Brassica Plot Planning for Spring

[RJAJr]

So the Brassica plot I put in two weeks ago is looking great, I expect it to be a success as far as being well filled in, we will see how it draws. I am planning ahead and have been reading quite a bit on throw and mow and I would like to go that route with this 1/4-1/2 plot. So what is my best approach?

1) I was thinking of layering in 20-30 lbs of winter rye this fall but I am not sure if this is a good idea or not.

2) Just leave it through the fall and winter and put in Buckwheat in the spring. Then throw and mow something into it again next fall. I would do another Brassica mix if this is successful but I am not sure if I should be rotating.

3) Other suggestions?

Here is what the plot looks like at two weeks. Beets, Radish and Forage Kale.

 

[SD51555]

Wait another week or two and throw a whole bag of rye in there. You won't be able to throw and mow next summer without having rye to hold down the fort while spring and early summer happen.

 

[Wild Thing]

I agree with SD51565 - You do want to broadcast the rye within 4-5 weeks after planting your brassicas. It will provide some great spring forage for your deer after the snow melts and will be well on its way, providing some great thatch for you to plant into next summer. If you plant buckwheat in early summer, you take a chance on drought conditions or heavy browse in a small plot creating little to no cover crop. I much prefer fall-planted rye to summer planted buckwheat for cover crops.

If you had included some clovers in with your brassica mix you would have been even better off, with the clovers fixing some atmospheric Nitrogen into your soil for next years' crop and also providing additional forage next spring and summer.

The standing rye you see on the right side of this photo was a brassica plot last year. I included some clovers in with the brassica seed and a month or so after planting I broadcasted rye (probably 75#-100#/acre) into the standing brassicas. I plan to mow this soon to get another free crop of rye, and then drill some clovers, hairy vetch and likely some other seed into it for this fall's cover crop and then I will rotate it back into brassicas next year.


Same here. I drilled my brassica/clover mix into last fall's cover crop here a couple weeks ago. The standing rye you see in the background was brassicas last year.

 

[RJAJr]

I agree with SD51565 - You do want to broadcast the rye within 4-5 weeks after planting your brassicas. It will provide some great spring forage for your deer after the snow melts and will be well on its way, providing some great thatch for you to plant into next summer. If you plant buckwheat in early summer, you take a chance on drought conditions or heavy browse in a small plot creating little to no cover crop. I much prefer fall-planted rye to summer planted buckwheat for cover crops.

If you had included some clovers in with your brassica mix you would have been even better off, with the clovers fixing some atmospheric Nitrogen into your soil for next years' crop and also providing additional forage next spring and summer.

The standing rye you see on the right side of this photo was a brassica plot last year. I included some clovers in with the brassica seed and a month or so after planting I broadcasted rye (probably 75#-100#/acre) into the standing brassicas. I plan to mow this soon to get another free crop of rye, and then drill some clovers, hairy vetch and likely some other seed into it for this fall's cover crop and then I will rotate it back into brassicas next year.
View attachment 55434

Same here. I drilled my brassica/clover mix into last fall's cover crop here a couple weeks ago. The standing rye you see in the background was brassicas last year.
View attachment 55436

Likely not to late to get a 2# bag of Ladino and broadcast it in there, agree?

 

[Wild Thing]

Likely not to late to get a 2# bag of Ladino and broadcast it in there, agree?

Sure - You would probably want to do it right before a rain event if you can...and 3 or 4# isn't a bad idea either. The clovers won't amount to much of anything this year yet (at least they don't where I am). They will grow down before they grow up and the brassica will canopy over the top of the clovers and kind of suppress them. In the spring when the brassicas are long gone, the clovers and rye will shine.

Here was my brassica recipe this year - next year I am going to just include the radish in the small box with the other seeds and cut back maybe a pound or two per acre less. I still have some areas where I planted too thick again this year. The clovers don't affect that but too many brassicas/radish isn't good either.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Agree with the above. Brassicas alone = dirt and then weeds the following spring. They also don't support your mychorrhizal fungi. Not too late to broadcast some clover and definitely throw some rye on later. I like the idea of annual clovers if you can get one that will overwinter in your zone because they should terminate easy for future throw n mow. Problem is they just don't seem as reliable for spring re-emergence as some of the perennials. I'm using a fair bit of fixation this year but have some Medium Red to be a backstop if the fixation doesn't overwinter well.

