Planting cover crop (wheat)

[backdoor]

In that study I wonder why they used a no-till drill in a tilled seedbed. Anyway, see if you can find a study comparing drilling wheat and sowing wheat with a spreader. I'm thinking of buying a drill, and the info could help me make my decision. Thanks.

 

[Oleozz]

This is not a study, just real life workings, but my neighbors tell me that over the years they have drilled wheat and sowed with a spreader and the spreader gave them yields as good as those done with the drill. A drill works fine for me if the ground is smooth without any small hills or rolls, otherwise it doesn't get the seed in the ground well.

 

[Tim D]

We never used wheat as a cover crop but do a lot with rye grain. In the fall after soybeans and corn are out, any ground that was not being planted to wheat was sown in rye. We grow our own rye seed, put in fertilizer buggy from local fertilizer dealer and spread all ground except wheat ground. After spreading, we run an Aerway aerator over it to loosen up top of ground and give the rye seed some loose dirt to work with. Throwing rye seed on cornstalks without Aerway seemed to work better than on bean stubble without Aerway. The rye really binds the ground to help with erosion and building organic in the off season when nothing is growing there anyway. We frost seed red clover in the wheat and rye that we will cut for seed and it always seem to get better stand of clover in the rye than the wheat. Works for us and always nice to see all that green when eveything else is brown. Deer seem to like the rye too.

 

[Oleozz]

Tim---I planted rye last fall and it did very well, plowed it under this past spring and put sweet corn in, had a nice sweet corn crop. Didn't use rye this fall because it has gotten so darn expensive.

 

[backdoor]

Last time I used a drill for small grain was mid 80's. Since then I have used a spreader for any small grain. I get an excellent stand most every year if the moisture is right. I think the best thing about a drill is it makes the fields look so neat and tidy when it comes up in those nice straight rows. I use the rye as a soil builder, green manure, and deer food. It seems to be the best winter deer food available. I have a friend who used to plant (stroke victim) about 100 acres of wheat each fall for the straw he could get each summer. He combined for the grain, but his moneymaker was the straw. A couple of farmers around here have planted some kind of winter pea as a cover crop this year. One man said it put quite a bit of nitrogen back in his land, and that would help with spring corn fertilizer costs. He said he would spray it down and sod plant his corn.

 

[R W]

Always tried to sow into a seed bed that had been cultivated to a depth of 2"
(original ploughing or chisel ploughing 4") on the previous rainfall to the one on which
sowing takes place,the seed is then sown with a combine into the the seed bed at a depth of 2" after waiting until weeds have struck and the soil is dry enough to work, a slight dust being made by the combine is ideal in regard to getting a good kill.
If lucerne (alphalpha)and/or other pasture is also being sown, a small seeds box is
usually used mostly in conjunction with a band seeder, a roller is sometimes towed behind the combine in lighter soils. The cover crop seeding rate is reduced to about 25lbs. Have seen excellent results obtained from mixing pasture seed with the seed or fertilizer and sowing at a slightly reduced depth depending on soil condition and moisture.
A combine is similar to drill except it has 4 rows of tynes, the 2 centre rows being
sowing tynes , these machines may also be used as a cultivater. Light harrows are hooked behind when sowing, some farmers also use the when cultivating.

 

[kthompson]

ampsucker: "not sure how to measure germination rate. i have lots of little wheat shoots coming up, so i guess that's a good sign, but there are still many seeds not yet germinated."

If memory is not all fuzzy the way they measure it in the lab is count out the seeds, put in dishes with something like damp paper towels under and I guess over them and count how many sprout.

In the field, if you plant something like corn and you know how close the seed is planted it is simple, broadcast or drill, eyeballing it. I was told to increase the seeding rate a little over a drill as the germination rate will not be quite as high. I have never had an issue with broadcasting of seed. If you like the look of rows that a grain drill gives you then you can also cover with such as field cultivators set shallow.