Experimental Spring plantings

Fair oak

5 year old buck +
Feel free to add any ideas and recommendations for different spring plantings. I had this on a different thread but moved it as to not hijack that one.

I have a 1/2 acre field that was brassicas last fall overseeded with winter rye in September. Usually I have good luck and my fields are green and getting action by May 1 the next spring. I think the brassicas were to thick and tall last fall and my rye never germinated so now I want to experiment with spring planting before weeds take over.

I have about 40 lbs of spring oats, 40 lbs of spring barley, 5-6 lbs of sunn hemp, 2-3 lbs of clover/chicory blend, 5 lbs of hairy vetch and 100 lbs of buckwheat that may or may not be good. Lol. (Wasn’t stored very well). I’m willing to go against the grain a bit on this field as anything is better than bare dirt. I’m also willing to pick up something different if anyone has any suggestions.

I can disk but probably not until mid-May and I can spray. Last frost is around Memorial Day. PH is about 6.2
 
Same situation for me. I planted my brassicas at 3# per acre last summer and they shaded out the perennials in the mix. I have lots of bare ground this spring. 4 acres.

So I frost seeded a mix of clover and chicory last week - 12# per acre - and 2 days later we got another 14” of snow. Still covered up this morning. Time will tell.

Strangest spring I’ve ever seen.
 
What kind of clover did you frost seed?

I have about 3 acres that I broadcasted the rye and red clover into the brassicas a few weeks earlier last fall and those look good. The green rye and clover is laying there nice and thick, just need some warmer weather and particularly sunshine to get it moving.

The 1/2 acre field that is pretty much brassica stems and bare dirt I will disk when it dries out but I’ve never used any of the seeds I mentioned above so kinda looking for some suggestions on seeding rates, timing, etc. I have used buckwheat and the deer in my area just don’t leave it alone.
 
Not too scientific but I made a mixture of a bunch of different annual and perennial clovers. Basically everything they had at the local co-op but heavy on the annuals because I’m still hoping to get some clover from last fall. People I trust keep telling me to give it time to pop in spite of it looking bare.

This is how thick the brassicas were last fall. Huge radishes and turnips. The kale got 5’ tall. If I have clover under there, it grew with almost no light!
 

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Test germnate the buckwheat. Grab a few handfuls from different spots in the bag. Sake it up and randomy pick 50 seeds. Get a plate of soil on southern light in your home. Each sed that grows is 2% germination. 100lb guessing in 2 bags. Do test for each bag. I do this for whole oats I buy locally, always pretty good though.

Looks like you made good turnips. Any soil issues there? Area is more no-till? You fertilize the spot? Barley is good for the soil bacteria. Buckwheat good to fight weeds. mixture of hemp and oats will prevent nutrients from washing away.

With turnips that big, you got good soil fertility. I'd go for the buckwheat there to keep weeds inline.
 
Definitely plant something. Planting nothing is bad for the soil . I’d hold off on the chicory and clover bec you’re prob going to replant in the Fall I’m assuming . You will be wasting seed with chicory and clover if the clover is a perennial . For straight Buckwheat, I’d plant 50lbs in that 1/2 acre . I usually do 70lbs per acre broadcasted. You prob drop on germination a bit cuz seed storage but BW will grow on your head if you plant in the right temp.
 
If it were me I would plant some of the buckwheat and then terminate it for my fall planting
 
Partridge pea
Birds foot trefoil
Chicory

All will grow just being broadcast
 
Not too scientific but I made a mixture of a bunch of different annual and perennial clovers. Basically everything they had at the local co-op but heavy on the annuals because I’m still hoping to get some clover from last fall. People I trust keep telling me to give it time to pop in spite of it looking bare.

This is how thick the brassicas were last fall. Huge radishes and turnips. The kale got 5’ tall. If I have clover under there, it grew with almost no light!
Anything popping in those plots? I’m covered up in snow again so just waiting for things to dry out finally before I decide what to do.
 
I’m going to find out tomorrow or first thing Friday when I get there. But we also had a blizzard last week. It’s all melted now, finally, but definitely still early spring conditions. I expect to see plenty of puddled water.

My seeds have been in the grounds for 3 weeks now with multiple snow and rain events. My hopes are high if the seed didn’t get ate or drown.

