- Location
- Dorset/Wilts
Started beans today. Did all that is dry.
I would think that is probably our lot until spring now.
I would think that is probably our lot until spring now.
Wheat drilling 2020
- Thread starter Flintstone
- Start date
- Location
- Lincolnshire
They aren’t so bad till it starts sprouting. Then I know from experience two years ago they are a real pain. It’s coming back to me. Fluorescent jackets on scarecrows, rustling carrier bags, gun in the hedge bottom and all that jazz. With the beet finished I have a bit more time to watch it this year. Flask of coffee, get my hide in the hedge and wait and see. Cousins OSR grey over with pigeons next door. I don’t have all the problems!
- Location
- Darlington
Pigeons are flocking up here, but on the left over beans at the moment. Got 20 acres in with the Vaddy, then swapped on to the combi to try some ploughed land. Looked like it was making a decent job in the dark bit tractor issues forced me home. 17.5 acres left, the next 2 days will have to be a lot nicer than forecast or it will be doors shut till February.
Half an acre to do where beet pad was , then done .till start spring barley in jan if dry enough
- Location
- East yorks
Waiting now for it to dry a bit more, see if jan has some drying winds in it to put the last bit in
- Location
- Lincolnshire
This incessant rain really isn’t helping my freshly drilled wheat. No standing water but it’s lying very wet. One of those years when you think you have cracked it then something else bites you.
4course
Member
- Location
- north yorks
sounds exactly like last year was round here .I made the mistake (looking back) of re sowing some in jan into reasonable going and then the 3-4 weekends of incessant rain in feb fecked that as well
It will be ok, after today its generally dry, soil temps are still reasonable, would hope its up in rows by Christmas week.
New drill looks to be going nicely, hope you're remembering to remove the landwheel driveshaft before folding
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I hope you are right.It will be ok, after today its generally dry, soil temps are still reasonable, would hope its up in rows by Christmas week.
Unmoved stubbles, where not trafficked, are of course taking the water much better. I have noticed this over years of trying DD. Cultivate damp soil and you knock it up like mortar and effectively render the surface.
But we felt the grass had to be ploughed to achieve a seedbed and have previously had poor results drilling straight into grass.
Last week, this week was forecast to be dry.
If the tractor cylinder head hadn’t blown it would have been in in October.
Events conspire.
Still working on nexts foolproof weather proof holy grail strategy.
Zero till? Straw mat! Bale it? Traffic, nutrient, humus loss. Get the cattle back to recycle the straw. They don’t want more cattle, and round we go. Big glyphosate use as well. 5 litres per ha!
Min till? Gets rid of the straw mat problem, better chit, spray off drill straight in. Reasonably weatherproof and even the right amount of tilth and moisture retention for spring drilling. It does “render “the surface though but not as badly as the power Harrow.
Plough based. Plough early and get a crop of slow emerging volunteers from depth. Plough late, no time for weathering. Requires big effort on reconsikidation on the sand, tricky working down the clay, moisture loss, or later run off, no surface protection but for us probably the only way of dealing with a 5 year trafficked grass ley followed by cereals or beans. OSR has worked on light land straight into grass sometimes.
So rule nothing out, prefer direct drill, but if won’t work due to straw mat then min till, but nuclear option remains the plough which if not pushed into wet time will still do us well sometimes, reduce glyphosate and lift sad heavy land, incorporates muck and reduces fusarium transfer.
- Location
- North Kent, UK
I thought you were going to try 100% spring cropping?
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Indeed. Why not black it all over again in autumn and let the weather we all hate break it down and consolidate? Any untouched stubbles are like slop now. Plough the lot in autumn. Drill it all in spring. Bale all the fing straw or swap for muck. No need to think about volunteers, cranesbill, or look at sad wet crops for four months.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Well I probably just had to prove that argument right one last time! Other partners have influence as well.
Would mean lots of spring barley but is that any worse than looking at this?
Spring barley, grass and beef would be my dream set up. Its what grade 3 needs. The rest is a busted flush that just brings stress, high risk and heartache.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Still holding the water, just, after 19mm since drilling on Sunday. Much more and it will start going horizontally and we don't want that. Preems, etc not a chance.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
It's pee wet through now. There's no point looking at it until march. Forget the beef and do a muck for straw. It's a bugger when you live on the job and have to look at wet slop / yellow sad corn etc every day though.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Yes that’s it till spring now. Proper soaking and still raining. What will be will be. Concentrating on a few building alterations and repairs now. And tidying up generally and getting rid of surplus kit and equipment (scrap). Getting the place “sale ready” but not selling up, yet. But I’ve no enthusiasm for environmental stuff so if it comes down to that then I’m out. Niece can do that.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Yes, I'm on the "fit for a brochure" bandwagon. New water, roof, sewage treatment, bathroom, walls pointed etc. Yard to grade in spring, few new drains, lick of paint, rogue the weeds and see what occurs.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
It's bloody wet now. Glad most of the sheep are off. A lot of the pdm put on these last couple of days, and kerb, will now be down the river.
- Location
- West Suffolk
Our neighbour was spraying Crystal type stuff yesterday in the rain, over 30mm of rain since.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
My PDM is still in the shed. Been there over a year now. Sheep can make a hell of a mess over winter. Not heavy but seal the surface, hence I prefer cattle as they are off the fields and in straw bedded yards on lashings of lovely barley straw. No accident they built a massive crew yard here 200 years ago.