Clover will fix some more nitrogen for your next crop and be great spring food. Rye will keep food in your plot if the brassicas get demolished (likely with a small brassica plot), suppress weeds in the spring, protect your soil, and provide thatch for your next throw n mow.

 

[RJAJr]

Interesting thoughts guys, they sell three clover seeds at my local seed mill, Ladino, Alsike and Dutch White. All do well here Dutch white is a low grower so not really what I am looking for. I don't see much conversation about Alsike here on the forum but a lot about red clover which would not survive our typical winters. Alsike is a short-lived perennial cool-season crop lasting 2-3 years. I feel like this might be a good choice for me in lieu of Red Clover, it's a couple bucks cheaper then the Ladino.

I was really sort of thinking WR was not a great idea in Brassica but it's nice to hear that it works well as it is cheap to plan. 50 lbs is $21.00 at the seed mill.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Interesting thoughts guys, they sell three clover seeds at my local seed mill, Ladino, Alsike and Dutch White. All do well here Dutch white is a low grower so not really what I am looking for. I don't see much conversation about Alsike here on the forum but a lot about red clover which would not survive our typical winters. Alsike is a short-lived perennial cool-season crop lasting 2-3 years. I feel like this might be a good choice for me in lieu of Red Clover, it's a couple bucks cheaper then the Ladino.

Of those 3, ladino does seem like the prime choice. Alsike is well liked for poorly drained soils, that's the primary attribute I see it promoted for. Why don't you think red would survive your winters? It should be plenty hardy.

I was really sort of thinking WR was not a great idea in Brassica but it's nice to hear that it works well as it is cheap to plan. 50 lbs is $21.00 at the seed mill.

Let your brassicas get a good head start and the rye will just fill in the gaps where you're lacking brassica or after the brassica is crushed by deer. Nothing wrong with waiting til labor day to broadcast it if you're worried about it competing with brassicas.

 

[Wild Thing]

Interesting thoughts guys, they sell three clover seeds at my local seed mill, Ladino, Alsike and Dutch White. All do well here Dutch white is a low grower so not really what I am looking for. I don't see much conversation about Alsike here on the forum but a lot about red clover which would not survive our typical winters. Alsike is a short-lived perennial cool-season crop lasting 2-3 years. I feel like this might be a good choice for me in lieu of Red Clover, it's a couple bucks cheaper then the Ladino.

I was really sort of thinking WR was not a great idea in Brassica but it's nice to hear that it works well as it is cheap to plan. 50 lbs is $21.00 at the seed mill.

Alsike is a good choice as well. I mix my own perennial clovers also and it is one of my preferred clovers. Medium Red overwinter great up here in Upper Michigan. I am over 100 miles north of Green Bay and they call that the "Frozen Tundra". I have always included medium red in my clover mixes but actually left it out of my brassica mix last year because it is so hard to terminate. The annuals I used last year did not do as well as expected so I went back to using Med Red and Crimson in the mix this year.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

From reading numerous articles on here, it's easy to conclude that rye and clovers are great things to have in any plot. Too many positives to exclude either. The "meat & potatoes" of plot seed. Thanks to ALL you AG guys!!!

 

[RJAJr]

View attachment 55462


Alsike is a good choice as well. I mix my own perennial clovers also and it is one of my preferred clovers. Medium Red overwinter great up here in Upper Michigan. I am over 100 miles north of Green Bay and they call that the "Frozen Tundra". I have always included medium red in my clover mixes but actually left it out of my brassica mix last year because it is so hard to terminate. The annuals I used last year did not do as well as expected so I went back to using Med Red and Crimson in the mix this year.

Rookie assumption was that Red would not over winter here, I am 45 mins south of Green Bay. This is good information, thank you!