Sowing gamecrop: linseed and oats

Capercaille

I want to sow around 1 acre gamecrop. I'm want to sow a mixture of oats and linseed. I intend to spray with roundup and then rotovate. Can I hand cast the mixture, or should I get contractor to sow it? Will it be need to be sprayed when growing? Anybody any experience growing this?

mallards

I never tried oats but I sowed linseed as part of a wild bird mix these past three or four years. The first time, I sprayed with roundup, ploughed, power harrowed, sowed by hand with a fiddle then have a light harrow. It did alright but not great. Although I planted it a bit late in the season so that wouldn't help. Since then on the same bit of ground, I just ploughed the weeds in, harrowed, spread by hand, bit of fertilizer and it came up fantastic.

Capercaille

Looks good and what I want to achieve. What is a fiddle? What fertilizer do you use?

mallards

Capercaille wrote: »

Looks good and what I want to achieve. What is a fiddle? What fertilizer do you use?

If you look up seed fiddle on the net, you will see it. Ours is about sixty years old but still going strong. It makes the broadcast of seed more even than just throwing it by hand.
This link for the fertilizer should give you all the info you need.

http://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2012/1169/Kale_for_Wildlife_needs_fertilizer.pdf

ace86

will this crop grow in poor soil??

mallards

ace86 wrote: »

will this crop grow in poor soil??

I used Kings Moir mix and it did well on my ground which is north facing, upland reclaimed bog. It has good drainage also. The kale seems to need at least average ground but the linseed really doesn't. Best way to know is put a small sample patch in, maybe a single strip near the hedge line, but keep it out a bit as the shading from the hedges won't help.

Double Barrel

That is a good looking field of cover crops Mallards.

Let there be weeds!!!!....... for partridge and pheasants.

mallards

Double Barrel wrote: »

That is a good looking field of cover crops Mallards.

Let there be weeds!!!!....... for partridge and pheasants.

Sowed it in strips this year so theres plenty of weeds between the rows. When I sowed it as a block the last time, it was too thick in the middle and the gamebirds were not using it.

ace86

mallards wrote: »

Sowed it in strips this year so theres plenty of weeds between the rows. When I sowed it as a block the last time, it was too thick in the middle and the gamebirds were not using it.

what distance would you want to keep between the strips when planting?

mallards

ace86 wrote: »

what distance would you want to keep between the strips when planting?

I just went with the width of the harrow, seems to work perfectly.