Plow down crop?

[Dukslayr]

What’s your go-to plow down crop for spring planting in order to till in fur a fall crop of a brassica mix? I’ve never planted anything with the intention of turning it under in the fall but seems like buckwheat and annual clovers are popular for this. If you were planting a couple one acre plots this spring with the intention of turning it under in the fall, what’s your go to seed/mix for this?

Thomas


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[swat1018]

I don't plow or till much anymore. I think I'd do spring oats and red clover, till end of July brassica time.

 

[Dukslayr]

My goal is to till as little as possible in the future. That being said there are a couple of fields that will need to be worked in order to level out and get ready for future no-till in these long term CRP fields (been in for 20+ years). I’ll also surely need to do some soil amendments so hoping to do all of that at one time this spring and then ultimately move to some sort of no-till.


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[yoderjac]

What’s your go-to plow down crop for spring planting in order to till in fur a fall crop of a brassica mix? I’ve never planted anything with the intention of turning it under in the fall but seems like buckwheat and annual clovers are popular for this. If you were planting a couple one acre plots this spring with the intention of turning it under in the fall, what’s your go to seed/mix for this?

Thomas


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My 2-bottom plow sits and rusts and hasn't been used in years. Tillage introduces O2 into the soil burning OM and ruining the soil tilth. For more on issues with tillage see: https://vimeo.com/channels/raythesoilguy/23850878

You are much better off terminating your cover crop in other ways. Crimson N Camo's threads demonstrate food plotter level techniques for this. Buckwheat is often called green manure because it scavenges nutrients and makes them available quickly to the next crop. Legumes will fix N into the soil that can be used by brassica in the fall. A mix of crimson clover (annual) and buckwheat work well together. Deer eat both. They use buckwheat but usually don't abuse it unless they have little else. Turkey love the seed and bug in it.

This year I plan to use sunn hemp with buckwheat.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Dukslayr]

What’s your go-to plow down crop for spring planting in order to till in fur a fall crop of a brassica mix? I’ve never planted anything with the intention of turning it under in the fall but seems like buckwheat and annual clovers are popular for this. If you were planting a couple one acre plots this spring with the intention of turning it under in the fall, what’s your go to seed/mix for this?

Thomas


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My 2-bottom plow sits and rusts and hasn't been used in years. Tillage introduces O2 into the soil burning OM and ruining the soil tilth. For more on issues with tillage see: https://vimeo.com/channels/raythesoilguy/23850878

You are much better off terminating your cover crop in other ways. Crimson N Camo's threads demonstrate food plotter level techniques for this. Buckwheat is often called green manure because it scavenges nutrients and makes them available quickly to the next crop. Legumes will fix N into the soil that can be used by brassica in the fall. A mix of crimson clover (annual) and buckwheat work well together. Deer eat both. They use buckwheat but usually don't abuse it unless they have little else. Turkey love the seed and bug in it.

This year I plan to use sunn hemp with buckwheat.

Thanks,

Jack

I was planning to try clover and buckwheat this spring with a late summer mowing and then turning it under with the disc before planting the brassicas.


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[yoderjac]

I was planning to try clover and buckwheat this spring with a late summer mowing and then turning it under with the disc before planting the brassicas.


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You can probably get away without the disc. If you use it, I'd go as shallow as possible.

 

[scott44]

I use the LC rotation roll them down, lightly disc if there is nothing to roll. Cereal grains and clovers planted around labor day, the rye and clovers are let go until mid July the following year when I broadcast my brassica mix into it and roll in down. I try to get out and frost seed some red clover into last years brassicas and let it go until mid Aug to labor day and plant ceeral grains and clovers and it all starts again rotating between the brassicas and cereal grains.

 

[Northwoods Whitetails]

I like a berseem clover/ oats/rye/peas mix for a spring planting. Mow in early July and one light tiller pass in late July for brassica.

 

[rocksnstumps]

I don't plow or till much anymore. I think I'd do spring oats and red clover, till end of July brassica time.

