What to do...

[BULLSEYE BILL]

My clover / vetch field did great this year, I planted it last year mid August and got a nice buckwheat crop before the frost.

My dilemma is now that it has all gone to seed it has also gone to weeds. I would like to lightly disc the new seed into the ground but the weeds that have not yet gone to seed are about five to six foot high and seem to be choking out what little clover is growing. I don't want to brush hog the eleven acres with a six foot mower, it would take forever, then I would still have to disc the seed in.

I am thinking of just lightly discing over the tall weeds and hope for the best. Discing enough to kill the tall weeds would likely kill what little growing clover I have and may put the new seed in the ground too deep.

Considering that those hives gave me about 1000 pounds of spring honey and I have another 30 mediums ready to pull now, it needs to be done right if I want a repeat.

What to do, what to do...?

[RayMarler]

I don't know, just conjecturing here...

What did you do last year? Did you disc and seed it?

I would be fairly sure that seeds are there now, if you just disc it then you might get a good repeat. Seems it should at least be better than weeds that are now smothering the intended crops.

[Zane]

Well Bill, I myself just brushhogged my 10 acre field boundry and the clover looks great!!! Then I disced around my tree seedlings I planted last year, almost all greenery is dead there!!! I'll look tomorrow to see if any clover made it in the disced patch.
White clover is high these days but the ragweed is terrible this year! Diesel is high too.
I think its time to find some kids to go out and pull weeds!!!! And if you find some send them my way when they are done there!!!!

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I don't know, just conjecturing here...

What did you do last year? Did you disc and seed it?

Yes, I put down two applications of Roundup to kill the field, disced the field twice to mellow the ground and sowed a mixture of clover, vetch, and buckwheat.

Got a great stand and the deer loved it! How I have such a solid field of weeds, I don't know.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Then I disced around my tree seedlings I planted last year, almost all greenery is dead there!!! I'll look tomorrow to see if any clover made it in the disced patch.

Usually with alfalfa and clover you only want to set the disc low enough to scratch the surface. Too deep and the seed will not be able to reach the surface, a quarter inch is plenty deep for that small of seed.

[RayMarler]

I am so envious! I'm stuck in a lot in the suburbs of a city!

OK, with 1,000lbs of spring honey and 30 more supers to pull, it might be worth getting seed and doing exactly what you did last year huh? You never mowed this year? If you never mowed, I'd think the vetch, clover and buckwheat has seeded huh? I've not got any personal experience with it, but just thinking about it, it makes sense to me

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Yeah there is lots of seed, no buckwheat though, it wasn't planted in time to make seed last year. The vetch seed is setting on the ground as it has been released from the pods, the clover has pretty much fallen too, but there is still plenty on the dead sticks.

[RayMarler]

OK, maybe do a light discing like you said, and maybe seed some more buckwheat at the same time!

[TwT]

My clover / vetch field did great this year, I planted it last year mid August and got a nice buckwheat crop before the frost.

My dilemma is now that it has all gone to seed it has also gone to weeds. I would like to lightly disc the new seed into the ground but the weeds that have not yet gone to seed are about five to six foot high and seem to be choking out what little clover is growing. I don't want to brush hog the eleven acres with a six foot mower, it would take forever, then I would still have to disc the seed in.

ok what kinda 6' weeds you wanting to seed?

I am thinking of just lightly discing over the tall weeds and hope for the best. Discing enough to kill the tall weeds would likely kill what little growing clover I have and may put the new seed in the ground too deep.

bush hog will do fine, clover needs to be topped at times anyway, you can lightly disc it but it will uproot the clover, but by doing this a quiet a few years now myself I know it ill not be as thick and as loaded like this year was if you dont disc it all under and do what you did last year, seems mine does best when I disc all under and planted new. the year I let it reseed itself I only got half of normal, so I work mine fresh every year, thats just what I seen Bill here. seems any grass can choke out a lot of the seeds.

Considering that those hives gave me about 1000 pounds of spring honey and I have another 30 mediums ready to pull now, it needs to be done right if I want a repeat.

