are good for creating a bit of surface tilth and killing slugs if used in the right conditions. I wouldn't be able to get along well with a tine drill without it, especially where the combine stopped or the baler drivers left bits of straw.

Don't underestimate the benefits of starter fertiliser near the seed, especially if dry (!). I've relied on liquid fertiliser applied pre drilling and even granular fertiliser applied on top pre drilling would get most of those benefits. My next drill will have multiple hoppers to make life easier for companion crops, fertiliser, slug pellets etc down the air stream.

Is a straw rake better than shallow discing? How much soil will they move?

 

[Brisel]

Is a straw rake better than shallow discing? How much soil will they move?

It depends on what you're hoping to achieve. My Claydon rake will do approx. 1/2" of additional tilth each pass and it really picks up the stones though flicking these around does help the slug control. Being 15m wide, you can pick the best days to use it knowing you'll get a decent amount of ground covered each time. If it's depth you want, forget it. The discs will do much more but will just roll over any lumps of trash left.

Here's our very own @Rob Holmes using a Claydon rake

 

[redsloe]

I've never seen one work before and that's a lot more agressive than I thought they were!