The pic is what it looked like when I “frost seeded” all that clover. Just before we got all the snow, then, rain, then snow again.

Unrelated : I’m meeting the local burn coordinator at our property for an initial look this weekend. He’s a State guy that has been fun to work with. Where we live in the far North, not many people at all do prescribed burns…..so he seems interested in it himself as a forester.
 

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Not what your looking for but i've always had really good soybean plots following brassica.
 
I planted another 30 tree orchard and I very lightly tilled in between rows and broadcast vitalize seed right before a rain.It's just starting to come up but wanted to see how it would do
 
I planted another 30 tree orchard and I very lightly tilled in between rows and broadcast vitalize seed right before a rain.It's just starting to come up but wanted to see how it would do
Just a friendly caution on tilling between / around fruit trees - the tiny feeder roots can extend out from the trees 15 feet or more. We ended up killing some nice apple trees a few years back by discing between orchard rows to plant clover. We chopped up the feeder roots and lost a number of apple trees before we learned better from a Penn State prof. We wasted money & time (years) by tilling in those rows. We no longer till in any way between our fruit tree rows. FWIW.
 
I just planted them 2 weeks before I tilled and it was barely 1 inch deep,thanks and sorry about your trees
 
I just planted them 2 weeks before I tilled and it was barely 1 inch deep,thanks and sorry about your trees
You should be good to go then. Our trees were planted for several years - about 6 years as I recall, and we disced the daylights out of the areas in between the tree rows. Our good intentions for nice clover strips didn't pan out for our apple trees. Good luck with yours.
 
So. I’m trying teosinte this year. Ancient corn. Acts as a perennial. Planting in a strip with sorghum Sudan and in my summer mixes. Will let y’all know how it goes. Interesting to read about if you’re bored.
 
How are those plots looking @Maddog66?

My 1/2 acre plot that was bare soil was disked and I spread buckwheat, oats and spring barley. Lol. We’ll see how it turns out but mainly just looking to cover the soil. Unfortunately it’s very dry and 10 day forecast looks much the same.

My other plots (a little over 3 acres) look terrible this spring compared to last spring. Lots of clover but also tons of weeds and hardly any rye. My brassicas were just to thick and tall when I broadcasted rye last fall. I need to time it better moving forward.

Looking for suggestions on whether I should let plots go and just mow a few times this summer to keep weeds from going to seed? Nuke everything a couple times and then disk before mid July planting of fall food? I’d like to keep the ground covered but also want to get a handle on the weeds. I have lots of dandelions popping, yellow rocket, curly dock, tons of fine grass (app says annual bluegrass) and reed canary grass popping up.
 
So. I’m trying teosinte this year. Ancient corn. Acts as a perennial. Planting in a strip with sorghum Sudan and in my summer mixes. Will let y’all know how it goes. Interesting to read about if you’re bored.
Interesting. Never heard of it. Teosinte sounds like it could make a decent screen or cover in a plot that might even stand up better than Egyptian wheat. The only time I tried EW for a plot screen it got about 10-12’ tall but the 1st heavy snow crumpled it to the ground before gun season. Do you expect the deer to eat the teosinte or do you want it more for cover?
 
Fair Oak

2 weeks ago when I was there I’m not exactly sure what I was seeing. I THINK the pinhead-sized broadleaf plants I saw emerging were my frost seeded clover getting started. At least I hope it was.

I think I can confirm now that I DID NOT have much clover from last fall. There are a few here and there, but I’m more convinced than ever that putting 3#/acre brassicas with 12#/acre of perennial clovers was way too much!!!! The clover couldn’t compete at that rate.

I’m heading up again tomorrow and will see what’s up. I think I’m going to grit my teeth and just continue to let the 3 plots do their thing for awhile longer. The 4th one I had planted in corn last weekend while my farmer planted the rest of my fields. He’s will leave 1.5 acres standing for me…..on a south facing hillside near thermal cover.

From reading on here I’m determined to be more weed tolerant than my OCD really wants me to be :). I’m going to let them go through fawning season, then mow them, and see what happens after a couple of rains. If it’s not what I want, I’m going to start from scratch this fall with new clover, WR, and 1# of brassicas, at most.

This plan will now change 20 times in the next 2 months, if I know me! 👍
 
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