CuivreDog
Member
Last Sunday in anticipation of an upcoming rain event I worked my tail off in the 112 degree heat index to get my creek bottom brassica plot in before the expected rainfall. I disked, harrowed, and cultipacked the entire plot then spread the seed and cultipacked once more. I finished up around 4:30 pm and headed back up the hill to the house feeling pretty good about getting it all done despite the unbearable temperature and humidity.
I went to bed that night praying for rain and unfortunately I think I prayed too hard!
Four inches of rain fell in a little under three hours during the night. I went back down Monday morning to look at the field and you could tell by the remaining rye stubble that was once spread evenly across the field that the rain came down in torrents. All the stubble that was once evenly covering the field was now balled up on the low side of the field indicating that a lot of the seed had probably washed to that location along with the rye stubble.
Fast forward to today when it finally dried up enough that I was able to walk the field without sinking in the mud so I had a chance to look it over from a closer perspective. There are brassica plants coming up in most areas of the field but they appear very thin and spotty at this time. We have high clay soils so once rainfall comes, our soil tends to crust over after a rain event. I really feel the existing stand will be too thin to properly canopy so I am looking for suggestions on what you would do at this point.
Would you......
1) start over
2) add additional brassica seed before the existing plants get too tall and hope it finds its way through the crust
3) add a cereal grain at a later date if the brassicas don't properly canopy
4) other ideas????
I went to bed that night praying for rain and unfortunately I think I prayed too hard!
Four inches of rain fell in a little under three hours during the night. I went back down Monday morning to look at the field and you could tell by the remaining rye stubble that was once spread evenly across the field that the rain came down in torrents. All the stubble that was once evenly covering the field was now balled up on the low side of the field indicating that a lot of the seed had probably washed to that location along with the rye stubble.
Fast forward to today when it finally dried up enough that I was able to walk the field without sinking in the mud so I had a chance to look it over from a closer perspective. There are brassica plants coming up in most areas of the field but they appear very thin and spotty at this time. We have high clay soils so once rainfall comes, our soil tends to crust over after a rain event. I really feel the existing stand will be too thin to properly canopy so I am looking for suggestions on what you would do at this point.
Would you......
1) start over
2) add additional brassica seed before the existing plants get too tall and hope it finds its way through the crust
3) add a cereal grain at a later date if the brassicas don't properly canopy
4) other ideas????
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