Brassicas No-Tilled into Clover

[@jeremysilcox9362]

Radish can scavenge nutrients for other companion crops. I also wonder if maybe the brassica protected the clover where it was no-tilled in and the other clover was not protected by it?

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

There is a belief that all plants need to grow is nutrients in the soil. This however is misguided. It is understandable as that is most often the lowest hole in the bucket. However, water and sunlight are just as important. Brassicas can get nitrogen from the clover which is nice but they will still compete. Ever plant in a square foot competes with each other for water and sunlight. Established clover is pretty good at smothering other plants. The brassicas never grew thick enough to canopy over the clover and that was my intention. I was only looking to have leaves for the deer to eat and not giant bulbs. The area I broadcast into I think the brassicas didn't grow as well just because they had to find their way to the soil with rain and therefore were a week or 2 behind. If the clover was fully terminated this wouldn't have been an issue but because the clover started to come back after a month or so, the brassicas a week behind couldn't reach sunlight before the clover smothered them again. This is the part of this test that is novel. I'm not planting brassicas and clover together, I am putting brassicas into well established clover. The hope is the brassicas use enough of the clover's nitrogen that I never end up with weed problems. That would create a rotation I could do indefinitely and feed deer almost all year long.

[@ChilcoteForestryServices]

Have ypu tried light disking and adding brassicas to that? Good looking FP

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

Thank you. I actually sold my disk when I bought the no till. I do still have a rototiller but would be too much. I tried to directly drill this year without spraying. I'll post the results here today or tomorrow. Just need to finish editing the video.

[@ChilcoteForestryServices]

Do you spray or not?

[@ChilcoteForestryServices]

@@huntingscienceexplained9825 i had a client go over some bad plots with rotoriller and used it to incorporate seeds. Check it out on my yt channel its the buck forage oats one. Good results but its a bandaide. Werds will be back in spring

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

@@ChilcoteForestryServices the idea is to spray the clover just enough to set it back a couple weeks. That way the brassicas can pop up and get some light. The hope is the brassicas use up the nitrogen the clover puts in the soil. That way I don't get weed problems in the spring.

[@PaulSmith-oo1qm]

@@huntingscienceexplained9825 I spray clover with "Volunteer", Clethodim. Knocks out all the grasses and doesn't set the clover back. Expensive but 1/2 ounce to the gallon isn't bad. I thought it wouldn't be enough so I called the company and they promised me it would work. Wow did it bun the heck out of the weeds. Just my two cents.

[@tinolopez3136]

If you planted less daikon seeds the radishes would grow considerably larger . Nice plot and plot screen!

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

For the clover/brassica plot or the stand alone brassica plot I showed the picture of? For the clover/ brassica field next year I'm going to plant it earlier and apply some nitrogen free fertilizer. I calibrated the drill to put in about 5 lbs/acre but perhaps with the clover growing there too I'll try something even lighter. Thanks for watching!

[@aotec89]

Hey, just curious how much glyphosate you used on the clover?

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

If i recall, this was about a quart to a quart and a half per acre. I ran my normal mix rate but drove at 12 MPH instead of 8MPH.

[@Nobody-c6g]

Did the clover brown? I have a no til drill. Thinking of trying this - would prefer not to kill clover if I don’t have to.

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

@user-ft3oc7ks9z the clover turned light green with maybe a yellow hue, but never turned brown. I have tried drilling directly into established clover after mowing it and had almost no results. The clover choked out the brassicas. I would highly recommend giving it a try.

[@Nobody-c6g]

@@huntingscienceexplained9825 great stuff! What was your run rate on the glyphosate?

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

@user-ft3oc7ks9z it was about 1 to 1.25 quarts per acre. Basically, I run the same rate but drive faster.

[@aotec89]

I’m thinking about cutting half of my clover plot and planting a brassica mix on the same day I cut. Do you think that’ll help the brassicas grow larger if I cut the clover? Rather just broadcasting them into the existing clover?