+1 on what to plant

 

[ruskbucks]

I plant 50/50 mix of peas and oats.Disc it in around 4th of July. I have mixed in red clover in before, but I didn't spray and it was pretty thick in spots and the rape didn't come in that good were the clover was.

 

[Nova]

With our shorter growing season the "no till" doesn't fit our bill that well nor do some of the plow down crops like BW. I either do a fall planting of winter rye for a plow down the following year, or a fast growing plow down clover in the spring. You would probably be ok with BW in Missouri though.

 

[MickT]

There are farmers doing cover crops in the Dakotas with your growing season and 12” of rain.


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[Tree Spud]

I do winter rye & red clover that I actually plant the previous fall. Inexpensive & easy to terminate with gly and great for the soil. Also provides early fresh green browse for the deer in spring. Have not tilled under lately with all the discussion on minimal soil disturbance.

 

[Nova]

There are farmers doing cover crops in the Dakotas with your growing season and 12” of rain.


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Sure with wheat, barely or oats, but not with corn or beans.

 

[j-bird]

Will the deer let you plant peas or beans? My thinking is planting something that will provide some sort of residual N in the soil for the brassica and cereal grains later (maybe an annual clover). I plant RR ag beans and just broadcast my brassica when the beans start to yellow (you can get an earlier maturing bean if you wish as well). This leaves grain for the deer as well as the brassica and I will then broadcast wheat later yet. I can get softball sized turnips and enough green to get the deer thru without any issues...and the deer really like the soybean grain when it gets cold. But this all hinges on the deer not wiping the beans out early. You may have to experiment a bit depending on your growing days of the year.

 

[ruskbucks]

Duckslayr, is this the first time this area will be planted in a foodplot? After reading Jbirds post, if its a first time plot rr soybeans work great cause you can spray and have a weed free plot come fall to plant in. The oats/peas I plant are generally weed free but I have had years of getting the weeds out with RR corn and beans. I have a hard time with 2+ acres of soybeans without the deer destroying them. The peas and oats don't seem to get hit very much in spring/early summer. I left a 1/4 acre up cause the peas looked to good to plow down. They were 2ft tall and full of pods with no noticeable browsing. I went up three weeks later and there was not a pea plant left. They just hit them all at once.

 

[Northbound]

I have used turnips and radishes. Seen some radishes sold as deep tillage radish and had convinced me to try it. Have done both for till and no till areas. Deer don't care much for spring planted radish here so it's effective at providing a bit of thatch as well as aerating the soil as the radish decompose during your fall crop . This is my favorite method for areas of conifer plantings. Plant trees. Then broadcast radish to compete with weed and give some shade to young trees. For me it's worked wonders, your mileage may vary especially if the deer find your spring planted radishes attractive.

 

[Bluegill]

With our shorter growing season the "no till" doesn't fit our bill that well nor do some of the plow down crops like BW. I either do a fall planting of winter rye for a plow down the following year, or a fast growing plow down clover in the spring. You would probably be ok with BW in Missouri though.

I see you are from MN. You would have no problem growing BW where you live. I farm on central ND and we raise BW as a crop every year. Just plant it the end of May beginning of June and you’ll have success with it.

 

[JFK52]

I plant buckwheat and terminate it by first mowing it down and then disking the ground in preparation for the next crop. I no till plant soy beans, but sometimes you just have to use the disc to prep the ground or you will not get a decent crop. I get the buckwheat in as early as possible and make sure I terminate it well before my second crop of brassicas to eliminate the possibilities of BW volunteers.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

On buckwheat - we've broadcast brassicas into our BW as it turns yellowish and loses leaves in early August. Then we mow it or roll it down so it decays and holds moisture / provides cover for emerging brassicas. It seems to work well. We get the added OM as it decays plus any minerals the BW scavenged. The BW also keeps weeds down while it's green & growing, so the brassicas don't have to fight a plague of them. I learned this process from guys on here.