Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
brookw_gw

any advice?

brookw_gw
10 years ago

As I've reported.we have lost about everything to floods this year after already getting things in late. I'm now looking at fields of weeds that I cannot let go to seed. Most of my acreage goes to space-consuming plants like pumpkins, melons, and winter squash. What would you do with that space? I've already replanted very large amounts of beans, summer squash, turnips, cole crops, tomatoes, etc. etc. However, I'm still left w/a lot of emptiness. I really don't want to mow it for the rest of the year, and the same goes for tilling as both are costly and time consuming. If I can come up w/the seed this late in the year, I could do a cover crop, or I could just spray it and forget about it. Letting the weeds just go is not an option. Thanks.

Comments (13)

  • 2ajsmama
    10 years ago

    I'd try a cover crop - what about oats? They should winter-kill. Don't know if there's time enough for cowpeas - then you could potentially have a cash crop that would double as a cover crop.

    So sorry for your loss. Can you get any assistance from the state? Here they were offering financial assistance for replanting, drainage, etc. due to heavy rains in June, but the deadline was July 15. I think they got money from USDA.

    I wish I'd gone for it but a couple weeks ago I thought I might still have a crop. Then the heat wave hit and I started having blossom drop on the tomatoes and looks like Little Leaf cukes too, beans stalled, and even the squash is late.

  • myfamilysfarm
    10 years ago

    Brookw, check with some hay farmers for the quickiest growing cover crop. Spraying will only work for about 90 days, and where we are at, we'll have another group of weeds come up just before frost.

    Assistance in my state doesn't work unless you have a minimum of 2 acres of any 1 crop. Most of the time, doesn't apply for veggies. IL might be different. Normally, from what I've heard, the assistance is money for you to replant.

  • 2ajsmama
    10 years ago

    That's what I was thinking, they could help him get/pay for/plant the cover crop.

  • myfamilysfarm
    10 years ago

    It's not for that, just for replanting the same crop.

  • Mark
    10 years ago

    Brook, so sorry to hear about your difficult year.

    I'd suggest taking the time to clean till, then broadcast buckwheat. You may have to cover it to keep the birds from eating it (I drive over it with the tiller lowered but not engaged).
    Buckwheat is cheap and very effective at blocking weeds as it grows fast and lush. It needs a little water but not much.
    Just before it goes to seed in a few months, mow/disc it down and leave it there as mulch. Or you can then plant a winter cover crop right on top.

    -Mark

    This post was edited by madroneb on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 13:13

  • 2ajsmama
    10 years ago

    Here it was for replanting even a different crop, they realized it might be too late by mid-July (or later, by the time they process the paperwork) to plant the same crops you had started in late May.

    Here is a link that might be useful: CT 2013 Farm Disaster Assistance

  • henhousefarms
    10 years ago

    I'm in the same position you are, Brook. Too much fallow ground and too many weeds. I am planning on planting buckwheat like Madroneb suggests. It grows fast, covers well and the bees love it. I have tracked down a place in Newton that claims to have seed but have not had a chance to call them yet. I'm headed down that way Friday so I'll post the results.

    Tom

  • brookw_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Well, I ordered some buckwheat. Tom, our local Equity can order it and have it within a day if your source falls through. I ordered 30 lbs from a broken bag and could easily share some of it as well. I hope it gets to flower as my bees didn't get much to eat this year.

  • Slimy_Okra
    10 years ago

    A good cover crop is fenugreek. It's fast growing and is a legume (altho' I think it needs inoculation with the right strain if you want N-fixation).

  • henhousefarms
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the tip, Brook - I'll give Equity a call. I have left a message with the Newton people but they have not called back. From what I read it grows really fast, blooms quickly keeps blooming until frost. I'm not really thinking of harvesting any grain from it but Dad made a big deal about eating Buckwheat pancakes when he was a kid. I might have to try some.

    Tom

  • brookw_gw
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks all for the tips. I've planted winter rye before but have heard better things about buckwheat. My soil runs very low on potassium usually, and all these rains have devastated its general fertility. I can't compost fast enough to keep it up--especially when the soil itself gets washed away. Our extension service says tiling is not an option for me as well, but something has to be done. The algae grew so long on top of the soil that my fields are covered w/a black crust. At least that stinky, swampy smell of decaying vegetation is gone.

  • henhousefarms
    10 years ago

    Finally heard back from the fellow with the buckwheat this morning. As I was headed that direction anyway for a load of melons I went ahead and picked up a 50# bag. According to him, it should germinate in just 4-5 days and start blooming in about two weeks. Sounds pretty good to me. There was another fellow there at the same time picking up buckwheat for his bees and we talked for quite a while. He made a crop off of trefoil this spring and said the honey was almost water clear and had the taste of cream soda. Now that would be interesting.

    Tom

  • Mark
    10 years ago

    Well, germinate in 4-5 days is right, but bloom in 2 weeks? Thats just wrong. Not unless you really stress it, and even so, it'll take longer than that to bloom.

    I'd give it at least a month to bloom and by then it should be 2 ft tall or more. The idea here is to smother out competition, while adding organic matter to the soil and some pollen for the bees. The stand I had this year was easily 4 ft. when I mowed it down.

    Keep in mind that if you let it flower for a while, the stems start to get tough and once disced or mowed, won't break down easily. This could be good for mulch and more weed suppression, but hard to establish another crop in. If I plant buckwheat in summer and want to plant a fall crop afterwards, I till it just after flowering starts, usually about 50-60 days from planting.

    Here's a pic from a few years ago when I let this field go fallow for the summer. The buckwheat here is about 2 ft tall and not flowering yet. I tilled a row right down the middle and planted a bed of something there, cauliflower I think.

Sponsored
HEMAX Construction Services & Landscaping, LLC
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars34 Reviews
Innovative & Creative Landscape Contractors Servicing VA