Spring oats vs. .......oats

weekender21

Well-Known Member
What’s the difference between “spring oats” and regular oats? I asked my local feed store about spring oats. They didn’t really know what I was talking about. The oats they sell are Jerry Oats and according to them you can plant them anytime.


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Watching this thread with interest as I admit I have no idea what folks mean when they say spring oats either.


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Sounds like local lingo to me more than anything. There may be some oats that can overwinter in the south, but up north, I think all oats are the same with some minor differences depending on objectives and farming challenges. Things like

Days to maturity
Stalk height
Test weight/protein %/groat (don't know what groat is)
Lodging resistance
Disease resistance
Leaf blade width (wider more geared towards forage)

When you plant in the later parts of summer or early fall, those maturities matter a whole lot more. As heat units per day dwindle, a shorter duration oat may still head out, where a forage oat may only be ten days behind a short maturity oat in July, it could be many weeks later to head in the fall, making it much easier to keep as forage instead of turning to straw.
 
I’ve been told that “spring oats” are just regular oats that are planted in the spring, which begs the question - why is it called “winter wheat” instead of “fall wheat”? Is most wheat not planted well before the first day of winter?
 
I’ve been told that “spring oats” are just regular oats that are planted in the spring, which begs the question - why is it called “winter wheat” instead of “fall wheat”? Is most wheat not planted well before the first day of winter?
Call it whatever you want. Oats are oats (and of relatively little economic importance) while, on the other hand, wheat is of great economic importance and gets much more attention. Therefore, it gets talked about a lot. Saying "winter wheat" is much for fun than saying "fall wheat. And, while oats are oats, winter wheat is a whole different product than spring wheat.
 
I use reclaimed oats from feed store. Cheaper and work as well. I just don't tell the deer.
 
I'm guessing those Jerry oats would be fine for spring planting. Is there a general time or ground temperature requirement for a spring planting of oats? I'm in zone 6. The goal for this first year will be to have something growing at all times, get the PH headed north, and increase OM.

I'll be back the first week in May and might add buckwheat and/or oats if the MRC and WR didn't take off. I noticed the turkeys found at least one of my new plots the day I planted it. The MRC might be ok but I bet they'll get their fare share of the WR.
 
I agree - spring oats are just spring planted oats to me. usually farmers plant them with Alfalfa or clover. we used to harvest the oats to feed the dairy cows once a day with silage in the winter months - but really the crop was more about having the straw for bedding, harvest time was around July if I remember well enough
 
I'm guessing those Jerry oats would be fine for spring planting. Is there a general time or ground temperature requirement for a spring planting of oats? I'm in zone 6. The goal for this first year will be to have something growing at all times, get the PH headed north, and increase OM.

I'll be back the first week in May and might add buckwheat and/or oats if the MRC and WR didn't take off. I noticed the turkeys found at least one of my new plots the day I planted it. The MRC might be ok but I bet they'll get their fare share of the WR.

Jerry oats will be absolutely fine ..... Minimum soil temperature for oat germination is 38 degrees. You could plant them now. Some of the coldest days I remember, were planting oats in April, in Canada.

PH rates.JPG
 
The first week in May (?), I might consider broadcasting over top, Alyce Clover. It will tolerate a little more acidic soil, provide protein, the time of year your deer will need it and will die out at the first hard frost. That's assuming your MRC hasn't taken off.
 
Sounds like local lingo to me more than anything. There may be some oats that can overwinter in the south, but up north, I think all oats are the same with some minor differences depending on objectives and farming challenges. Things like

Days to maturity
Stalk height
Test weight/protein %/groat (don't know what groat is)
Lodging resistance
Disease resistance
Leaf blade width (wider more geared towards forage)

When you plant in the later parts of summer or early fall, those maturities matter a whole lot more. As heat units per day dwindle, a shorter duration oat may still head out, where a forage oat may only be ten days behind a short maturity oat in July, it could be many weeks later to head in the fall, making it much easier to keep as forage instead of turning to straw.

What he said. Both my local co-ops didn't know what spring Oats were so I'm guessing it's a local dialect thing. Going to plant some winter wheat, winter rye, & oats this Fall & see how they all do & what the deer like best. Do turkeys eat any of the greenery from any of the 3 when the plants are still young & tender?
 
What he said. Both my local co-ops didn't know what spring Oats were so I'm guessing it's a local dialect thing. Going to plant some winter wheat, winter rye, & oats this Fall & see how they all do & what the deer like best. Do turkeys eat any of the greenery from any of the 3 when the plants are still young & tender?

I planted oats, rye, and wheat last fall and have no idea which the deer preferred. All the cereal grains are browsed to lip level. Guess I’ll be mixing them again this year.


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