I'm going to be planting a cover crop shortly on a field that was soybeans last year. This cover crop will be disked under in July when I plant brassicas. My goal is to add as much organic matter as possible, but having deer or turkey food would be a bonus. I'm planning on going with oats, but I also know that spring wheat is an option although I have not personally used spring wheat before. Would oats or spring wheat be a better choice in this application? Thanks-
Oats or Wheat
- Thread starter Ben.MN/WI
- Start date
I overseeded winter rye last fall into this soybean strip, but I think the turkeys ate all the seed since none of it came up. So my plan B will involve some cheap cover crop that the co-op has in stock - they usually carry all the basics. I've never tried planting oats this early, but my soil is dry and from what I can tell oats can be planted as early as you can work the dirt. Only one way to find out I guess.
I'm planning on disking up the field, broadcasting the seed and than pulling a drag over everything to cover the seed. Do you know if it will hurt oat seed if I spread fertilizer the same time I spread seed? I know you can't mix fertilizer with some seeds, but I'm not sure if you can with oats or not.
D
dipper
Guest
Rye and oats, just rye if u don't care about free oat seed in July
I planted some buckwheat the past few years, but it didn't grow very quickly until the weather warmed up so I don't think it would do very well this early.
I also planted some rye grain in late spring, but it didn't get as tall as the oats did. The rye seemed to grow a foot and then just sit there until the following spring when it took off. But I suppose I could just throw in some rye and buckwheat in with the oats and see what happens. I'll end up disking it all up in July either way, so there isn't really a downside to that mixture plan.
I also planted some rye grain in late spring, but it didn't get as tall as the oats did. The rye seemed to grow a foot and then just sit there until the following spring when it took off. But I suppose I could just throw in some rye and buckwheat in with the oats and see what happens. I'll end up disking it all up in July either way, so there isn't really a downside to that mixture plan.
I was able to disc and plant on Friday. I broadcast a 50/50 oat pea mix and then dragged to cover it. Then I seeded 15lbs of red clover and cultipacked . I think I was the only one in WI that was able to disc and plant that day. I will be planting brassica in this plot in July. I was hoping the peas would attract the deer and they would use this cover crop plot, and also take a little pressure off the acre of beans I'm planting.
scott44
5 year old buck +
Sounds like a good combo, if your deer are like mine the peas won't last long but it's a draw to keep them coming in. I plant them knowing that.
D
dipper
Guest
You planted in March? To be nice that was a waste of time. When are u expecting it to start growing? Very good chance your seed will rot.
Rusk - that sounds like a good mix.
I disked up the old soybean strip and planted oats in SE MN on Saturday. It's sitting under 10 inches of snow right now, but I've been told that won't be a problem. The farmer who rents my tillable ground said he likes to get his oats in as early as possible and he's never had any issues with planting too early. We'll see how it goes - if it doesn't germinate I'll replant in a couple weeks when I plant a different plot in the blend that Rusk described. It was fun to spend some time on the tractor seat either way.
I disked up the old soybean strip and planted oats in SE MN on Saturday. It's sitting under 10 inches of snow right now, but I've been told that won't be a problem. The farmer who rents my tillable ground said he likes to get his oats in as early as possible and he's never had any issues with planting too early. We'll see how it goes - if it doesn't germinate I'll replant in a couple weeks when I plant a different plot in the blend that Rusk described. It was fun to spend some time on the tractor seat either way.
D
dipper
Guest
I tried throwing some cuttings in the ground. I could get them in a half inch and solid. Snow on the way tomorrow way to early to be planting anything
My oat plot that I planted in March 21st in SE MN is looking good. The brassicas that I overseeded and cultipacked a week later also have sprouted and they're doing well. I had some 3 year old leftover brassica seed from Welter's so I decided to overseed the oats with in case the oats didn't survive the early planting date. Both the oats and brassicas did better than I anticipated, so I'll probably have a crowded plot but that will be fine since this will be disked under in a couple months
D
dipper
Guest
Sounds good, did u have any runoff? With the soil exposed that long and heavy spring rains there is major risk off loosing your soil.
Hopefully it survives heavy frost.
Hopefully it survives heavy frost.
I didn't have any runoff issues. This strip is pretty flat and is sandy in spots so the rain tends to soak in pretty quickly. There's a woods and grass strip on one side and picked corn that hasn't been plowed up on the other side, so this was relatively well protected.
I'm hoping to plant an oats/field pea cover crop tonight in an adjacent portion of the field that will be planted in some type of fall plot later in the summer. That plot is really sandy with an OM % of around 1%, so a relatively early cover crop this spring followed by a mix including rye later this summer should be good for the deer and the dirt.
I'm hoping to plant an oats/field pea cover crop tonight in an adjacent portion of the field that will be planted in some type of fall plot later in the summer. That plot is really sandy with an OM % of around 1%, so a relatively early cover crop this spring followed by a mix including rye later this summer should be good for the deer and the dirt.
The oats I planted in late March were starting to grow seed heads last weekend, so I ran over the oats with a brush hog to prevent the seeds from maturing. The oats were nearly waist high in the areas with the better soil and less than knee high in some of the sandy spots, but the seed heads were forming in both places. I was pretty happy with the amount of green manure that was generated in that strip, but the brassicas didn't really add much to the mix. They had a tough time competing with the oats, so they were tall and spindly. Maybe next time I'll plant some plowdown type red clover with the oats to see if that grows better than the brassicas. This chopped up oat strip will be planted to soybeans next week and brassicas in early July.
My adjacent sandy area that I planted to peas and oats in mid-April is also doing pretty well, but the oats aren't forming seeds yet. My soil test for this lot returned last week and I need to add some lime and potash to the oat/pea field, so I think I'll let that field grow until both the oats and pea seeds are mature and then I'll add lime, fertilizer, rye seed and maybe some brassicas in early August. My organic matter for that plot is 1.1%, so I'm going to try to build up the soil first and hopefully feed some deer in the process.
My adjacent sandy area that I planted to peas and oats in mid-April is also doing pretty well, but the oats aren't forming seeds yet. My soil test for this lot returned last week and I need to add some lime and potash to the oat/pea field, so I think I'll let that field grow until both the oats and pea seeds are mature and then I'll add lime, fertilizer, rye seed and maybe some brassicas in early August. My organic matter for that plot is 1.1%, so I'm going to try to build up the soil first and hopefully feed some deer in the process.