sowing a stale seedbed?????????/

robbie c

Well-Known Member
was chatting to a neighbour after i seen him direct drilling last week after winter barley, thought he was very on the ball or even a tad early for rape, he told me it was old oat seed he was sowing at about 5.5 to 6 stone an acre, and the idea behind it was that he could spray it off and just direct drill with w/b, and that the roots formed by the oats would open the ground up enough to leave a fine enough tilt for the barley come the end of sept, has anyone tried it or seen it done before to any sucess
 
Never seen it done but sounds interesting. Not sure if this extra cost really adds up though?
 
suppose last week could be 10 days ago and he may not sow his WB till the 20th of sept. He might not bother sowing WB with the lovely stand of Oats I bet he will have
 
Diesel wouldn't be the biggest cost there I'd imagine 5l/Ac would do it, WB could be sowed into early oct too, I'd imagine by then the value of green manure might cover the costs of establishing?? Personally I would plough for WB everytime, it's a good paying crop when it yields, but it must get a good start, plough till/press and one pass wouldnt be much expensive than 2 runs of a DD plus the bit of seed IMO.
 
suppose last week could be 10 days ago and he may not sow his WB till the 20th of sept. He might not bother sowing WB with the lovely stand of Oats I bet he will have

Oats sown a week ago will be lodged by January!!!

That is if the mildew and C Rust hasn't killed it ;)
 
I want to try reduce my grass weed population. I think I’m going to do stale seedbeds on the winter ground. I was hoping to disc the land then roll it and let whatever germinate and spray it off. I was thinking since though I will probably get a lot of muck for the ground between now and sowing so would it be a waste of time?
 
I want to try reduce my grass weed population. I think I’m going to do stale seedbeds on the winter ground. I was hoping to disc the land then roll it and let whatever germinate and spray it off. I was thinking since though I will probably get a lot of muck for the ground between now and sowing so would it be a waste of time?
Put in a cover crop
 
I want to try reduce my grass weed population. I think I’m going to do stale seedbeds on the winter ground. I was hoping to disc the land then roll it and let whatever germinate and spray it off. I was thinking since though I will probably get a lot of muck for the ground between now and sowing so would it be a waste of time?
Stale seedbed achieve nothing, there are thousands upon thousands of seeds in the seed bank. Spend your money conditioning soil with cover crops
 
I want to try reduce my grass weed population. I think I’m going to do stale seedbeds on the winter ground. I was hoping to disc the land then roll it and let whatever germinate and spray it off. I was thinking since though I will probably get a lot of muck for the ground between now and sowing so would it be a waste of time?
Just leave it alone, you don’t have any serious grasseeds like brome or black grass etc, you just have meadow grass, creeping bent and Yorkshire fog and the likes often found in crops sown on ground following old Lea, I wouldn’t panic you’ll get them. The main thing with your autumn crops (winter barley) is get autumn herbicide on and if you think you won’t travel in November or December then go pre emerge. Last out there slurry or dung they will get the grass growing too. I wouldn’t bother cultivating.
 
Sound lads, just very disappointed with the amount of grass that is in winter crops especially winter barley as it got its herbicide. I’ll leave the disc where it is so
 
Sound lads, just very disappointed with the amount of grass that is in winter crops especially winter barley as it got its herbicide. I’ll leave the disc where it is so
Amg is not a serious problem. If you want to do something, roll it slow and heavy to get seeds to germinate. gly before plough or whatevs, If min till, a wee shot of granlime, before tilling. Amg is opportunistic, likes light, slight surface acidity, and not much competition. By far and away the easiest way to deal with grass weeds of all hues is with rotation.
 
I have a heap of rape seed there at home would it be any benefit (other than likes on Twitter) to put it in the winter crops ground between now and October
 
I have found some benefit in sowing short term cover crops. I hope to stick in a cover into the chopped oat straw and will burn it off in September.I find it speeds up the breakdown of the straw.
 
Why not try a bit and see the difference. Cover drops essential for direct drilling keeps the ground workable. Finished wb yesterday and really should have sowed cover tonight but needed to stay at home but when you see that light rain and heat ideal growing conditions for covers.
 
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