Why won’t a cultipacker double as a crimper?

[S.T.Fanatic]

that looks great. itll look even better in a month.

 

[Skeeter]

Unless I'm missing something, I can't seem to find a atv specific cultipacker. I'm looking to crimp my cover crop that is head high (winter rye).... I'm trying the "buffalo" method type approach with my plots. I have sandy soils and have been working on reducing how much I work the soil etc, and so far have had good results. If I can't find a ATV crimper, would it be stupid to seed into the cover crop, then go over the plots with my brush mower to terminate the rye? It would allow sunlight and leave the rye residue in place. Not sure if it would suck on the seeds.... Or would it be better to try my luck at just cultipacking it a few times after seeding.

Take a look at the droptine wildlife consulting Facebook page. They're who I am going to try if I fail at building my own. RTP also makes or made one in their Goliath line. Takes a little searching though. https://www.edneyco.com/itemdetail/?itemCode=RTP 154.153.000
Custom cultipackers also appears to make one. JFGI

 

[Bassattackr]

I've seen guys use the front end loader about 1" off the ground to "roll" as well. I'm not sure how well it would crimp, maybe at a dry point at the right maturation time.

 

[mtholton]

I used my ATV Cultipacker to make lanes in my Rye last weekend so I could walk through and spread my buckwheat seed. After spreading The seed I then went through and mowed all of the rye. It had only been an hour or so after making my cultipacked lanes and a lot of the rye was already trying to stand back up. It’s a nice thought that it would work but I’m pretty sure a week later you wouldn’t even know I’d run over it.

I'm planning on trying this approach, did it work out? I was thinking about trying Winfred Brassica. I have two areas about 1/2 acre with tall Guardian Winter Rye. I was planning on seeding at a heavier rate into the standing rye. I have a brush mower that I was then going to mow down the rye. Once cut, I was going to run the cultipacker over all of it. I don't have access to a crimper. Any thoughts on this approach?

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I'm planning on trying this approach, did it work out? I was thinking about trying Winfred Brassica. I have two areas about 1/2 acre with tall Guardian Winter Rye. I was planning on seeding at a heavier rate into the standing rye. I have a brush mower that I was then going to mow down the rye. Once cut, I was going to run the cultipacker over all of it. I don't have access to a crimper. Any thoughts on this approach?

If the rye is mature, after doing a throw and mow style plot, the rye will germinate and smother out anything that you plant.

 

[mtholton]

Great thank you, so do I need to cut it, let it germinate, spray, then try to plant something else?

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

You could plant it as planned but will need to spray it with a grass specific herbicide after the rye germinates. I'd let it get a good 3-4" tall as well to make sure you get a good kill and that there wasn't delayed germination that will smother out the winfred. I'm not by any means an expert on winfred but it could be a bit on the late side to plant it now if tonnage is what you are looking for.

 

[Peplin Creek]

I did this last year and had a lot of success. But I just ran over it with the atv tires instead of a cultipacker and my stand of rye wasn’t super thick. The rye didn’t germinate back. That doesn’t mean yours won’t though. You are still good for about 2 weeks yet to get a good stand of Winfred. I plan to plant mine this week. Leafs still end up huge. The one downfall was that my turnip bulbs and radishes weren’t huge like they can be. Was that because of the rye? Other weather conditions… I don’t know. I’m giving it ago again this year to see if results are better or worse.

 

[Peplin Creek]

You could plant it as planned but will need to spray it with a grass specific herbicide after the rye germinates. I'd let it get a good 3-4" tall as well to make sure you get a good kill and that there wasn't delayed germination that will smother out the winfred. I'm not by any means an expert on winfred but it could be a bit on the late side to plant it now if tonnage is what you are looking for.

This could be a great approach too. Provides backup incase things get away from you.

 

[yoderjac]

I'm planning on trying this approach, did it work out? I was thinking about trying Winfred Brassica. I have two areas about 1/2 acre with tall Guardian Winter Rye. I was planning on seeding at a heavier rate into the standing rye. I have a brush mower that I was then going to mow down the rye. Once cut, I was going to run the cultipacker over all of it. I don't have access to a crimper. Any thoughts on this approach?

To my way of thinking, brassica are a fall crop, not a summer crop. If you plan to plant in the spring for summer, I'd consider other crops. If you plan to plant in late summer or early fall for a fall/winter plot, you should have no problem except for planting rate. This is because you are not using the cultipacker in place of a crimper to kill the WR. The winter rye dies on its own in the summer and is standing dead. You are just laying it down with the cultipacker so it contacts the soil and allowing it to break down and release its nutrients. It also acts as a mulch, holding in moisture, for the brassica.

Here are some considerations. Reconsider using a higher seeding rate for brassica. Brassica requires a lot of resources and has large leaves. Using heavy seeding rates can cause brassica to become stunted. Second, depending on your soils, you will likely get a volunteer WR crop in the brassica. Another reason not to seed the brassica heavily. The Winter Rye volunteer crop is a good thing as it will provide an early attractant. One final consideration is variety. Deer will be highly attracted to a monoculture during a specific period when that crops is peaking. When you use a mix of dissimilar crops (not a mix of different kinds of brassica), the plants will have significantly different requirements and complement each other as well as increasing the time the field will be attractive. You already have a brassica component planned. You will likely get a grass component from the Winter Rye volunteer crop. I would consider adding an inexpensive annual clover or even a biennial clover like medium red to the mix. I like to keep the small seeded brassica component around 2 lbs/ac in a mix.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Someday isle]

I'm planning on trying this approach, did it work out? I was thinking about trying Winfred Brassica. I have two areas about 1/2 acre with tall Guardian Winter Rye. I was planning on seeding at a heavier rate into the standing rye. I have a brush mower that I was then going to mow down the rye. Once cut, I was going to run the cultipacker over all of it. I don't have access to a crimper. Any thoughts on this approach?

It did work out for me last year. The buckwheat did just fine And I didn’t have any problems with volunteer rye. This year I mowed the rye and just let the clover be my summer plot.