Planting Cover Crops in Spring for Building Soil

[Freeborn]

Each fall I am over-seeding Rye and clover into standing corn or soybeans in an effort to build OM in my sandy soils. Unfortunately broadcasting into standing corn does not work very well and germination rates are fair on my sandy soils.

I have an old International Grain Drill that I am thinking of using to drill cover crops in the spring rather than broadcasting in the fall. I would be drilling the seed as early in April as possible then planting my corn and soybeans into the rye in mid to late May. I’m thinking I would get about 30 days of growth from the rye.

Will I get better rye and clover root and top growth in the spring than I do broadcasting in the fall? I’m thinking I might considering our dry and cool falls. In the spring we get good rain, longer growing days and warmer temps so I’m thinking this might work. I’ll also get much better seed to soil contact.


Good Idea, maybe?

 

[MoBuckChaser]

April?.........Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

 

[wiscwhip]

All you can do is try it to see if it is better on your soil. 30 days worth of growth on rye might be ok, 30 days on clover would be a waste of money IMO. I think you're still far better off planting in the fall to let the roots get established, so it is ready to take off when the snow leaves. If you put it in April 1st and it takes a week to 10 days to germinate, you have about 3 weeks of growth before you plan to put in your summer crop, not a lot of bang for the buck. If you try it, oats and berseem clover(what LC suggests) might be a quicker combo?

 

[wiscwhip]

I understand, I'm just trying to give best case scenario, if it ever happened to come to fruition.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

A guy may be able to plant in April, but soil and air temps may slow growth so much it just may not work the way you want.

 

[wiscwhip]

"A guy may be able to plant in April, but soil and air temps may slow growth so much it just may not work the way you want."


This ^^^ would also be a huge factor. Just because you plant it in April doesn't mean you won't have a late frost right after germination either.

 

[Freeborn]

Freeborn, the seed you broadcast in fall that doesn't take off...it doesn't sprout the following spring?

Hard to say but not a 100% germination. I might try drilling it and just see what happens. I broadcast as usual last fall but I could still drill into what I have and see what i get. Broadcasting 6 acres is kind of a pain particularly in corn.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Try broadcasting Rye in your corn the last week of July, first week of Aug in Mn, and pray for lots of rain. Fall cover crops seed into standing crops do not have enough time to get going. If you are planting Rye by itself with a drill and not into another crop, Sept 1st works! Good Luck!

 

[SD51555]

For fast and deep OM, have u thought about Sudan grass? Won't be squat for a spring or summer plot, but if u mow once and let it regrow to about 24" the second time, it really stimulates root tillering. It could leave u a trash problem for your fall plot though.

 

[chummer]

Can you drill or broadcast into the corn when it is 6" tall. I did that last year with my sweet corn and the rye came in great. After the corn was gone I was left with a thick plot of WR.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Can you drill or broadcast into the corn when it is 6" tall. I did that last year with my sweet corn and the rye came in great. After the corn was gone I was left with a thick plot of WR.

Yes, if you have enough fertilizer in place to supplement both crops. But you also run the risk of your cover crop out competing your corn crop if done to early as well.

 

[chummer]

If I remember right I think I broadcast 46-0-0 and WR around July 4th. I also had 4-5' in between rows so that probably helped with the corn not shading out the WR.

 

[Freeborn]

last year I broadcast around the first week in August. The corn was tall enough it caused problems with coverage. I'm broadcasting manually so I am walking between rows nd even though I'm tall I'm not that tall. Maybe I need to wear stilts?

 

[MoBuckChaser]

last year I broadcast around the first week in August. The corn was tall enough it caused problems with coverage. I'm broadcasting manually so I am walking between rows nd even though I'm tall I'm not that tall. Maybe I need to wear stilts?

You of all people should not need stilts!:D Just sayin!

 

[sandbur]

Yes, if you have enough fertilizer in place to supplement both crops. But you also run the risk of your cover crop out competing your corn crop if done to early as well.

Maybe some worry about enough rainfall for both the corn and rye if you are on light soil? The corn would need to be far along so the rye is not a big ompetitor for rainfall.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Maybe some worry about enough rainfall for both the corn and rye if you are on light soil? The corn would need to be far along so the rye is not a big ompetitor for rainfall.

Yes, and I should have said pray for rain or a guy with a canoe paddle to dance by!:D;)

 

[SD51555]

Any thoughts on the Sudan grass idea? I threw that out hoping for some back and forth. It'll give some good OM, but I'm wondering about control, nutrient depletion, and excess residue.

 

[wiscwhip]

If he is going to plant corn and beans in those ares in May, sudan planted in April would provide little to no benefit and would rob the soil of any leftover nutrients that could have been used by the corn, that is provided that it would even germinate in those cool soil temps. It would also have to be terminated before the corn or beans could be planted or it would compete with them for water and nutrients the whole growing season.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Sudan is a grass and corn is a grass. I would be thinking some other type of Cover Crop. The Cover Crop people have got this figured out that the late summer and early fall work best for planting. Trying to reinvent the wheel for a spring application may not be in ones best interest I am just thinking!

 

[Freeborn]

Sudan is a grass and corn is a grass. I would be thinking some other type of Cover Crop. The Cover Crop people have got this figured out that the late summer and early fall work best for planting. Trying to reinvent the wheel for a spring application may not be in ones best interest I am just thinking!

Agree John, I'm always looking to perfect what I am trying to accomplish but if spring doesnt work it doesnt work. Broadcasting in the fall works pretty well but it is allot of work spreading 800-1000 lbs of seed with a manual spreader. I might have to buy a cone spreader for my tractor and just drive over some crops and accept the loss.