Sowing Wild Bird Cover For GLAS

mikefoxo

Just been accepted into GLAS 2. The big thing for us is the wild bird cover. I've never sown a crop so I'll get a contractor to do that, but I am going to try plough and cultivate it. I'm just wondering when should I plough and when should I sow?

TPF2012

I'm the same as yourself, never done anything like this before. I was thinking of getting a contractor to plough and cultivate, and for myself to broadcast the seed in the fertiliser spreader. It has me in both a state of trepidation and interest.

Insp. Harry Callahan

I chose that option for reps 3, it was handy enough, best wait til mid April I think, depends what part of country you are in/land type etc, what date does it have to be sown by?. I went for a simple oats/ kale mixture,which grew fine without any fertiliser. Not sure what requirements are for glas though.does it need to be sown in strips or can seed be mixed? Make sure and make a good fine dry seedbed and harrow/ light rolling afterwards or birds may eat seed.

TPF2012

It has to be established by 31st May, i take that means sown. The first year is a cereal mixture, so i'll try a triticale and linseed mixture. I saw on the ole interweb today that triticale grows well on poorer soils and is can out compete most weeds. My planner is not too keen on kale, very difficult to grow - needs good soil- and to prevent weeds from getting out of control.

Water John

Triticale is a good option for whole crop silage or crimping on higher sites and poorer land. Not used enough, disease resistant. Sorry to be off topic.

Dunedin

TPF2012 wrote: »

It has to be established by 31st May, i take that means sown. The first year is a cereal mixture, so i'll try a triticale and linseed mixture. I saw on the ole interweb today that triticale grows well on poorer soils and is can out compete most weeds. My planner is not too keen on kale, very difficult to grow - needs good soil- and to prevent weeds from getting out of control.

I thought that Kale couldn't be grown as part of the wild bird cover?

be better if you could sow something that you could feed to cattle at some point.

does anyone have a definitive list of what you can and cannot sow?

ganmo

Established I imagine wound mean plant sprouting

theaceofspies

Can we oversow for Wild Bird Cover instead of ploughing?

Water John

Brother in law set oats and linseed. Said he fed all the neighbours crows.

20silkcut

I suppose us glas farmers will be blamed for bringing a plague of crows around the place.

I am sowing six acres of the stuff on top quality land. On the surface it looks mad.
But I will be able to out winter on the kale next winter.

TPF2012

How will the out winter on kaIe work? I thought kale had to be left alone for 2 years, it doesn't seed till the second year. The crop has to be left till the 15th of March each year.

mikefoxo

Do ye think I should plough it now and leave it to break down a bit? It's heavy clay that hasn't been ploughed in 40 years

Water John

It's probably too wet yet to plough. When it dries enough rather than the calender.

20silkcut

TPF2012 wrote: »

How will the out winter on kaIe work? I thought kale had to be left alone for 2 years, it doesn't seed till the second year. The crop has to be left till the 15th of March each year.

I'm no expert but it would be a pretty useless crop if it took 2 years to grow

Water John

Kale is a biennial. If you want to use the greens you doe so in year one, which is what we normally eat or feed cattle with. It seeds in year two.
Had not thought of using it for Glas and grazing it. Must check that option for my hectare, thanks.

TPF2012

For wild bird cover, you cannot graze the kale in its first year of growth, it has to be left to grow for 2 years to allow to go to seed.

MickeyShtyles

If kale flowers is it not poisonous to cattle?

blue5000

MickeyShtyles wrote: »

If kale flowers is it not poisonous to cattle?

Supposed to be, but I think if they were on it all winter they are more tolerant of it.

MickeyShtyles

blue5000 wrote: »

Supposed to be, but I think if they were on it all winter they are more tolerant of it.

A fair bit depends on seed variation but its few and far between.

Fireside Solicitor

Local contractor told me the way to go was shallow plough, disc harrow, drill or broadcast and roll it well. He said the triticale and either oats or linseed was the way to go and it has to be in by 31 May and left til 15 March. Then start again. Using round up to spray off and no fertiliser. Keep the dockets and receipts.

The big part for me is the cost of the fence. We are making a triangle out of a field using two boundary fences which means one long fence and I'm worried if they don't renew the wild bird cover in the future will have to take it back up.

We went in for the low permanent pasture so there is no cost on that so the way we looked at it was on an overall basis it was worth the hassle and cost. Just hope they renew it. Madness to be sure planting good land for the birds but needs must.

J.O. Farmer

20silkcut wrote: »

I am sowing six acres of the stuff on top quality land. On the surface it looks mad.
But I will be able to out winter on the kale next winter.

By out wintering on the kale do you mean outwintering the birds. I don't think livestock can have access until the winter is mostly over if it's wild bird cover.

Water John

I have heard the suggestion of putting in rape as well as oats/triticale and linseed. That way on would get two years of cover for one setting. Any ideas?

Fireside Solicitor

I tried the ag advisor who did the plan and he said the only crop was kale for the 2 years but that you had to plant that to half the plot and leave the other half with a cereal and can't mix it. Looks like to much hassle to me, I have a small plough and can do the lot as quick. He said you can graze what's their from 15 March to 31 May so long as you have it planted by 31 May.