What to do, what to do...?

good going, fine year there bill, sounds like you doing the thing, congrats man

[mike haney]

sorry to tell you but if you don't repeat the entire process- roundup,disc,seed you will have a solid field of weeds next year. they are called weeds for a reason. the seeds that are present in the field right now will continue to sprout and resow for decades. good luck,mike

[cdowdy]

Clover will not grow in the shade. I would cut the weeds before it went to seed or they will really take over next year.

[iddee]

With the price of hay being as high as it is, I would think the answer would be obvious. Use the money from the hay to fertilize, roundup, and reseed.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I was wondering WWIDD? Now I know.

Unfortunately there is nothing to hay, just weeds.

Well after talking to the Coop and a couple of farmers and the suggestions gathered here, the plan of action is to brush hog the field tomorrow then wait until it has dried and then lightly disc in a week or so to get the clover and vetch seed in contact with the soil.

I really hoped to not have to spend the extra diesel and six hours or so brush hogging the field but when thinking of the yield I got this year it will be well worth it.

I also found out that had I sprayed 24DB a month ago I could have killed the weeds without hurting the clover and there would have been no need to mow. Live and learn.

[brooksbeefarm]

I plant buckweat early spring{may 5th] I usally get 3 blooms off of it.After it goes to seed I mowe it and it reseeds itself.I always reseed in the spring.About 1 acre.I truck farm and have 2 acres of blackberries.The rows are 10ft apart and I plant dutch clover between the rows and when the blooms start to turn brown I mow it with a riding lawnmower.It will bloom up into Sept.Put some vetch out on our northern property,didn!t do any good the deer wouldn!t let it.Did you sow the seeds together or in separate plots?If mixed togrther,I would think the buckweat and vetch would fight each other and choke out the clover?But I can!t argue with success.1,000#

[Scrapfe]

[QUOTE=BULLSEYE BILL;346742]My clover / vetch field did great this year, I planted it last year mid August and got a nice buckwheat crop before the frost.
BULLSEYE BILL WROTE>it has also gone to weeds. I would like to lightly disc the new seed into the ground

One of the ways I was taught to sow clover was to prepare the ground and wait for a heavy snow storm. It is best to sow or broadcast your seed while the snow is actually falling.
The first benefit is the snow hides the seed from the birds.
The next benefit is that as the snow melts it will ease those tiny seed into ground contact helping to bury them in the previously frozen and spewed soil further hiding them from the birds.
Now your clover seed is perfectly positioned to sprout and grow as soon as weather permitting.
The third benefit is that you get at least one good gentle watering from the melting snow, and you are not as likely to have many seeds washed away by heavy fall or spring rain.
Buckwheat produces like a son-of-a-gun something you should like.
The problem is that birds like buckwheat as much or more than people so this may be a good way to seed buckwheat.

By working the soil you may get 3 or 4 nectar crops per year with good and timely rain but with all this disking you will destroy your clover.
Here is an idea you may like better. Sow a large field with buckwheat. You may even want to look into renting one, say 20-40-80-100 acres. Time it so the buckwheat seeds just before dove season. Let bees work field. About a week to ten days before opening day Bush Hog the ripe field of buckwheat. Doves have teeny tiny, itsy bittsy, little bitty, feet and legs and don’t like to land on unseen ground so you may want/need to disc your ground at this time for winter planting and to facilitate feeding. This may be an either, an or, or a both operation. So now you’ve killed two birds with one stone (pun intended). Charge X dollars for a one day dove shoot. Give discounts for those who purchased ammo from you. Depending on the law sell more ammo at shoot site. You can pop a lot of caps dove shooting. I have seen poor shots expend a case or more at one shoot. Repeat every weekend during season. I’ve shot fields prepared this way where the buckwheat seed was an half of an inch deep.
Is anyone else who likes buckwheat honey reading this?

HAGD and GOOD LUCK

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I mowed the field last Wednesday, took nine hours.

The weeds were dry enough to disc today, got-er-done! There was a LOT of clover and vetch seed on the ground and now it is in contact with the dirt so I expect that I should get a good stand. We are expecting a rain with the hurricane pushing moisture up tomorrow night.

Scrapfe, clover is a bi-annual, so if I want a bloom next year it has to come up and get at least three sets of leaves this year, otherwise your suggestion works very well, I have done it with other plantings before, thanks.

It was interesting how mellow the ground was under the vetch, much softer than under the clover areas.