Hello. Would it make sense to plow a field in the fall and raise rye grass then plow it again in the early spring and raise pearl millet and just keep going like that year after year. Right now the field is not in good shape because of persimmons trees that have come up in it. I was going to get them out with a root plow first and then plow with a mold board. This would be for cattle grazing and is a small part of the overall pasture. There is mostly pensacola bahia in the field now and if I get tired of plowing I could go back and plant perrenial tifton 9 bahia. Thanks in advance for any comments.
Winter Cover Crop to Summer Cover Crop
- Thread starter east_tex
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What would be the reason to plow? I can understand turning under a green field as green manure to amend the soil. But is that outweighed by turning your upper layer of soil deeper, bringing yuor lower level of soil (usually less fertile) to the top and making a whole new world of weed seeds available to germinate? I'm a big fan of no-till rather then the plow and disk process.
pdfangus
Well-known member
ditto to what dun said....
no till and then just put the residue back on the surface.
If you really want to improve the land go with a multi species cover crop mix....the multispecies interact with the soil biota to cause an explosion of soil micro organic growth and real improvment in soil quality.
rye grass and triticale and some winter peas, some vetch and crimson clover and some brassicas like turnips or tillage radishes .
to the pearl millet add soy beans or cow peas and clover and sunflower and buckwheat.
you can either roll down the plant material or even graze half of it and then plant the next cover. Grazing should be done under some type of controlled grazing for best results.
some links
http://plantcovercrops.com/cover-crops-and-ray-the-soil-guy/
http://vimeo.com/channels/raythesoilguy
http://www.greencoverseed.com/
Here at the Soil and Water District where I work we have applied for a grant to do a three year project on multispecies cover crops on 35 farm plots spread over eight counties to study soil quality under multi species cover crops in our cropping systems.
no till and then just put the residue back on the surface.
If you really want to improve the land go with a multi species cover crop mix....the multispecies interact with the soil biota to cause an explosion of soil micro organic growth and real improvment in soil quality.
rye grass and triticale and some winter peas, some vetch and crimson clover and some brassicas like turnips or tillage radishes .
to the pearl millet add soy beans or cow peas and clover and sunflower and buckwheat.
you can either roll down the plant material or even graze half of it and then plant the next cover. Grazing should be done under some type of controlled grazing for best results.
some links
http://plantcovercrops.com/cover-crops-and-ray-the-soil-guy/
http://vimeo.com/channels/raythesoilguy
http://www.greencoverseed.com/
Here at the Soil and Water District where I work we have applied for a grant to do a three year project on multispecies cover crops on 35 farm plots spread over eight counties to study soil quality under multi species cover crops in our cropping systems.
bigbull338
Well-known member
just get the field cleaned up an notill both the fall an spring crops in.plowing an disking takes alot of time an diesel todo.my baler man charges $40 an ac to plow an disk a place up.
Douglas
Well-known member
I do exactly what you are suggesting, almost. I lightly disc. in the fall to plant winter annuals and get volunteer crabgrass in the summer. The slight renovation is needed for the crabgrass. In texas go with ryegrass & clover. I know no-till has advantages like cheaper, preserve moisture, and better footing, but I can get a much better stand with a light disc, seeding & dragging than any other way. Allow the ryegrass/clover to go to seed and reduce your purchased seed each fall. Same with crabgrass in August. Crabgrass is not as drought tolerent in the summer as other annuals but will produce for a while after any kind of rain and would only need to be seeded once.
Douglas
Well-known member
Douglas
Well-known member
Another crazy idea is to plant Oats each fall in early Sept. Stockpile and stripgraze like one would fescue, and use as a hay alternative. Armyworms are a big problems with early planted winter annuals
greybeard
Well-known member
What others have said.
I'm not a big believer in tilling either, unless it's seeding of a permanant forage, and even then just lightly discing in. If yours is like mine here in San Jacinto county, the topsoil isn't very deep, and as soon as you turn it to bare ground you'll be fighting goatweed, dogfennel, and every other invasive that has ever dropped a seed--the goatweed seeds can lie dormant by the millions for a long long time.
I just broadcast my winter rye--depending on the weather that particular year--usually late Sept right before a forecast for rain. It does fine just like that. The first year, I let some of it go to seed, and even tho it was annual rye, lots of it came back the following fall. This last spring, lots and lots of people around here baled their rye--it's not great, but better than no hay at all.
I dunno about millet, but I would think the deer, feral hogs and doves would love ya for it. If the porkers find it, you won't have to worry about tilling--they'll do it for you in just a couple of nights and it ain't pretty.
I'm not a big believer in tilling either, unless it's seeding of a permanant forage, and even then just lightly discing in. If yours is like mine here in San Jacinto county, the topsoil isn't very deep, and as soon as you turn it to bare ground you'll be fighting goatweed, dogfennel, and every other invasive that has ever dropped a seed--the goatweed seeds can lie dormant by the millions for a long long time.
I just broadcast my winter rye--depending on the weather that particular year--usually late Sept right before a forecast for rain. It does fine just like that. The first year, I let some of it go to seed, and even tho it was annual rye, lots of it came back the following fall. This last spring, lots and lots of people around here baled their rye--it's not great, but better than no hay at all.
I dunno about millet, but I would think the deer, feral hogs and doves would love ya for it. If the porkers find it, you won't have to worry about tilling--they'll do it for you in just a couple of nights and it ain't pretty.
Douglas
Well-known member
^ do you mean ryegrass?
greybeard
Well-known member
Yep--annual ryegrass. I shoulda been more specific--or less lazy at typing.