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

That will certainly help. You'll need to get them right down to the ground though. My flail mower could do that but a rotary cutter might struggle. You'd risk sunlight hitting soil though and that creates a lot of issues with leaching nutrients and weed growth. That's why I prefer to let the cover get up around 6-8 inches then spray it into dormancy then no till through it. It will keep the soil shaded while the brassicas grow. Then they'll overtake them and continue growing. Then in the spring the clover will take off again.

[@aotec89]

Hunting Science Explained awesome will try. Thank you

[@aotec89]

Hunting Science Explained will the dormant clover grow back next spring after you spray?

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

@@aotec89 if you don't have a drill I'd recommend just broadcasting before a big storm rolls through. You could even spray after you broadcast. I've done this before with good results.

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

@@aotec89 yes as long as you spray at about a half rate compared to what you'd normally spray. I also do a bit of frost seeding in late winter just to help fill in any areas that got a bit too brown. Honestly my clover had come back by late September last year. Didn't grow much but it was green through November.

[@marquess11]

Did you say you sprayed that whole clover plot with glyphosate and it didn’t kill the clover?

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

Yes I did at about half rate as normal. It killed off most everything except the clover. It yellowed it for a week or two then stunted it's growth for about a month. Then it was back to normal.

[@louiefreely2726]

Looks great

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

Thank you!

[@ChilcoteForestryServices]

Very good video. where are you located? What type seed drill did you use? Have you tried drilling winter wheat or rye into the clover? I have not had much luck with that. Chicory would make a good addition to the clover as well. 2lbs chicory, 2lbs collards and kale would be a good way to get you into the cold weather. Good info, keep up the good work

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

I'm in NW PA. I use a Saya 505 by Tar River. This was my first attempt and I used brassicas with the idea the next spring it'll be back to clover and I should have plenty of turkeys in the plot if I keep it cut. I think the rye or wheat would come back up the next spring. I've thought about chufa as that might attract more turkeys. Appreciate you taking the time to watch my video!

[@Nobody-c6g]

Also what date did you drill?

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

@user-ft3oc7ks9z this was mid to late August.

[@Nobody-c6g]

@@huntingscienceexplained9825 thank you

[@chutto12]

How are you liking the SAYA-505? I'm considering purchasing one.

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

It has worked really well. I had used it to plant winter rye late last year and thought it failed. When I went out to check on things last week there was rye growing in perfect strips. It seems to do the job quite well.

[@PaulSmith-oo1qm]

@@huntingscienceexplained9825 did you ever post a video of the SAYA? I'm looking at one tomorrow. $5K vs $20K on a great plains or land pride is appealing.

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

@@PaulSmith-oo1qm never did post that yet. It has worked very well for me. With brassicas I just spray 2 weeks ahead of time, plant, then spray again the next day. I've had great results as long as there is rain in the forecast.

[@MrMblakec]

What no till drill are you using?

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

It's a Saya 505 by Tar River. I have footage I need to put together from last year's planting.

[@MrMblakec]

@@huntingscienceexplained9825 thank you! I've been looking into getting one. That would be perfect for what I need.

[@toddshippee7162]

You can broadcast the brassicas with just as good if not better results

[@huntingscienceexplained9825]

I actually tried that in a portion. While I did get some growth it was no where near as good as the area I drilled. I have broadcast directly on fully killed off fields with good results but this area with the clover that was just set back didn't grow as well as the drilled area. I attribute this to the fact the broadcast seed didn't penetrate the thick clover since it wasn't fully killed off. If I do this again this year I'll get some footage of what the set back clover looks like.

[@toddshippee7162]

@@huntingscienceexplained9825 I mean you you can broadcast brassicas into living clover.

[@melvinsacromentoe]

@@toddshippee7162 he said he tried that and didn’t get good results

[@ChilcoteForestryServices]

check this video out:kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKWTkKKqgddma9U